We are aboard a Boeing 737 en route from Guadalcanal to Nadi, Fiji – a day late because yesterday’s flight turned back due to bad weather at its scheduled stop in Port Vila. Fortunately Air Pacific (soon to be rebranded Fiji Airways in 2013) sent the plane to fetch us the next day; otherwise due to non-daily flights in sold out status it might have taken us a week or more to struggle home.

This blog is a catch-up and hodge podge of memories and overall impressions of our Solomon Islands adventure, with a play on the word reflections. First off, the literal interpretation. The waters were placid and calm the entire trip, sometimes so tranquil that they transformed into a giant mirror. Sky, clouds, rainbows, islands, boats, even flying fish were reflected upside down in the sea, creating some rare photo ops. The morning we sailed away from Mbaeroko Harbor was the most memorable, even to the point of being able to photograph flying fish in flight.

Everywhere we anchored we were approached by canoes looking for a sale, up to six at a time. Sometimes we were offered fruit and vegetables from the gardens, or a bag of cowrie shells (complete with unwanted cockroaches), or WWII relics including Coca Cola bottles. We learned yesterday from a WWII collector in Honiara that these bottles could be worth as much as $30, even though they look almost exactly the same as the classic green bottles still available today. But mainly we were offered carvings.

Solomon Islanders are accomplished carvers. Working primarily in kerosene wood, rosewood and rare ebony, embedded with pearly nautilus shell in intricate designs, the carvers skillfully create a variety of sophisticated works. Subjects range from towers of intertwining sea creatures called Spirit of the Solomons, stylized god heads called nguzu nguzus that originally adorned the war canoes of yesteryear (if the nguzu nguzu held a bird, the canoe was on a mission of peace; if it held a head, the war party was on a head hunting expedition), and utilitarian objects such as bowls, serving spoons, and so forth.

We accumulated several of these carvings over the weeks, more precious because we met and interacted with the artists. In Roviana we bought an impressive rosewood bowl with lid from Gordon, who spent four months carving it. In Uepi I bought a Spirit of the Solomons from Lamae, one of the PADI divemasters. From Rocky in Telina Village I acquired an ebony carving of a pod of dolphins. Rocky especially loves dolphins and was interested in DVDs of natural history. We were out of cash due to a multitude of prior purchases so I traded him a DVD set of Blue Planet as well as some of my used clothing for his wife (dresses, t-shirts, etc.) the only time a woman was present in a trading canoe. She was reticent and glum until Rocky ok’d the trade (my last chance, he informed me) at which point she blossomed into smiles as she tried on my cast-offs for size. John Trevor in Nono Lagoon came early one morning to fetch me when I paddled my kayak inadvertently into crocodile land. He carves small sharks and dolphins from sago palm nuts, successfully circumventing my protests regarding limited space and weight in my luggage for the trip home.

Solomon Islanders in the outskirts have minimal opportunites for income. Often they charge a fee to anchor overnight, or to dive, snorkel, or visit something of interest. Generally a couple of AVATAR t-shirts or S$20 will cover it. Sometimes there is no fee at all. But in one locale in the Marovo Lagoon we had a disagreement over the proposed charge…a host of canoes and carvers had spread their creations across our deck but then told us their village chief had set a price of S$1,000 (equivalent to US$143) to anchor overnight and dive on the reef. We told the multiple carvers in their canoes to remove their wares and we would move on to a less extortionate anchorage, at which point they whipped out their cellphones to call the village chief and negotiate a more reasonable price.

We learned the origin of the name Solomon Islands. The first European to arrive here was a Spaniard sailing from Peru in the late 1500s. He found gold and thought he had discovered the lost mines of King Solomon. The islands soon were named Islas de Solomon.

We had an insight into global warming. Today the Solomons consist of nearly 1,000 islands of which some 350 are inhabited and six are considered to be major islands. 10,000 years ago, during the last ice age, the sea level was 100 meters (328 feet) lower than it is today. The now multiple major Solomon Islands were then one solid land mass, allowing cultures to easily migrate and populate new areas.

