From the Rock 7-13 to 7-18

It started from the rock. Sunday night Alfonso and I went down to the market (Sakau bar) to drink from the rock. This is the term used when the Sakau is pounded squeezed and drank fresh. At other bars you buy bottles of Sakau at this market you pay six dollars a person and it is all you can drink. The seating is outside under a tin roofed hut. A server comes around to the tables with a coconut filled with Sakau and everyone drinks from it. When it is empty he returns to the stones to refill and make another round to the tables. Alfonso and I drank here for a while until we called a taxi to return to the apartment where we ate and then prepared for the following day. This brings up my next point. Contrary to popular belief I am not living in a tree, thats only during the week when we are in the jungle. So most of the time I am living in a tree because we have spent more time in the jungle then in town or our apartment. This past trek in the jungle was relatively relaxing although we did get a lot of work done.
I thought I might take this opportunity to give everyone some insight into camping and living in the jungle. It definitely has its ups and downs, but there are some things you learn along the way that can make your stay more comfortable. One of the best things about the jungle is that you always know right before it is going to rain. This is because you can hear it coming. At first the rain sounds like a breeze blowing through the trees or a stream flowing across rocks. However, you soon realize that its not windy and that you did not hear a stream before. Furthermore, the noise is getting louder and louder until its right on top of you. Sometimes, it pours and sometimes its just a drizzle, but it comes quick and depending on how long it lasts is usually gone before you realize it has past. When it does rain the jungle also provides umbrellas the large leaves from the banana tree make a great umbrella and they can simply be discard when it stops. However, there really is not much of a point in trying to stay dry you are going to get wet and there is nothing you can really do about it. Due to all the rain there is there is also a lot of mud in the jungle. Some of the mud looks a lot like ground and you do not realize it until half your leg is berried in mud. Your legs will get muddy and it is very persistent mud that does not like coming off once it has dried on. Really the mud is the most annoying thing about the jungle because it makes it impossible to stay clean, and sleeping muddy just sucks. The jungle also provides some very useful building materials.
Palm fronds are great for building huts and houses when we have too. They can also be used to make a nice dry place to sit and eat lunch. the bark from the hibiscus tree is not only good for squeezing Sakau but it makes great rope. The best part is that you do not have to carry heavy rope up with you when you get o the site you can just strip some hibiscus of its bark and use it. Large ferns make a great bedding to lay down in the hut and they are also quite comfortable and warm. Some plants provide a flower that can be squeezed and used as a shampoo. These things can make the jungle quite hospitable when implemented correctly. They have definitely improved our stays in the jungle.
We managed to get a lot of work done when we were in the jungle this trek. We completed 12 transects. This time we were again looking at the impact of the Sakau clearings. We did 3 above clearings, 3 on abandoned clearings, 3 on present farms, 3 below clearings. It was a lot of work and we managed to finish them all. However, usually by the end of the day our brains were pretty fried. However, when we finished we were all very relived. I had some question asked about my previous blog from my Aunt Susan, who can ask question just as fast in emails as she can in person. I would like to take the opportunity to answer them.
She asked why the spider researchers sprayed the webs with corn starch. They do this because it makes the webs more visible and more easily photographed. Many spider species can be identified by the type of web they make so this is why they photographed the web. She also asked about the Sakau crop and what kind of money it yields. Sakau is a huge cash crop here and I do not believe that they export it. One of the major farmers recently bought a truck in Guam he payed 30,000 USD in cash for it. She also asked if it would be hard to get them to abandon this crop. The program here is not trying to get people to abandon the crop. It is just encouraging them to grow low and not in the upland forest. This is because the clearings in the upland forest are affecting the watershed, and increasing soil erosion. That covers all of Aunt Susans questions for now if I know her there will probably be more. Lets get back to our past trek in the jungle.
