Pros | Must See Destinations

The Latest Quake

December 10, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Earlier this month, hundreds of villagers were forced to seek shelter on their remote Pacific Island home when they were hit with a major earthquake. The island, which is part of the Japanese chain, took the full brunt of a 7.4 quake. The enormous quake also set off the latest in a string of tsunami alert. The quake, which occurred in the early morning hours, forced the citizens of Ogasawara Island to take heed of potentially tsunami strength waves. Five hours later, the warned was downgraded. Luckily no one was reported injured and damage was minimal.

The island of Chichi-shima witnessed a slightly different event. It was here that 120 citizens were evacuated and temporarily brought to higher ground. Many local residents stated that the quake itself was the biggest in their life. Still, the residents consider themselves lucky. Buildings and facilities remained intact, with not a single crack reported.

Like many quakes in the region, the aftershocks and chance of tsunami were the greatest concern to residents. Aftershocks, some as high as 5.6 were reported for several hours after the initial quake. Tsunami strength waves were reported as well.

The Ogasawara Island chain is comprised of 30 or more tropical and subtropical islets. It is located approximately 240 kilometers from Iwo Jima. The islands, which were for a time controlled by the United States after World War II, are part of Japan. It unique geography and topography has created a diverse subculture. The area is the “Galapagos of the Orient” The area may have benefited from the enhanced early warning system that is currently in place.
The area is part of a larger area prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. As recently as 1995, 6400 people were killed in Kobe after a 7.2 quake hit the city. It is because of this quake that the advanced system was developed.

Filed Under: Islands, Pros Tagged With: Iwo Jima, Japan, Kobe, World War II

Fantastic Fish!

November 16, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Get ready to meet two of the luckiest people on the planet: Andrew and Marit Miners are lucky to be alive, and living on a fabulous limestone karst in the Pacific Islands. Their grass-thatched, solar energy and wind powered home, faces atolls that lead to the horizon of turquoise waters and periwinkle skies. Schooling fish pass them by each morning as they commute by row boat, and sometimes a dolphin or two. Are they dead in heaven, sharing a success story of hard work and proper living that leads to paradise? No, the Miners are not dead: they have made their paradise a reality.

By speedboat, the nearest settlement is West Papua, which is four hours across choppy waters. The Misool Eco Resort was the brain child of Andrew, who convinced his wife and forty friends to invest in his dream of a far away resort that would make Bangkok seem as exotic as a Wal-mart. With the funding of dear friends, and the support of his formerly prosperous wife, Andrew moved to remote waters. So remote, in fact, that from Bali it takes two days of constant travel to arrive.

Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, has the highest concentration on the planet of marine bio-diversity. This is a fact recently discovered by scientists, who had been too busy oohing and awwing over the Galapagos Islands to notice anything else.

Wood from fallen trees was used to build the eco-friendly resort, with biological waste-fertilized gardens. There are nine elegant cottages on the water, as well as a diving center and a restaurant. Who could notice the worldly attractions when, from a cottage window, anyone can see reef shark, barracudas, stingrays, octopus, and bumphead parrotfish? This island paradise is worth the two to three day trip in each direction. Memories of pygmy seahorses, scorpion fish, and carpet sharks will warm the hearts of visitors for years after a visit to the resort of Raja Ampat.

Filed Under: General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Galapagos Islands, Pacific Islands, West Papua

What Do You Know About the South Pacific Island of Fiji?

October 28, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

While most consumers can easily identify water that is supposedly from Fiji, very few people know much else about this South Pacific Island nation. Though it is true that Fiji contains pure and delicious, high-end water that is bottled and sold, Fiji is much more than that to savvy businessmen. Tropical and lovely, filled with waterfalls and coated in candy-gold sands, Fiji appears as peaceful and serene as it is distressed and dilapidated.

Military rule has been the law of the land in Fiji for more than four years, now. This lovely little Pacific Island has become the home of terror, slums, and pariah-like qualities that make its mishaps seem untouchable. Though the royal family of England is still beloved by Fiji citizens, the land has been suspended from its membership in the Commonwealth. This humiliating punishment is shocking for people who understand what the Commonwealth is to its people.