We gained a new appreciation of the importance of the Solomon Islands during WWII where the tide of the war in the Pacific finally turned in favor of the Allied Forces after months of deadly fighting. We traipsed through slimy mangrove swamps, crocodiles in the back of our minds, to see the crash site of an Allied plane near the Diamond Narrows. We scuba dived on several sunken ships including a Japanese freighter in Mbaeroko Harbor, bombed by the Allied forces as it was in the process of loading a jeep onboard by crane. The island is still pitted with massive bomb craters some 20-30 feet in diameter. We dived on the Toa Maru near Gizo, a Japanese transport ship that was reported to the Allies by coastwatchers and sunk in shallow water as it attempted a run down the Tokyo Express supply line. The massive sunken ship is 440′ in length and still contains a multitude of items including unbroken sake bottles. We snorkeled on a crashed Japanese Zero in Gizo’s town harbor right next to the market, and scuba dived on a more remote US Hellcat navy fighter plane. We sailed past Kennedy Island where the surviving crew of PT-109, including future president John F. Kennedy, swam to shore after their PT boat was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer. They were rescued through the efforts of Solomon Islander coastwatchers. In Honiara a WWII collector told us he still finds human remains on a regular basis as he digs up relics in the swamps and creeks; the Japanese government collects the bones from him and sends them back home to Japan.

The remainder of our diving and snorkeling took place on beautiful healthy diverse reefs, some of the best we have ever seen. As we move closer to the equator we are seeing new species of fish, in addition to sharks, rays, turtles, cuttlefish, nudibranches (sea slugs), lion fish, sea fans and wildly varied coral.

That’s it for now; I’ll be posting photo slideshows when I get home and sort through the best. The slideshow below contains additional images.

We have been exploring Nono Lagoon for a few days. The official significance of its name is unknown to us but for AVATAR it stood for no rain and no wind! The high pressure pump on our watermaker has failed and we have been reduced to collecting rainwater to refill the fresh water tanks. This is not really a dire situation; AVATAR holds some 1,800 gallons of fresh water (the average cruising sailboat carries only a few hundred gallons). The net effect is that we have cut back on laundry and shortened our showers. However a good rain squall can add hundreds of liters to the tanks in a relatively short time. Rod waits until the rain has rinsed the deck of salt and dirt, then opens the port and starboard intakes and lets the rivulets of water running along the gunnels top off the tanks. We’ve seen our fair share of rain this trip but of course as soon as we actually want it to rain, all the visible squalls seem to pass us by on either side, or fizzle out just before a direct hit.

And today, as we aspire to depart Nono and head back to Marovo Lagoon, the wind is non existent as well. The sea surface is glassy, reflective as a mirror, displaying sky and clouds to perfection but completely wiping out our coral spotting capabilities. A local freighter was cruising through the lagoon in our general direction so we waited until it passed us by, then fell in behind to follow his track. Unfortunately this didn’t last long as it stopped at a small island to load lumber. We coasted on a bit further, following the arm gestures of crew members on the ship, and finally gave up and anchored for a snack break (pineapple and papaya) while we waited for a ruffle of breeze to fill in.

However Nono did offer us one of our finest dive/snorkel adventures ever. There is a shortcut from the lagoon to the nearby open sea that we read about in a book but without specifics. On our first day of exploration we took the dinghy and went on a wide-ranging search through the maze of islets asking directions from passing canoeists, and finally found as torturous meandering shallow channel that wound through the mangroves, passed by a homestead whose waterway was signposted ‘Slow Down’, flowed under a bridge of indeterminate age buttressed withy massive felled rainforest logs, and eventuallyl opened up to an awesome blue water chasm paved withy colorful corals under the overhang of a 50 foot limestone cliff draped with heavy stalactites.

We worked our way back to AVATAR along the same shallow waterway at dead low tide, barely scraping clear of the sandy bottom and watching for sunken logs lying in wait to snag the outboard motor. Next day we returned, this time on a rising tide and with foreknowledge of all the ‘gotchas’ along the route. We made much better time and beelined to our dive destination.

