02.16.15 Travel is always an adventure

We were waiting for our flight in Pohnpei and the arrival time kept changing by an hour or so every hour. Finally they cancelled the flight to Chuuck/Guam as the plane had mechanical problems and was still in the Marshall Islands. So back to the hotel amidst rumors that the flight was leaving at 2 or 3:30 AM. Fortunately, the next time estimate called to the hotels was 10:30, which then became 12:30 as the customs personnel were two hours late and thus delaying the flight. Long story short, that delay ended up stranding us in Chuuk as the shift was over for the pilot and crew. So we all sat at the airport in Chuuk until 4 AM when we finally left for Guam. That meant I also missed my connection to Yap. We had to wait for 5 hours in Guam before they could arrange for a hotel to take us going to Yap. So it has really been quite the adventure flying in a region served by one airline - a monopoly with no competition whatsoever. High prices and low services. Then the Outrigger hotel refused to allow us an early check in so we had five more hours before we could get a shower and freshen up. I spent most of the time walking along the streets taking pictures until I was about ready to fall over from exhaustion.


Pohnpei cat at the Coco Marina restaurant. There were several that were fed, as well as one dog.
Outdoor restuarants do attract the animals.

White hibiscus.

A friend of mine - Rodney, is going to get this little cat some attention when he gets back to Pohnpei. Someone put a collar on the cat - perhaps when it was a kitten - and it is so tight it is compresing the trachea. The cat is too skittish for me to hold him and cut it so Rodney will take it to the vet or get some friends to  help him.

Sunset on the tarmac.

Airport security. And generally nice guy.

Ok, so we had fun while we waited for the pilots and flight attendants to get the required rest so we could head to Guam. Loren is a lawyer, Bill is with the coast guard on a new assignment in Guam. And yes, we took the wheelchairs up to the tarmac where we watched the sunset, ate out sandwiches for dinner and generally entertained the security guys. We had a very good time. What else was there to do?

Holding up the plane in Chuuk.

Two Army guys taking on a new assignment in Guam. This is at the Chuuk airport.

Nighttime shot of our plane.

Private plane stopped for refueling in Pohnpei..

Cows at the Guam airport.

Beautiful day for a walk along the beach. Took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and had a lovely walk. Just got a little wet so went to buy a pair of "long" shorts (appropriate for Yap) and had a really nice sunset walk along the beach.

The old wooden Indian. Yes, there is one in Guam!

Pretty flowering trees.

The beginning of a mermaid!

 

View from my hotel room. Not bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Paddle boarder at sunset.

Racing outriggers. These men and women are really excellent athletes. The races cover a long distance in a very short amount of time.

Sunset in Guam.

 

A Chapel along the shore in Guam.