Daniele Somenzi's Micronesia

Micronesia 2006

21 days with my friend Cirelli Giuseppe. The itinerary is Italy, via Prague to South Korea and on to Guam and Pohnpei in Micronesia. Then, always using Korean Air, back to Korea and down to Auckland with a visit to the North Island. Up again to Korea and a short visit to Beijing for the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. 21 days in all. Right now I'm at the start of this trip in Seoul; in 2 hours we'll fly to Guam. Continuing live. Update: I'm at the moment with my farmer friend, a watermelon grower from Cappella, busy keeping me company and at the same time enjoying his holiday in this remote part of the world. We're currently at Kolonia, the capital of the Micronesian islands in the Pacific, and to be precise on the island of Pohnpei, to the left of Hawaii and to the right of the Philippines.

We escaped and survived the cyclone that devastated the Philippines, bringing death and destruction. We were in Korea at the time and were arriving at Guam to then take the connection to this wonderful island. The aftermath of the cyclone is still present with frequent downpours, but in the breaks of sunshine paradise emerges in all its beauty. Moses was a bit confused about where he should lead his people: not to Israel but here. The boats on this island float on water that looks like air. 30 thousand Micronesian inhabitants have as the island's main event the arrival of the Continental Micronesia flight at the little airport. A daily flight from Hawaii and from Guam on alternate days. The only other flight is the Boeing 727 cargo that carries the tuna caught outside the lagoon on the open sea.

The vegetation here is dominant, bananas, coconuts, tropical plants never seen before and km of mangroves all around the island. From the top of the hill where the hotel managed by an American woman of Cremona origin, The Village, stands, the view of the lagoon is paradise, framed by turquoise and emerald green colours. The local birds, like swallows of the sea with a long tail, and parrots frame the scene. For our part we joined a diving tour. Giuseppe, complete with fins and mask with snorkel, sounding the coral reef, me (Daniele) at 20 metres deep with the instructor and scuba tanks admiring it from other angles; the manta ray that flew over us darkened the ocean depths for a moment. An incredible experience. To be continued.....

From this paradise island of Micronesia we should leave tomorrow with the 13:00 flight, with a stop at the island of Truk. The lagoon seen from above is fantastic, the photos taken from the window are endless. Only a 40-minute stop and then off towards Guam, an American military base famous for the battles against Japan and for the algae of Guam. There we'll have the connection with the Korean Air flight to Seoul