The last night there we ran into some Sakau farmers and we ended up spending the night with them in a hut. We also drank some Sakau with them. This was nice and it was a nice ending to our time in the jungle and it also makes sleeping that much better. I even got the opportunity to pound some Sakau. You have to clean it, pound, squeeze it before you can drink it. Sakau Tubers
Pound ItPull HibiscusPack Sakau into the Hibiscus
Roll ItSqueeze it and enjoy
The next day we woke up and finished our last transect and then hiked down to Kitti. It was an relatively easy hike as jungle hikes go and it was not that long. When we got down we had lunch at Emos's and then hung out it Kitti. We went down to the river to go for a swim. Before we jumped in about four eels swam by the biggest one was about 4 feet. After we saw them we all jumped in the water which was most refreshing. After our swim it was time to celebrate.
It ended from the rock. After our swim we decided to wait a little to drink Sakau. We did not realize that someone was leaving so the village was also having a celebration. We pounded Sakau and the chief stood and distributed the cups. It was very interesting to drink Sakau in a traditional setting with the chief overseeing the activities. The first cups always go to the highest ranking people and then after that they just go around. Everyone was enjoying themselves and we all drank and eat to our hearts desire. The locals cooked whole pig in a ohm (underground oven), and that was distributed in the same manner as the Sakau by the chief. It was a very humbling experience to participate in. The people here are still very much in touch with their culture and they take drinking very seriously. When you are drinking Sakau in a setting like this it is almost like traveling back in time. You are constantly thinking that this is has this has been done since people first settled this Island. At one point a older gentleman got up to give a speech although I couldn't understand a word he was saying it sounding like he was saying some pretty insightful stuff so I listened. Thats another thing although everyone speaks English to some degree they usually speak Pohnpeian. Which I understand very little of. However, this does not really bother me everyone is very nice and I can usually get the gist of what they are trying to communicate. After eating and drinking we returned to the apartment to retire. The culture here is very interesting and beautiful although similar in some ways to ours and other Micronesian cultures it is very unique.
There are some things here that I do not think that I will ever get used to. It is always shocking to see a 10 year old wielding a Machete. However, this is just part of their culture. My aunt also asked how people keep track of the kids when they are drinking Sakau. The little ones sit in parents lap the others usually run around. They do not really keep track of them I guess. The parents just let the kids learn the hard way and the older siblings do a lot of the watching. However, this allows the children to grow up very strong and they become very experienced, and understand their culture well. Most people here have large families and everyone knows everyone so it creates a large close nit community. Wayne and I are always welcomed and treated as if we are family at many of the places we go. The people are always interesting and many of them are very interested to why we are here and what we are doing. They always respect you more when they find out you are spending 4 days a week in the jungle are are very curious to what you are doing there.
I have been here almost a month and although I understand more then when I came here but I still have so much to learn. It is hard to believe that I will be leaving soon and I will definitely be sad to go. Next week we are going up the same way we went up the first week. I am excited about this because I will be able to see how my hiking skills have improved. Other than that I am hoping to go diving this weekend. I will probably go drink Sakau at market tonight with some friends, but other than that I will just be relaxing this weekend. Hope you all enjoy reading my blog and I will talk to everyone soon. If you have any question just leave a comment. Also just leave a comment with your name and a hello I am curious to see who is reading.

