YOKWE. Welcome to Majuro Atoll

The Republic of the Marshall Islands consists entirely of low lying coral atolls, evolutionary remnants of the more commonly known and visited high volcanic islands. There are 29 separate atolls in the Marshalls, containing a total of 1,225 islands, 870 reef systems, and 160 species of coral. The Marshalls are one of only a few all atoll nations in the world. ( Marshall Islands Visitors Authority)

Cool Stuff huh? So after four intense days of travelling I finally made it to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands.My flight arrived here on April 30 at 8pm. After clearing customs and immigration, a process that was quite nerve-wrecking, I proceeded toward the entrance of the airport to wait for my ride to pick me up. Waiting............waiting....................waiting.....no one in sight so I did the next best thing. TAXI!! Since my Marshallese is quite rusty I asked a port officer if he knew where our research vessel the Sea Dragon was docked. He flagged down a driver and translated the directions to the him. We stopped at about two docks before radioing the boat, which was docked off shore. Once I located some of the crew, I hung out at the Robert Reimer Enterprises Hotel, where I spent the night.

On Tuesday, I got a chance to meet a lot of locals, buy local crafts, tour our sailboat, meet the other crew members (13 to be exact) and went snorkeling. I declare Tuesday a great day! While sitting on the dock waiting on the tender to take us to the sailboat, I chatted with an elderly man, I refered to him as my Marshallese grand dad. He said that I looked Marshallese (which I took as an honor) and promised to marry me off to his 26 year old grandson,I was certain to reassure him that I was here on business..........unless his grandson was quite the looker haha...just kidding!

Once the tender arrived we went to visit the Sea Dragon, our 72 foot sailing vessel, which is very lovely! Once we all got acquainted with the boat we set off on an adventure to Eneko Island, a secluded island about 45minutes away from Majuro. For the first time in my life I got a taste of the Pacific Ocean and several of its inhabitants. There were clownfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, giant clams (they were small) urchins, beautiful coral, it was amazing! and the water was so warm. I think I'm in love with Majuro! I know it's only going to get better from here.

                                          I've been busting my brain trying to figure out this acronym

                                                   The dock

                                            Giant Clams

                                           Noni!

                                                   Local handmade crafts

                                                  How can one pass up handmade fish earrings?

                                         Turtle, Turtle, Turtle

                                          My Marshallese Granddad, or future in-law? lol j/k

                                         Some crew heading to the vessel

                                          The sea dragon

                                                  The Galley

                                                    The Saloon

                                       

                                         My bed

                                         Snorkel Time

                                          Casuarina everywhere!

                                          Look at that point source pollution

                                                Cheese!

                                         The Grand Boat Race, these were the only competitors

                                         Eneko Island

                                         Awesome Snorkeling of the shore

                                                   Cute little Marshallese boy

                                                    'Lady if you snap one more shot of me, you'll regret it"

                                            Plastic, Plastic everywhere

                                         Ocean side of the island

                                         You again

                                         Although these boat shoes are cute I am starting to think they are not skid resistant lol 

                                        Oh yea! Colonel Marshall is ready to serve you

                                       Tataki, so good. Pan seared tuna

                                          awwwww, big happy family.

Kristal Ocean.

Thank You

Today I am getting set to embark on the adventure of a lifetime sailing across the Pacific Ocean to study plastic pollution of the Western Garbage Patch, an area that has been unexplored for over 25 years. This research trip will serve as my formal training for conducting plastic research within The Bahamas. Thanks to the generous support of each and every one of you I am fortunate enough to take part in such an historic research expedition. Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you that believed in my ability to participate in this research and took the time to help me garner the tools necessary to take part in this trip.

For donating the entire trip free of charge I would like to thank Dr. Marcus Eriksen and the 5 Gyres Institute along with Bill Francis and the Algalita Marine Research Institute

Bobbi Hallig, Jim Davidson, Lucinda Ziesing, Claire Mettewie, Christian Henry,Eleanor Philips and The Nature Conservancy, Casuarina Mckinney-Lambert and BREEF, The Bahamas national Trust and The Cape Eleuthera Foundation, I Thank You for your generous and whole-hearted contributions towards travel funding for this trip.

Chris and Pam Maxey, Christian Henry, David Jea, Cape Eleuthera Foundation, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Dr. Marcus Eriksen, Josh Shultz, Annabelle Brooks, Aaron Shultz, Thank You for your continued support, guidance and wisdom.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation. Thank You Again.

