Only in Majuro...

Only in Majuro

            I was thinking the other day about how amazing life can be here in Majuro.  I started a list of things that I have done in the past month that I never would have been able to do if we still lived in Chicago or Colorado.  The list is actually surprisingly long.  Over the past month I saw a Whale Shark while fishing (the largest fish in the world), swam in a mile deep blue ocean, caroused in 5 foot waves in my “backyard,” worked out daily on the ocean shore, kayaked on the Pacific over beautiful coral, played in a significant regional basketball event and witnessed the Pacific Nations Forum.  It has been quite a month.

Whale Shark

This is "the" Whale Shark.  This picture was taken by one of the brave souls who jumped in.  

This was truly one of the most unique experiences of my life.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have never been fishing or eaten an orange.  I know, I know.  Anyways, I was able to check one of those off the list a few weeks ago.  I went fishing!  Seven teachers at Coop organized a daylong trip to go out on the open ocean and see what we could find.  As soon as we left the lagoon and entered the ocean the birds were going crazy, which is a great sign for fisherman.  We saw three whales immediately and towards the end of the day saw a few dolphins.  As the day was winding down we saw a swarm of birds out on the distant horizon and decided to go around for one more pass to see if we could find some Tuna.  As we approached the birds it quickly became clear that something “big” was happening out here.  It was a whale shark, the largest fish in the world.  He was swimming at the surface and had an uncountable number of fish swimming around him.  It was truly amazing to see a fish that was much bigger than the boat we were on and see him swim up to and right under the boat.  Several people on the boat decided this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to swim with a whale shark and jumped in.  I recorded them on video and was getting ready to jump in when my friend and colleague Alvin warned that there were also some oceanic white-tip sharks as well, which are one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, so I called an audible and stayed on the boat.  While I certainly wish I would have gotten in with the massive fish, just seeing it was a phenomenal experience.  

Swimming in Blue Ocean

During the middle of the fishing trip we anchored in mile deep water so our spear fishermen could see what they could find.  They didn’t catch any fish, but those of us on the boat did get out and swim around for nearly a half an hour in mile deep water.  We didn’t see any strange creature, but there were hundreds of tiny fish every color of the rainbow.  If you’ve never been swimming out in the ocean with no land or ocean floor around it is quite a surreal experience!

“Backyard” Swimming

A few weeks ago Janae and I went swimming with our close friends Dan and Rachelle in our “backyard.”  The tide was high and the water was about 5 foot deep with 4 to 5 foot waves.  It was quite amusing and so different to swim on a reef and not a beach.  It’s a great way to cool off after a workout or a hard fought basketball game in the Majuro sun. 

Daily Workouts on the Ocean

This one is sort of self explanatory, but it is the best gym in the world.  To watch the sunrise and get a workout in simultaneously is good for your body and soul.

Kayaking

Yesterday Janae and I were fortunate enough to be able to borrow our friends’ kayaks.  Robin and Bruce have some solid ocean kayaks and were kind enough to watch Neyla while we explored.  While we narrowly beat a torrential rainstorm, we were able to paddle the shore of Majuro and see beautiful coral and fish below.  It’s great exercise too.

Ralik-Ratak Basketball Invitational

The Lae team after our 1st game victory.  

My favorite thing about Majuro is the love of sport.  No matter what sport you’re playing or where, you’ll always draw a crowd.  But I am now playing in one of the biggest basketball events in the region.  I’m so happy to have been invited to play with the Lae team and we have a really solid squad.  I like our chances to take the title.  Here are a few pictures from our first game and win over Nauru.

Pacific Nations Forum

Each year the nations of the Pacific have a regional conference and this year it was held right here in Majuro.  It was really interesting and educational to be here for that and hear the discussions over climate change from a group of countries that this issue most dearly affects.  Scientists estimate that virtually the entire country of The Marshall Islands will be under water in less than 100 years unless something is reversed in the carbon emissions of the world.  The Forum’s theme for this year was, “Marshalling a response climate change.”  I thought that was rather clever.

Majuro, if nothing else, is definitely a place where Janae, Neyla and I have had some once in a lifetime experiences.  We’re looking forward to more!