Fishing 7-12

Yea so we went fishing yesterday it was pretty awesome. Despite some engine trouble which delayed us an hour we still managed to make it all the way around the Island. Although, the fishing was a little slow it was nice to be out on the water. We ended up with a catch of 2 barracuda, a needle nose, and a 20lb Wahoo. We lost a couple fish one big fish to a broken lure which was disappointing. We went out with this German guy Conrad he was quite the character the name of his boat is Bavaria and it is a small fishing boat. Again it was a lot of fun and just nice to be out on the water.
We are going out on into the jungle again Monday and will be there till Thursday, so I will be out of contact. I will talk to everyone soon.

Wayne with the catch of the day 20lb Wahoo.

We are not Alone 7-8-08 to 7-11-08

Our trek to the field this time included a hike up to Nanhnlaud the highest point on Pohnpei at 770 meters. The crew would be myself Emos (guide), Ray (guide), Alfonso (intern), Wayne (boss), Calvin (Wayne's host little brother). We left Tuesday starting from the Kitti side of the island and made our way up to a cave at the base at Nahnlaud. I would call it more of a large rock overhang than a cave. This is the base camp for Nahnlaud at 540 meters. Group on the Way up from left Wayne, Calvin, Emos, Me, 2 farmers, Alfonso (in red), and Ray

On our way up we came to a new Sakau clearing about a half acre of cleared forest. The locals had cut down all the small trees with machetes. The trees that were too big to chop with a machete had been stripped of their bark around the perimeter and left to die. Here you could hear the earth crying. However, its cries were not loud like those of a child the jungle was just completely silent. There were no birds, or frogs or living plants just fallen trees and debris lied everywhere. We passed 16 clearings on our way up and down the mountain the new ones were the most heart wrenching. On a more positive note the hike up was relatively easy we were on a trail most of the way it was just long. We spent the night at the cave and planned to hike up to the peak the next day. However, we were surprised by some guests that evening at the cave. Nahnlaud from the sea. Its the Plateau next to the pointy peak in the middle.

Right After we got to the cave and set up camp a Pohnpeian came up. When we asked him what we where doing he said he was a guide for some researchers. These researches were collecting moths and spiders. It all worked out well though because there was plenty of room in the cave and they worked at night while we worked at the day. We were able to share the space in the cave and at Nahnlaud with no fights. It was neat to see how moths and spiders were collected. The moth guy carried up fluorescent lights that he set up against sheets and then captured the moths in plastic bags. The spider people would blast the spider webs with corn starch study and take pictures of the webs and then collect the spiders. While they worked at night I worked on my prawning skills trying to spear prawns in the nearby stream. Although, I got one my aim definitely has room for improvement. The next morning we would hike up to Nahnlaud and start our research.
Now that the USDA is gone we are finally able to work on the plant project. The goal of the Project is eventually to complete a cross section, which will be made up of multiple transects of the entire island that includes all the forests types on the island at various elevations. This includes; dwarf, agro (cultivated) , upland , palm, mangrove, and swamp forests. This would give us a picture of the island and the biodiversity that is present on it. We will also look at the impact of Sakau clearings on biodiversity. It is the cross section that brought us to Nahnlaud. Nahnlaud is the highest point therefore, it was our ceiling so our transects would start at around 770 meters and then work down to 700, 600, 500 and so on. Each transect would be a 10m by 20m rectangle that would be divided into four smaller rectangle. We would measure the diameter of each tree that was larger than 10cm estimate and estimate their height. We would then look at smaller plots and count and measure the smaller species. Its a tough job but someone has to do it. That is our plan and we figured we would start at the top so Nahnlaud was our destination.Cool snail we found just before the peak.

The hike up to Nahnlaud from the cave was not a long hike and their was a trail the whole way however, it was a lot of vertical hiking. When we reached the peak the view was breathtaking we were at the top of Pohnpei. The top of this small world that I have been living in for the past 4 weeks. It was pretty cloudy and at times when clouds rolled by you could not see more than 20 meters off the peak. However, occasionally the wind would clear the sky and you could see all the way to town where we are staying. It seemed so close yet it was so far away. After we enjoyed the view and some Oreos we set up and did our first two transects at 750 meters.Emos and I summiting NahnlaudView from Nahnlaud you can see Colonia where we live small town and Sokehs rock silhouetted in the background.Everyone at the Summit.

