Having fun in Majuro

After ordering our new computers and a few other things, we thought it might be nice to head out to one of the other islands in the atoll to swim, snorkel, dive, whatever…basically, stay away from places where we can spend money and go ahead and get our minds off all of our latest setbacks.

There are two islands here that have free moorings.  I would love to tell you what they’re called but everyone calls them something different (and nothing near what they are on the charts) and they’re impossible to spell, so I’ll tell you that they’re only about 6-8 miles away from Majuro and they’re very pretty.  Our friends on Renova went with us and the first few days it did nothing but rain.  We managed to explore the beach for 30 minutes or so in between down pours, but other than that, we didn’t get much done.  But once the clouds parted (briefly and intermittently), we got in a few dives, some good snorkels and even managed to throw in some school every now and then.

Seriously though, the snorkeling was really great.  There aren’t many big animals around (well, none actually), but there are hundreds of fish and some of the best coral I’ve seen since we went diving in the Bahamas 5 years ago. 

The downside is that the beaches here are littered with trash.  Presumably, it washes out from the city with the tide and then ends up on the beaches on the outer islands.  As we sit on a mooring tonight, we actually saw a guy just throw a big bag of trash in to the water.  The winds are light right now so you can see everything just floating around.  I have to say, had it been like this when we first pulled in, I might have voted for the fast track to Fiji.  As it stands, I think this place is making us appreciate things we hadn’t really thought about.  On one hand, I’m totally appreciating the Tuamotus, Society Islands, Marquesas, etc…. On the other hand, everything is really inexpensive here (well, not everything, but the basics are way cheaper than anywhere but American Samoa), and we can get our mail sent to us relatively inexpensive – and any other parts we need to order.  So in reality, there’s pluses and minuses just like anywhere else.  And here, we get a lot of good teaching moments for Jake J.

We found this sign on one of the islands...I didn't know Nebraska
had a Navy.

This is what happens on Savannah when you don't listen.

His first time free from the tether.

Jake watching movies with his new friends.