Island Tour Gone Bad

OK, my turn to tell about this EPIC vacation for a little bit.  This place has surpassed all my expectations and I've learned a years worth in 10 days time.  First of all let me say that it takes a looooong time to get here!  We've had a wonderful week and we're ready to come home and see our children, work hard and start football season! However, we're not looking forward to the, I don't know. . . . 15 hours of traveling time on a plane that it takes to get there.  Oh well, we'll do what we have to do. I'll stop complaining now and tell you some of the great things I've learned on this trip.  Unlike my talented and VERY adorable husband, I am not a technical diver but I have learned to adapt to my environment despite my fears of going past 130 feet deep in the ocean, claustrophobia and a big fear of being eaten by a shark.  I am proud to report that I have faced those fears this week and I was successful.  However I found out that I am a kleptomaniac.  It's very difficult for me to resist picking up one WWII bullet out of a thousand lying around and not want to pack it away in my suitcase.  I mean, really, whose going to miss it?  Ok it might be a federal offense to take ammunition in your luggage so I threw it back in the lagoon and moved on to other possibilities. Like this great little brown glass medicine bottle that was about 2 inches tall.  I could have packed it away without anyone knowing, right?  My conscience got the best of me.  There are signs posted everywhere here saying No pillaging and plundering.  So I put the cute little bottle back that would have looked so great sitting on my shelf.  I found this little bottle on my last and most comfortable dive.  100 feet down into a ship called the Kansho Maru.  We went through a massive hole on her port side (I've learned some good nautical terms too).  Swam into a storage area with oxygen cylinders and took a turn into the engine room.  Went around some torn and twisted catwalks and swam through silty passageways where we came into a cargo hold with boxes, batteries, bicycles, more cylinders, artillery shells, as always, the ever present saki bottles that were everywhere on every wreck we entered, and the brown glass medicine bottles sitting beneath the thick silt that layers everything.  Through another doorway into more passageways with some twists and turns I see the sole of a shoe, not the first one I've seen and a grim reminder of the war-torn graveyard we are swimming through.  I see a little box and rusty metal strewn here and there. One more turn takes me into the ship's galley with a white tiled floor, sinks and a stove.  Amazing!  I swim out and over the railing of the bridge toward the stern to take a look at her propeller.  Time is getting short and it's time to head back to the deck and get one last look at the beautiful marine life that has made the Kansho their home.  

Everyone is back on board the dive boat and excited to go to the island of Dublon, also known as Tonoas.  Our dive master Nick is going to lead us on a tour of his home island which we can see from our resort on the island of Moen.  A short boat ride and we are off the boat and walking into the jungle.  We walk past the poorest living conditions I've ever witnessed.  There is a man lying on the floor of a house with no walls in his loin cloth.  We walk up the hill admiring the beautiful foliage of the bread fruit trees, mango trees and banana trees.  There is a group of men sitting, watching us as we pass.  We are fish in a fish bowl.  There are crude Japanese monuments.  Down the road we are met by the men of the village and up walk the teenagers with their machetes in hand.  Yikes!!!!  We are feeling very uncomfortable as they walk along with us.  We arrive at what we came to see which is a tunnel system that the Japanese used during the war.  We take pictures while these people stare us down and then we go into the tunnel, just a few steps.  One of the men approaches and tells us that we are expected to pay $2 per person because we are on his family's land.  Ok, clearly we are not welcome here and this is an unexpected surprise.  We look at our guide and he is of no help.  We reluctantly pay the $8 and leave.  Instead of heading back to the boat like we should have, we turn away and go down a causeway.  There is thick jungle on either side of us and we come to a bridge where we are again met by the machete wielding teenagers.  We take some pictures while these boys are obviously mocking in their native language of Chuukese.  Our guide talks to them and then we headed back to the boat.  Only this time, these guys are right on Steve's heals.  I'm completely freaked out and Steve's just waiting for an ambush and getting more angry by the minute.  He stops about every 10 steps and looks at them square in the eye but they don't back down.  He asks out guide if they want trouble and he says no but we are feeling very threatened.  Pretty soon, the punks leave and we get back on the boat.  I had been holding my breath for like a mile just waiting for the situation to escalate and get out of hand.  I knew Steve had a plan and was ready to bring them down along with Jeff.  Holy Cow!!  We are so naive and think everyone is as nice and welcoming as we are in our country.  It was a good lesson to learn.  Later, back at the resort, I find out that it is offensive for women to show their thighs and should wear skirts!  Well if someone would have let me in on that little bit of information, that would have been helpful as I was wearing boardshorts!  We went straight from diving to the "island tour" so I just threw on something that would be quick drying and comfortable in the oppressive heat and humidity.  I think that the problem was a little more than me dawning my thighs but I'm sure it was part of the issue.  I was so happy that we said our prayers that morning and felt that we were definitely protected!  

On our way home, one of our flights stops in Guam Where we spend the night.  Sitting in front of us on the flight is the Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Dowdle.     They were cute as we visited with them for quite some time.  They told us that they have missionaries on the same island that we felt threatened on.  Those missionaries are there for 2 years and most live without electricity.  Watch out Jordon!HAHA

 Well, we are in Guam and will be home in 24 hours Yeah!  See you all soon