After transecting it was time for dinner and some well needed rest. Apparently that night we were visited by a ghost Emos said he had gone looking for it at night and Wayne said he thought something had shook his tarp. I recalled hearing some strange noises at night. The locals say the upland forest is haunted but no one really likes to talk about it so we do not really ask. The next day Thursday it was time for our hike down and on the way we were planning on doing two transects at 700 meters which we completed.
We hiked down the Nett side of the Island. The hike down was long and difficult because we were trail blazing part of the way down. Although, I later found out we only covered 3 miles on the way down from 700 meters to 150 meters (7 total miles for the trek). Like I said earlier jungle miles are slow and difficult. However, traveling down your own trail is very rewarding because we came down through parts of the jungle that most people do not and have not. My jungle hiking skills have improved greatly. I am more confident on my steps and my movement is slightly more graceful. Although, I still travel slowly I am only trying to be safe. My log crossing skills are even getting better as long as I have a walking stick. Fallen trees are used as bridges to cross rock quarries sometimes. The Pohnpeians can cross them at ease but for Menwai they are almost more of an obstacle. Reaching the start of a trail was a relief and it made the hiking much easier.
When we got towards the end of the trail we came across some women enjoying their evening. They offered us some Pohnpeian Apples. Apples here are much smaller but juicer and softer they are delicious especially after a long hike. I enjoyed each bite like it was my last. When we reached the road which starts when the trail ends it was a relief and we slowly ascending heading towards the car. As we went down we passed a few houses. You could here the pounding of Sakau and people just enjoying their evening. A few of them asked us where we were coming from and when you said Nahnlaud they looked at you with a bit of respect. Some Pohnpeians will never make it up there and for a Menwai to do it merits respect.
This last trek was very rewarding and I have become much closer to our guides. We have fun while working and hiking. A good laugh is never far away when we are all together. My time here in Pohnpei is slowly coming to an end. I have about three weeks left which is not that much time. I will be very sad to leave my friends here. However, luckily I am only trading one paradise for another, and one great family for another.
Its Friday here now and we are just finishing up a day at the lab. I just found out that tomorrow we are going fishing as part of a tournament. We will be leaving at 5am and hopefully getting some good fish. Last time they won the tournament with a blue Marline weighing in at 367lbs. I am also looking forward to a day on the water. Well thats all for now I will let everyone know if we catch anything tomorrow.

Weekend 7-4 to 7-6

Sorry about the late posts I have been busy working and what not.

Roseo's House. 7-5
On Saturday night we were invited to Roseo's house to celebrate his twin daughters first birthday. We arrived slightly late because we had to do some work at the lab. When we got there the party was already underway. We brought our party favors soda and ice cream to the highest titled man of the house and paid our respects. All of Roseo's family was there with numbers that could trump the Maehrs (which is not an easy feat). At a Pohnpeian party instead of sitting around drinking booze everyone sits around and drinks Sakau. Although the celebration is similar in someway to our celebrations the mood is quite different because of the mellowing affects of Sakau. Everyone was sitting outside under a large tin roofed hut. There were three Sakau stones which guests were situated around and two men at each stone pounding, poring, and distributing. While the adults drank outside the children played inside similar to our parties. We were treated to a plate of local cuisine when we arrived which included; surgeon fish sashimi (whole), pasta, grilled chicken, and pork ribs. All were delicious however I waited to eat because we were all enjoying Sakau. After a few cups of Sakau we excused ourselves and headed back to the apartment. It was interesting to see how Pohnpeians celebrate the party was similar to our celebration except booze is replaced by Sakau, and the music is the pounding of Sakau. The night was fun and I slept well that night partly because of the Sakau.

