19/07/2019 to 21/07/2019 - Pohnpei / Micronesia

On the night of July 18th to 19th, our flight from Honiara to Pohnpei via Nauru was supposed to take off at 1:00 AM. We arrived at the airport at 11 PM. We were informed that the plane had turned back to Brisbane due to technical issues. So, we had to wait to see if the plane would still come and if we would catch our connecting flight in Nauru. We kept our fingers crossed because the onward flight from Nauru only operates once a week. Finally, we took off at 4:00 AM. Fortunately, our connecting flight in Nauru was still there. It was our own aircraft, so it couldn't have left earlier. After two more layovers, we finally landed on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Micronesia consists of the states of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. And each of these states is made up of countless islands and atolls. Some of these islands used to have American military bases. The American influence can still be seen today in the design of the shops, accommodations, and few restaurants. The island of Pohnpei itself doesn't have any beaches, the coastline is dominated by mangroves. Our first priority was to get some rest and then we visited one of the waterfalls and the ancient ruins of Nan Madol. Near the sea, there are old walls, tombs, tunnels, cooking areas, and stones. Unfortunately, not much is known about the city built by human hands. It was constructed from different basalt stones on a total of 92 islands. The question is, how were tons of stones transported here from the other side of the island? It is an impressive wonder which is also referred to as the Venice of the South Pacific.