Kristal Ambrose.

Destination Majuro

After my nightcap in Guam, it was time to head to my final destination, Majuro, Marshall Islands. It took roughly 8 hours for me to get from Guam to Majuro, but this was not a nonstop plane ride. While en route to Majuro, I got a chance to visit the Federated States of Micronesia and another island of the Marshall Islands.  After leaving the A. B. Wong Airport in Guam we navigated towards Truk or Chuuk as the natives call it. Although I’ve only spent 40 minutes at the Truk airport that was enough time for me to experience the beauty of its landscape. Mountains or shall I say elevated hills with the combination of perfectly still crystal clear cerulean waters was truly a sight to see. This beautiful island has certainly turned me into a ‘kook for Chuuk’.

Once receiving our new passengers and dropping off our old ones we took flight for Pohnpei, the capital of The Federated States of Micronesia. Pacific Islanders are some of the most beautiful people I have ever encountered. Their customs and culture are so unique, I can’t help but be intrigued. While in the Pohnpei airport I was approached by local celebrity, D-Weezy also known as D-Jizzle. D-Jizzle, if you could not tell by the name, is a local rapper who goes to school in Georgia and aspires to be like rapper Lil’ Wayne. ‘Jizzle’, as he is known in the streets of Pohnpei is the self proclaimed innovator of rapping in the native language of Pohnpei called Sauw. Fascinated by his career, I asked him to rap for me, to which he did, until his mom dragged him away!! Haha!! Too funny! Jizzle had a crown of flowers on his head, I had also notice that everyone else in the airport had one on as well. Apparently whenever you are leaving the island you have to wear a lay (a chain of flowers) or a floral headdress. Sylvia, a local girl from the island, gave me her headdress made from a flower indigenous to Pohnpei so that I could adorn my crown with it.

So long Pohnpei, Hello Kosrae. Kosrae pronounced Koshri is the smallest of the Micronesian Islands. Fortunately for me I was seated next to a very lovely lady by the name of Pedricia who taught me all there was to know about her hometown. Kosrae, home of the sleeping lady mountain (if you visit the lowest point of the islands and look across it looks like a sleeping lady), is famous for their mountains, hiking, fishing, delicious tangerines, bananas and breadfruit. While at the airport I got my hands on some delicious non-processed homemade banana chips and breadsticks, which I assume was made out of breadfruit. It was so good. Unfortunately tangerines are out of season, they are said to be the best in The Pacific.

                                          Flying into Truk  (Chuuk)

                                          Chuuck Runway

                                           Homes in Chuuk

                                          Chuuk Airport

                                          Leaving Chuuk heading to Pohnpei

                                           So Beautiful

                                          D-Weezy a.k.a D-Jizzle and myself

                                         All aboard!!

                                                   My Pohnpei headdress

                                          My new friend Pedricia

                                                 Leaving for Kwajalein

                                          'We're coming, we're coming'!

'Kosrae' Breadticks and Banana Chips

After departing Kosrae we made a quick stop on the atoll of Kwajalein, Marshall Islands; because there was a U.S Military Base on the island we were not permitted to come off of the plane or take photos. Once leaving Kwajalein, we flew all the way to Majuro.

Hafa Adai!

Have you ever been around someone who has learned a new phrase and incorporates it into their vocabulary often? Guilty as charged! A student in my research class expressed her fondness for gorp candy bars by describing it as ‘thebomb.com”. This is exactly how I feel about my very short but sweet visit to Guam......and besides thebomb.com rhymes with Guam therefore this statement must be true! =)

After 16.5 hours and two time zones of travelling, I left Tokyo and headed to Guam. Hafa Adai! Welcome to Guam, was warmly plastered all over the airport. Once I arrived my next step was to find a place to stay, this was accomplished in a matter of minutes. After waiting outside of the West Arrivals of the airport, Blaine my driver from the hotel came to pick me up. We cruised to the tunes of Notorius B.I.G as we dropped of another passenger and headed to Subway for a late night snack. Blaine who is originally from the Philippines, gave me some insight on what it's like to grow up in Guam and detailed some activities one may enjoy while on the island. These activities include hiking, scuba diving, bowling, and bar hoping. Since he is afraid of heights, can't swim and under aged, he expressed that his life was quite boring. Luckily for me I enjoy several of the activities listed so I must return to Guam to discover its true beauty!