Lunch at Emos's 7-6

On Sunday Emos invited to Kitti where he lives to eat lunch. His wife and sister prepared us a plethora of food which included; Taro soup, fried fish, turkey tail, fresh taro chips, and fried plantains. The lunch was delicious and after a short lay down session we headed down to the local Sakau bar.
The Sakau bars become are the local hangouts and congregation centers. People begin to congregate at them at around 4 and stay however long they desire, or they drink to much Sakau and have to wait until they can walk again. Everyone sits around drinking Sakau while the children play in the streets and enjoy ice pops and sodas. Families will bring a Ukalali and play and sing Pohnpeian songs. The social scene is quite exciting and everyone enjoys themselves as they throw back cup after cup of Sakau. I did quite a bit of drinking because I was responsible for representing the Menwai (white people or foreigners not an offensive term). Wayne our driver was trying to take it easy and Sayuri (our friend from upstairs) could not handle the taste. Therefore, it was up to me to keep us from looking bad. After we finished two big gulps of Sakau between the group we were off. I was quite curious where they got these big gulps being that I have not seen a 7-11 on this Island. We gave Emos and his Wife a ride and dropped them off at another Sakau bar near there house where they said we had to have one more cup. At this point I was pretty Sakaued and I knew that one cup did not mean one cup because I would have to drink Waynes cup and Sayuri's cup as well. Furthermore, one cup never means one cup especially when Emos says it. So, after three and a half cups of Sakau I bought a beer from the store and we got in the car and drove back to our apartment.
On the way back we stopped at the College of Micronesia (COM or the lab) because there was a beautiful sunset and we wanted to take some pictures. I was quite worried that when I stepped out of the car I was going to collapse because of Sakau legs. However, although my legs were wobbly I was able to walk to take some pictures. After our picture taking we went back to the apartment to relax. Wayne and I decided to go out to get something to eat although I was not that hungry I knew I had to eat. The locals say you should always eat after you drink Sakau because it helps prevent a hangover the next morning. We went out to Joy a restaurant slash hotel where I had some Udon. When we got back to the apartment I was quite tired and pretty Sakaued. I crawled into bed and passed out quite easily.
Its Monday here now. Surprisingly I felt pretty good this morning and even better after a cup of coffee. I am looking forward to the week ahead we are planning on hiking to the highest point on the Island which should be challenging, rewarding, and of course fun. I will talk to everyone before I leave.

Sakau it to me

6/26

Nan Modol

This Sunday we visited Nan Madol some historic ruins on Pohnpei. These structures were built by the first settlers of Pohnpei and was the first religious and political center on the Island. They were made out of massive basalt stones piles to form large rectangular buildings. The walls in some places were 10-15 meters in height and the stones were huge. Similar to the Pyramids the mystery of how these stones were put in place is still in question. The stones had to be moved from quarries and then lifted into place with no cranes or mechanized equipment. The structure is still impressive to this day. Archaeologists date the construction, building, and use of Nan Modol from 500 A.D to the mid 1500's. The ruins were quite breathtaking and really made you think. Mostly just how did these people manage to build this. There was even a Sakau stone which they used to pound Sakau. This is part of the reason Sakau is such a spiritual and ritual experience because it has been part of Pohnpeian culture for so long. There are many myths and legends that surround Nan Madol some say it was modeled after an underwater city that lies offshore. The locals believe that two sharks guard this city to stop people from visiting it. Wayne said he had an Australian friend that tried to dive it, and two hammerhead sharks scared them off. The smaller of the two approached them and brushed up against the diver cutting his wet suit. Perhaps there is some truth to the locals superstitions and legends it was enough to keep me out of the water there. The visit to Nan Modol was very interesting and brought me closer to Pohnpeian culture it is a very impressive structure and a humbling experience.

Sayuri at the base of the largest wall of Nan Madol

Field 6/27 to 6/23

Compared to our first trek into the field this trek was like a walk in the park. For one we were not bush-waking through dense jungle. We still followed the same schedule hiking up to the site on Monday spending two days at the first site sampling upper and lower parts of the same stream. Wednesday we hiked to the second site did our work there and Thursday we came down. This time we hiked to the Sakau farms and we were looking at the stream biodiversity there. We still hiked up to around 500 meters and it was very sad to see the impact the farms have had. The locals simply clear out the forest around the stream and then plant it. We are trying to determine what kind of impact this has on the streams and the surrounding plant biodiversity. This is why we look at upper sites that are not farmed as well as farmed sites so we can then compare them. We look at everything from the critters in the streams to the nutrients in the water. The jungle was much less dense and there were trails all the way to our sites. We were also rewarded with some breathtaking vistas of the Pacific on our way up. At our camp there was even a hut and latrines we were able to use. This was really nice. Even our meals improved.