Voreqe Bainimarama, a military commander who is also considered a mastermind, toppled the ruling government back in 2006 under the promise of freedom from corruption, clean streets, and an end to poverty. Now unpopular and even shunned by the Commonwealth and Fiji’s traditional allies, Bainimarama is looking elsewhere for friendship. Countries in Asia, in particular China, have become interested in what Fiji has to offer. Bainimarama called leaders from Beijing who bailed him out of debt recently, “visionaries.”

Only for those in the dark does this come as a surprise, as the Red Dragon has been gathering friends in most countries that dislike the power-hold of the West. From Burma to Zimbabwe, Sudan to Cuba, China seems to enjoy the company of any nation that’s on the outskirts of Western approval. For Fiji, this may mean much needed human services and funding, but the long term affects could prove destabilizing for a once-peaceful Pacific Island.

Filed Under: Attractions, Cons, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, Pacific Island

Tahiti is More than Macadamias

October 27, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Though Tahiti is widely known and respected for its production of macadamia nuts, it is so much more than that! With French Polynesian industry, and a quaint accent of tiki nonsense, tourists to Tahiti in the Pacific Islands are basked in luscious, tropical gardens, sun-warmed fruits, and crystalline waters. The misty, mysterious peaks of the mountains on Tahiti are reminiscent of all of the landscapes in the Pacific Islands: fabulous. Visitors rarely have complaints, because the land is so perfect, that even if a hotel room is small or a meal is cold, no one has the patience to get angry.

Papeete’s wonderful Mount Orohena is a classic for visitors to the Pacific Islands. Its 2,241 metre peak is sought by many hikers, but rarely flagged, due to the extreme nature of the high altitudes. Other, less adventurous (and more sane) visitors, find themselves content to photograph Mount Orohena from their luxury accommodations in Papeete, rather than trying to touch the clouds. Like the very mountain, the locals are tall and well-built. A visitor gets the sense that these are a people who are relaxed and well-adjusted, yet hard working and complex. Talking to locals is always a treat, whether on hiking trails, or during shopping jaunts.

Large, smooth pools await sweating tourists at each of the wonderful resorts in the Tahitian Pacific Islands. From the famous infinity pool at Manava, to the un-named but excellent pools in other ritzy resorts, there are waters that are warm and inviting during every season of the year. For ocean swimmers, scuba, snorkel, and surfing lessons are available along the coast for very low prices. Although, while taking in so much beauty, you may find yourself unable to focus on a tedious task like learning scuba rules. Take in the surrounding fantasy life, and enjoy your time in the Pacific Islands!

Filed Under: Attractions, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: French Polynesia, Manava, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Papeete, Tahiti, Trail, Travel and Tourism

Pacific Islands Paradise?

October 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

While the Pacific Islands are a lovely, tropical paradise in the minds of most people, they are a place that deserves more consideration than that. With the poverty levels as high on the Pacific Islands as in other third world countries, and regions of the world, it is important to consider the real cost of a vacation to the Pacific Islands.

When you travel to and from the Pacific Islands, a substantial amount of fuel is burnt in the process. This carbon footprint was once considered a meaningless trace of smoke and haze in the sky, but is now acknowledged as a growing problem. In addition to the literal and figurative cost of fuel, travelers need to consider their spending choices. In a time when most people are juggling net worth with debt, and many different kinds of debt, too, it seems frivolous to spend thousands of dollars on a paradise vacation. Instead of traveling abroad for holidays, people could take luxurious vacations to nearby destinations, and save the planet from the harmful effects of pollution.

Furthermore, traveling to the Pacific Islands only provides a few weeks (at the outside estimate) of pleasure and fun, whereas the cost could take months or even a year to accrue. With that cash, you could found your own city garden, and grow produce that would last all summer. Or, you could finally take a dent out of your college loans. With so many good ideas of ways to invest your hard earned money into yourself, it’s surprising that so many people choose instead to invest in the far away Pacific Islands for entertainment purposes.

With breathtaking landscapes, turquoise waters, and charming, friendly locals, it’s easy to understand the attraction of the Pacific Islands. Each island is its own charming world, with interesting things to discover and cultural activities. But, these same things can be found a lot closer to home, if a person is being conscientious.

