Displaced Beachbums

I probably could have done without spending two nights in Majuro. It’s a dirty, overpopulated, litter-ridden island. Litter is absolutely every where you look and there are plenty of stray dogs who seemed much worse off than the ones in either Pohnpei or Kosrae.

We saw the beautiful atoll of Arno as we flew over and tried to get out of the capital city for the day. Unfortunately, we attempted to take a boat over to Arno but, it was Tuesday,and one boat operator only went there on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. Another boat operator just said “the boat is broke.”

We ended up getting a tour of the copra (coconut) factory which was surprisingly interesting. Who knew there were so many uses for coconut even for fueling their trucks. They also ship coconut “meal” to Australia for their cows.

One of the most beautiful beaches on Majuro is “Laura beach”, which is located on the far end of the island. It was a 1 hour drive to Laura beach from our hotel and well worth the drive.

The highest point on the island is a whopping 20 feet: see photo below:

Am I glad we stayed-over for two nights? Yes! At least I got to meet a few locals and I can form my own opinion about the place.

It’s in need of a serious overhaul. All I kept thinking was the potential this place has, but it’s in such bad shape both politically and economically. One of the more serious problems is the population of the Marshall Islands is that over 50% of the people are under, yes, UNDER the age of 15.

I could see pockets of areas which were doing well but for the most part it was a sad place to visit. When we were waiting at the airport for the flight to Honolulu, all I could think of was “If this plane is delayed and we have to stay another night here, I think I’ll cry.” That’s how much I was ready to leave.