The first night there we had BBQ turkey tail and Turkey tail Ramen. These were both delicious mostly because they were hot. However, after that it was back to tuna, kim chi, Nori, and canned spaghetti all mixed together cold and served with warm rice. I found that if you pack the food in between warm rice you can kinda heat it up, but other than that its cold. The second night there Emos and Castino pounded Sakau fresh and we had some of that. The whole process of making Sakau is interesting to watch and it is even more interesting when you think this is how it has been done since people first settled here in Pohnpei. First they take the root and pound it till it is a fine mash. Water is added to the mash to make it moist. Once the root is mashed they take strips of bark from the Hibiscus tree and tie them together at the top. They then take the pounded root and place it into the strips of Hibiscus. The Hibiscus is then rolled around the pounded root resembling a giant joint. Then they twist the joint like one would ring out a wet shirt squeezing the juice out of the root. This brown liquid is collected filtered to remove the large particles and then drank. Drinking Sakau is still a very spiritual and ritualistic event. The first cup is always given to the person with the highest title or to the guest. After the first cup goes around then it is simply passed in a circle. Drinking the Sakau clears your mind and creates a euphoric, and numbing sensation throughout the body. I had a very good sleep that night from the Sakau because of this. However, the Sakau also gives you what the locals call Sakau legs. I had the pleasure of experiencing this when I got up to pee at night. Your not drunk and your mind is clear but your legs are like noodles under you body. You can not control them standing, and walking become very difficult. I had to grab a walking stick to walk the ten feet from the hut to the bush that I urinated on and I almost fell twice. It was a very interesting night and it was fun to drink Sakau with everyone, however the next morning was not.

Being hungover from Sakau is not like anything else I have experienced. Your body feels weak and you have a slight headache. I forced Ramen soup down my throat because I knew I had to eat, and was dreaded the hike ahead of us to our next site. However, once we started hiking I began to feel better the locals say that you have to sweat out the Sakau the next morning and it will not be so bad. They were right although the beginning was rough once I got moving I was fine. It was about a two hour hike to the next site but again we were mostly on trails and I was able to manage. A couple of the uphills were a little difficult, but other than that I was fine. It rained on our hike over to the second site on Wednesday. Rain is almost welcomed when hiking though because it cools you off. However, it does delay our work.

When we got to the second site there was another hut for us to stay in and we set up camp. We had to wait to begin looking at the stream because the rain had increased its flow making visual surveys impossible. This was good though because it gave me the opportunity to take a nap and recover. When I woke up it was time to set up the stream transect which was done with ease and excitement because this was the last one. We finished our work so early that on Thursday all we had to do was wait till noon so we could pull the sensors from the stream because they have to be in for 24hrs. We passed the time by telling riddles and eating Jungle birds that the locals shot. They were actually pretty tasty sort of like a gamy chicken. The hike down was relatively easy and it was nice and sunny. The only problem was that the storms Thursday morning and the Day before had flooded most of the trail. This however, is really no problem after a few days in the jungle you get used to being wet most of the time. Eventually you do not even realize that you are hiking is wet boots. When we got down we had lunch at Emos's our guides house. We had grilled turkey tail, grilled breadfruit, and rice. It was all really tasty especially after a few meals of cold tuna, kim chi, and nori. It is interesting to see how many of the people on this island live. Most of them live in homes that are little more than a few huts most of the living space is outside. Eating spaces are usually under thatched roofed huts. Lunch was still really good, and after that we headed back into to town.

After 4 days in the jungle a hot shower and a beer are most refreshing and a hot dinner even better, but the best is sleeping in a comfortable bed. Its Friday here now and I am debating going diving again this weekend, but I have not decided yet. I also found out today that we will not be going into the field till Tuesday so I am looking forward to a long weekend. Other than that everything is good here I am hoping to go out this weekend with Alfonso and Castino two of the interns and check out the local scene. Hope everyone is well state side I will keep in touch.

Back From The Feild

Hey I am back from my past week in the field. I am just posting to let everyone know that I am still well. Here are some pictures from our office in the field. I will post more tomorrow when I have more time to write. Right now we are just having dinner at the Village.
Me and Ray on the hike up . And sunsets Our last Night up.