Filed Under: Attractions, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Cook Islands, Environment, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Oceania, Pacific Island, Travel, Travel and Tourism

The Philippines: Paradise on the Cheap

October 19, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

If you have ever thought about taking a vacation into the Pacific (without just strapping on a pair of flippers and hoping for the best), you usually have to take a moment and collect your wits after you realize how expensive it usually is. Obviously, if you want to go somewhere such a Hawaii, you are going to have to be prepared for a long flight (even from the coast), and then to pay extravagant prices for anything you might want once you are on the island. This is because, obviously, there are only so many things which can be produced on a small group of islands. While Hawaii is rich, it is so primarily because they charge a premium for the weather.

On the other side of the coin is an island nation known as the Philippines (or as the natives spell it, the Filippines). The vibe in the Filippines isn’t quite the same as Caribbean holidays, but it’s also not the same vibe as Hawaii, either. For one thing, the Filippines has not gotten to be a major tourist destination. They are just a country that has laws which keep it in a little behind the times. Major corporations often do not want to work there, because of their laws.

Not only are there several major cities in the Filippines, such as Cebu (the oldest city there) and Manila (the capital), but there is a lot of room for American dollars. Since most people in the country live on around $2,500 per year, you can live extremely well for as long as you want to stay for a very reasonable amount of money. While you won’t be able to buy a place and live there (because foreigners are forbidden from doing so), you can have a blast on the beach. With the friendly people and cheap digs, it’s a great and inexpensive vacation.

Filed Under: Attractions, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Asia, Caribbean, Cebu, Hawaii, Island country, Manila, Philippines, Travel and Tourism

Pacific Islands Perfection: The Republic of Palau

October 18, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

As a Western traveler who’s been to countless destination vacations, a person experiences a lot of land that has been corrupted by the tourist industry. All of those endless knick-knack souvenir shops, all hawking their gaudy and redundant wares, really put a damper on the beauty of landscapes that were once effortlessly fantastic. Finding a gem that hasn’t been destroyed for capitalistic gains is a treasure of unspeakable value, and sharing it, well, isn’t easy!

Behold, the newest destination vacation for people who want a unique experience and rich cultural heritage: just east of the Philippines, this awesome destination is the Republic of Palau. A collection of limestone islands, placed willy-nilly across the Pacific Islands, counts more than 250 large. This strip of island-speckled ocean is a vision from helicopters, and from small yachts. The easy comparison that has been made is between The Republic of Palau and a Bali of 30 years back. Though this is an apt comparison, most people don’t know how lovely Bali used to be, and automatically think of present day, used-up, Bali.

From Brisbane, tourists can now get to The Republic of Palau in just under six hours, rather than the previous best of 24 hours by boat and plane. Though it takes effort to get there and home, travelers who make it to the Pacific Islands of the Republic of Palau never complain about the trek!

Called Eden by some, the Republic of Palau is not interested in sharing this slice of paradise with outsiders. Though the locals are friendly, and the accommodations are posh, news and journalism in the Pacific Islands has implied on various occasions that the Republic of Palau wants as little notice as possible from the world. They want to keep their pristine treasure private, just as you will be inclined to do when you experience it!

Filed Under: Cons, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Asia, Bali, Brisbane, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Palau, Palau Republic, Philippines

How Dead Mice Dropped from Helicopters Save the Pacific Island of Guam

September 17, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

After reading the headline, you may be asking yourself, “how can dead mice better serve my country?” Unfortunately, unless you live on the Pacific Island of Guam, it’s unlikely that you need dead mice to serve your nation. Although, if you live in a brown tree snake inhabited area, this article could save you life.

Dead mice, filled as full as possible with acetaminophen, have been dropped from helicopters into the natural habitats of the brown tree snake. These mice corpses, once lifeless and useless, have become miracles for the people of the Pacific Island of Guam, who have feared the brown tree snakes growing population.

