Vacation on a Lost Island

            Yesterday Janae, Neyla and I headed off for a 6-day adventure to a small and isolated island in Micronesia called Kosrae.  The island is not at all like Majuro.  It is not a series of tiny flat islands, but a mountainous island with beautiful dense rainforests.  The island was such that there was no room for an airport, so a small reef island was built off the northeast coast to accommodate an international airport.  Believe it or not, this airport was even smaller than the Majuro airport.  There was a tiny 8x10 room where customs checked you in and then the baggage claim room was about the size of a large hotel room.  When you left these tiny rooms and opened the doors you felt like you were in the show Lost or in the movie Jurassic Park.  There seemed to be little or no modern development and the jagged mountains and cliffs were draped in bright green jungle trees and plants.  I had never seen anything like it. 

            Our hosts who own the pristine and natural Pacific Treelodge Resort greeted us at the airport and drove us on the small canopied road around a few tiny villages and dwellings to the east side of the island to our home for the next 6 days.  The Lodge was built into an amazing mangrove just across the tiny road from a magnificent bay.  Our room was nice and clean and tropical, but the best part of this Micronesian gem of a lodge was the restaurant.  There was a narrow bridge that was built through the mangrove rainforest and on it was a small sign labeled, “restaurant.”  As we walked through the mangrove across this bridge you were transported to a swampy mangrove with beautiful trees and plants and after about 100 yards of the bridge was a beautiful canal whose depth fluctuated by the rising and sinking tides.  The restaurant was built as a sort of massive pier above the mangrove and canal and with an incredible view of two lush mountain peaks.  It was undoubtedly one of the best views I had ever seen. 

            After we had lunch at this beautiful place, we ventured for a walk to Lelu Village.  Lelu village was one of the 5 small villages on Kosrae.  The people there were warm and welcoming and offered to help us find our way.  The green natural beauty of the village was a breath of fresh air from over-crowded Majuro.  Along our walk we saw several local fishermen with nets and spears, Peace Corps volunteers jogging, local women cutting down the tiny native bananas and the “Sleeping Lady of Majuro.”  This “woman” can be seen in the mountains of the island.  The horizon of the mountains of the island appeared as if there was a gigantic woman lying down on her back.  The ancient legend of the island says that originally the gods had put a man there, but that only a woman could birth a nation of people.  So, the gods put a woman to watch over the island. 

            A gracious couple, Mark and Maria, owns our lovely Lodge.  Maria is Italian by origin, but came here 6 years ago as a diving tourist and decided to stay.  She is incredibly kind and warm and invited Neyla to an Easter Egg Hunt last night and then invited our whole family to an Easter Saturday dinner.  It was delicious and a fantastic way to spend our first night in Kosrae.  The Kosraen staff at the lodge are also incredibly kind.  They offered to watch Neyla while Janae and I ate and played with her, read to her and allowed us to have a meal to ourselves.  The Micronesian people love babies and will always offer to watch your baby, and as much as we love Neyla it’s nice to have a 10 minute break during a meal every so often. 

            Today is Easter Sunday here and we are having a nice quiet day.  As it is in the Marshall Islands, Sundays are truly days for rest where nothing is open.  Our first 24 hours in Kosrae has been magnificent and we are excited for the rest of our week.