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YAP, a host to a friendly, hospitable people!

YAP, a host to a friendly, hospitable people!

2021 - Apr - 7 | , , ,

Article by: Kate Mulalap ( first published on year 2000 ).

Yap is a wonderful tropical island. It is surrounded by lucious, green coconut trees and sandy beaches. The beaches are privately owned, and you may rent one for a low price. These beaches are exclusive and perfect for birthday parties (this from past experience) or any other parties.

Yap’s capital is Colonia, where all the teenagers go to hang out after school. During summer, you will find the place flooded with teenagers and sometimes an elderly couple going to and fro in their journey to buy canned food. There is a small “mall” called YCA (short for Yap Cooperative Association) which attracts people from all over the island, like bees are to honey.

There are ten major municpalities on Yap. In these, ten municpalities throughout the island, you may find well tended gardens as well as taro patches and clean roads throughout the island. Sometimes bikers are a common site, which would usually be teenagers who view their bikes as a way to get away from it all.

Yap is a host to a friendly, hospitable people. There will be smiles all around and the view from any high spot is breathtaking. The ocean water is just the right temperature and many children find that they like to romp with the waves of a passing motorboat. All in all, Yap is a great place for a vacation or a permanent home and you will always feel welcomed.

Tags: coconut trees, Colonia, hospitable people, Kate Mulalap, sandy beaches, small islands, sunshine, tropical islands, Yap, Yap Cooperative Association

POHNPEI

2021 - Apr - 2 | , ,

Article by: Kate Mulalap ( first published on year 2002 ).

Pohnpei…so beautiful and distinguished. I know that most of my descriptions center somewhere around beautiful, but that’s just the truth the way a seventeen-year old sees it. Pohnpei is the proud owner of one of the most beautiful habitats to an assortment of wildlife. Pohnpei is the biggest island in the Federated States of Micronesia and has breathtaking waterfalls. It also has mountain streams to shame Colorado, hidden pools and an assortment of flora to shame Hawaii.

There are eleven political municipalities, six of which are Sokehs, Nett, Kitti, Madolenihmw, U, and Kolonia. Kolonia is the capital of Pohnpei. Pohnpei has been referred to as “The Garden Island,” and to no surprise. Lush vegetation covers the whole island as well as tropical forests as well as the springs and waterfalls previously mentioned.

A popular spectacle would be the Nan Madol. It was constructed around five hundred A.D. and some of the buildings have been dated back as recently as 1,500 A.D. The best way to access Nan Madol would be by boat, because it is difficult to see all of it from one point. Many trips are also advisable, for Nan Madol is gigantic! This would be well worth it for I have never met someone who regretted his or her decision to go visit this ancient ruin.

If it’s beaches you want, you should visit the atolls! Magnificent beaches they are. Mangrove swamps cover most of Pohnpei’s shoreline, but a few artificial beaches have been created. If you have an exotic taste in foods, visit Pohnpei, for the pepper is regarded as the finest in the world. Pohnpei is well worth the visit, so I encourage you to visit, if not only for a few days. It will be well worth the effort!

Tags: Kate Mulalap
CHUUK

CHUUK

2021 - Mar - 27 | , ,

Article by: Kate Mulalap ( first published on year 2002 ).

Chuuk is a very beautiful, friendly place, and I know this from past experience. I have a family member who went there to school. Like Yap, Chuuk is a diver’s paradise. It’s pristine and unique waters are a treat to anyone who dives for a profession or for someone who just likes to swim and snorkel and play in the waters. Chuuk has a big lagoon surrounding its many islands and atolls. Even up to today, it is called “Truk Lagoon.” It is within this lagoon that ruins or a hundred or more WWII Japanese vessels and planes can be found.

On Weno, the main island, there used to be a Japanese lighthouse and a Japanese communications center. The Japanese communications center is now known as Xavier High School. A school of high prestige, Xavier High School is one of the schools in Micronesia that many favor. Teenagers come from all over Micronesia just to attend school there, from as far away as the Marshall Islands, to as close as Chuuk’s own inhabitants, which is to be expected. I myself regret that I have not attended that school, for everyone is closely united, and everyone knows almost everything about the other, something that might at times become inconvenient.

Chuuk has many little islands here and there and they are all perfect for boating or swimming. There are even these little islands, just tiny little ones, made up of only sand and are not even a mile across. Most of these the common tourist would find fascinating. Just coming in, the plane will dare a landing, that is, the landing strip is just beside the ocean and gives you the impression that you are going to land in the ocean. But in my opinion, better in the ocean than on land. A weak joke there perhaps. Chuukese people are very friendly, and very curious I might add. Chuuk is definitely one of the homier places I have visited.

Tags: Kate Mulalap, Scuba diving, snorkeling
KOSRAE

KOSRAE

2021 - Mar - 22 | , ,

Article by: Kate Mulalap ( first published on year 2002 ).