A mouse corpse is taken, filled with 80 milligrams of Tylenol’s generic counterpart, and shipped from the US Department of Agriculture to the Naval Base of Guam in this bizarre and controversial attempt to re-stabilize the forest lands. The lethal serpents have been creeping and crawling through forest canopies, into homes, and out of holes on Guam for long enough, the citizens have said. Scientists, in early attempts to rid the land of brown tree snakes, discovered that acetaminophen is fatal for snakes, but couldn’t figure out how to get forest snakes to ingest their poison. Scientists discovered that dead mice, filled with medicine, dropped from helicopters with streamers that are meant to latch onto tree branches, may be the answer to islander prayers.

The ecological horror that is a brown tree snake has been kept contained on Guam by means of airport traps and port traps. Although the USDA claims traps on Guam are the most effective on the planet, they have yet to prove successful in the case of brown tree snakes. With a recorded density of 20 lethal snakes per acre, the Pacific Island of Guam boasts the most snake-dense land on the planet.

Filed Under: Cons, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Brown tree snake, Guam, Tylenol, United States Department of Agriculture

Reclaiming the Voices of Pacific Island Women

September 14, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Awarded the Adele Mellen Prize for their Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship in their co-authored piece “Narratives and Images of Pacific Island Women,” four Brigham Young University faculty members have proven their insightful-ness. Rose Ram, the Outreach Librarian, Debbie Hippolite Wright, the VP for Student Development, Marie Christensen, and Kathleen Ward, an emeritus professor, worked together in order to create this wonderful collaboration of spirit and profound insight into the daily lives of Pacific Island women.

A second and third part will be added to the compilation, interviewing subjects from the Pacific Islands who are now LDS members, and then Pacific Island women who life in tiny Diasporas, away from home. For all three of the puzzle pieces, student researchers, storytellers, and the four authors worked together in collaboration. In addition to all of the cooks in the proverbial kitchen, the interview subjects are also involved as editors of their own manuscript. In this way, the authors state, it is easier to keep a true voice.

The idea spun-off from a classroom project that Hippolite Wright hosted in her Multicultural Women’s Studies class. After students gathered information about their own matrilineal families, they were inspired to look outside, into the world. They aim to make the project intellectual and spiritual, so that it may transport the reader to other lifestyles and lives. One of the women interviewed in Papa New Guinea, in the Pacific Islands region, stated, “We’re all here to help each other along the path of life.” The authors agree, that by telling these rich stories of far distant cultures, a kinship is spun that will unite women from Diasporas and big cities, large churches and tribal spiritual circles.

With their stories and intellectually driven prose, this collaboration is creating a patchwork quilt of Pacific Islands culture and life. The Pacific Islands have benefited from this history capsule of sorts, too, as they now have accurate logs of their lives to pass to their children.

Filed Under: General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Brigham Young University, Pacific Island, Women's studies

Experience Platonic Beauty in the Pacific Islands

September 12, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Though children dream of visiting the North Pole to see Santa’s workshop, adults know that cold weather defeats the gaiety of presents and hot cider. A Pacific Island getaway to the Marshall Islands is the adult fantasy of perfection: someplace unforgettable, warm, serene, and off the grid. With crystalline waters so pure that fish can be seen 40 feet below the surface, and warm breezes that leave visitors balmy not burnt, what more could anyone want than a trip to the Pacific Islands?

In the capital of the Marshall Islands Republic in the Pacific Islands, there are more than 50 islands and islets to visit and explore. Each one is as pristine as the others, so you can feel like a movie star on your own private islet, and splurge on a fantastic catered picnic that your beloved would never forget. Back in traditional times, the island clans claimed each island and islet off of the capital, Majuro’s, shores. Each tiny islet would serve a distinct purpose for the clans people. The Marshallese of Majuro knew how to get out of town and explore the fruit-heavy trees! Historic canoes can still be found, as well as freshly carved ones.

The people on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Islands have a different clock: the tides tell the locals when to wake and when to fish, what weather is coming, and how windy the day may be. From regal and majestic accommodations, to the ecologically friendly huts, there is a place for every kind of tourist to feel at home in the Majuro area.

Continental Airlines, as well as a few others, operate nonstop flights from Honolulu to Majuro. Though the time difference is +22 hours, the flight is short and the oceans below are splendid. People who love Majuro will never tell you about this exciting Pacific Islands retreat, because they want to keep it for themselves.

Filed Under: Attractions, General, Islands, Pros Tagged With: Majuro, Marshall Islands, Pacific Island