Like most Micronesian islands, and I hope I am not being too immodest, Kosrae is very beautiful.  Kosrae’s reef flats that surround the island are said to be the most pristine in the whole world.  I myself have not been to Kosrae, but many that have been there tell me that their experience was worth everything they invested in it.  There are several sandy beaches among the mangrove trees and these are exquisite.

Kosrae is made up of seventy percent of mountains.  This means that most of the population lives in coastal villages, and indeed there are five of such villages.  Hoping that I am not mistaken, these five villages are: Tafunsak, Walung, Utwe, Malem, and Tofol.  There is also a little island right beside the big main one and the largest village is on this one, named Lelu (the island is the one named Lelu).  There are ruins there, the Lelu Ruins.  This island is connected to the main one by a seven hundred thirty-meter long causeway.

 This taken from another source “the surrounding reef boasts some of the most amazing marine life and barracuda diving in the world.”  If this is anything close to what the real thing, you can expect to see me on the first plane to Kosrae.  There are snorkeling and diving tours available and like Chuuk, there are several Japanese ships as well as several American planes lying about in Lelu harbor.  Also, it is believed that there is buried treasure somewhere in Utwe harbor.  They say that the best advice is to hire a car, drive to different villages, and stop at some of the seriously enticing beaches for a swim.   The villagers are very friendly and very hospitable, but a warning, be sure you ask around before you go swimming, you wouldn’t want to offend anyone!

Tags: American planes, barracuda diving, causeway, Chuuk, coastal villages, diving, island, Japanese ships, Kate Mulalap, Kosrae, Lelu, Lelu harbor, Lelu Ruins, Malem, mangrove trees, mountains, sandy beaches, snorkeling, Tafunsak, Tofol, Utwe, Utwe harbor, Walung

The Federated States of Micronesia

2021 - Mar - 17 | , ,

( first published on year 1998 ).

The Federated States of Micronesia is a group of self-governing islands within the geographical area of Micronesia. The four states–Kosrae, Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), Chuuk (formerly Truk), and Yap were formerly part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and will become an independent nation by the year 2000. The Marshall Islands will constitute another nation while the Marianas, which include Guam, Saipan and Tinian, will remain United States territories. 

Tags: Kate Mulalap
Some interesting facts about Micronesia

Some interesting facts about Micronesia

2021 - Mar - 12 | 

[ Featured image by : Hobe / Holger Behr, Public domain, via Wikimedia Common. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Map_of_Micronesia_Oceania.png ]

( first published on year 1998 ).

  • Climate:
    Tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands;  
    located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasional severe damage. 
  • Terrain: Islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk.  
  • Natural resources: Forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals.
  • Weather to watch for: Subject to typhoons from June to December.
  • Details: Four major island, totaling 607 islands.
  • Nationality: Micronesian(s); Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese.
  • Ethnic divisions: Nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups.
  • Religions: Predominantly Christian, divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant; other churches include Assembly of God, Jehovah’s. Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist, Latter-Day Saints, and the Baha’i Faith.
  • Languages: English is the official and common language; most indigenous languages fall within the Austronesian language family, the exceptions are the Polynesian languages; major indigenous languages are Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, and Kosrean.
Tags: facts about Micronesia, Kate Mulalap, Languages of Micronesia, Micronesia Climate
Welcome to Yap – Micronesia

Welcome to Yap – Micronesia

2021 - Mar - 7 | , , , , , , , 

[ Featured image source: By Girart de Roussillon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https-//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78876973 ]

( first published on year 2011 ).

Yap is famous for its clear waters and marine life which range from dolphins to schools of tuna fish. It is one of the most traditional places in FSM and it still uses giant stone money as their currency. The people of Yap are really friendly to visitors who are respectful and appreciative towards them. Visitors can do stuff like cycling, fishing and hiking too. Yap is also famous for its enormous stone-money bank.

Tags: clear waters, cycling, dolphins, fishing, friendly, FSM, hiking, Kate Mulalap, marine life, tuna fish
History of Micronesia

History of Micronesia

2021 - Feb - 5 | 

[ featured Photo by : Marek Okon - https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1553603227-1c66fc07ffd9?ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=967&q=80 ]

( first published on year 1998 ).

Ferdinand Magellan landed on Guam in 1521, beginning two centuries of Spanish domination in Micronesia. Germany purchased the islands from Spain in 1898.  

The Japanese occupied Micronesia in 1914 and in 1920 received the islands as a League of Nations mandate. U.S. forces captured the islands during World War II and, in 1947 they became part of the U.S. Trust Territory. In 1979 the islands became self-governing as the Federated States of Micronesia. In 1986 the  
Micronesian islands assumed free-association status with the U.S. and will become independent nations by the year 2000. 

Tags: Federated States of Micronesia, Ferdinand Magellan, Germany purchased the islands, Japanese occupied Micronesia, Kate Mulalap, Spanish domination in Micronesia
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