From the dinghy Rod dropped Mike and me into the water outside the reef alongside a mind-boggling sheer wall that dropped straight down into the deep blue with no hint of a bottom. We had to keep a close eye on the depth reading on our dive computers because we had no meaningful visual reference. We followed the reef wall until it turned the corner into the channel, an awesome locale in its own right, and floated back to the waiting dinghy on the incoming current. Then, not having had enough of a glorious time, we shed our scuba gear and snorkeled the channel a second time! Without a local guide, it turns out we missed ‘the tunnel’ and the sunken Japanese ship, but even without those extras we still enjoyed one of our dives of a lifetime. After the fact, for any of you planning to follow in our wake, we learned the name of our underwater paradise was Rapichana Reef.

PS                                                                                                                                        The breeze finally filled in and we made our way confidently out of Nono Lagoon and into Marovo Lagoon. At dinner time multiple rain showers were visible on the horizon. They converged over the top of us and poured down buckets of rain. In four hours Rod collected three tons of rain water and our holding tanks were full to overflowing. It rained steadily all night and in the morning from scientific observation of our half full dinghy and formerly empty buckets on deck, we surmised that it rained some four inches overall. Today’s activity – laundry!

On the subject of skulls (last blog – crocodiles), from Lola Island we were given a tour of nearby tiny Skull Island. Solomon Islanders have a history of headhunting and cannibalism that dates back hundreds of years, continuing into the 1920s. War parties went raiding in highly decorated and carved war canoes each capable of carrying 30-40 fully armed men, bringing home the skulls (which they believed contained a person’s life force) with the belief that they would thus be enhanced by absorbing their victim’s personal power. Skull Island was a repository for these heads. The lesser warriors are tucked into rocky crevices, but the more powerful deceased chiefs are housed in the protection of a kind of triangular box, complete with door. Also on the tiny islet is a row of standing stones, good luck talismans for forays out to sea fishing or raiding. And lastly there are two stone crosses, the resting place of 20th century Christian converts, the prior owners of Skull Island.

Interestingly, in one province here the tradition of headhunting has created a matrilineal system of inheritance with land ownership passed down through the mother. Men victims of head hunters were generally killed but women, although captured and enslaved, generally were spared thus ensuring the survival of kastom ownership in the community.

The Solomons were a pretty hairy place until not very long ago, and as a result they were practically the last island group colonized in the world. A fair number of missionaries were cooked before making inroads with Christianity. I have been reading assorted books, including Jack London’s autobiographical The Cruise of the Snark which relates his meanders through the South Pacific on a 43′ sailboat, departing San Francisco in 1907 and voyaging to Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tahiti and Bora Bora, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu (then the New Hebrides) before finally abandoning the trip – done in by the Solomons. It was not the still murderous natives that discouraged him, but rather fever (malaria) and infection from the “poisonous airs” that finally forced him to head to Australia for six months of recuperation. And it is still certainly true that infection is easy to come by in the South Pacific where a small coral cut or a too vigorously scratched mosquito bite can turn into a raging staph infection (and I speak from personal prior experience).

I also read London’s South Sea Tales, a collection of fictional short stories. His chapter on our current location was titled The Terrible Solomons and written with tongue in cheek humor.

Written half a century later, Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific brings the World War II Pacific Theatre to life – that much more so as we travel to the locations mentioned in his short stores – Efate, Santo, Luganville, Munda, the Russells and more.

The most current read is The Last Wild Island by John Read, published in 2011, that chronicles a ten year struggle by Australian ecologists to enlist the local population to save the last uninhabited unspoiled island in the Solomons, Tetepare, from indiscriminate logging. We sailed AVATAR to take a look at this lush rain forest island but didn’t stop to visit as there was no suitable anchorage. The book is an entertaining read and gives great insight into current Solomon culture and ways.

The one big dampening factor for cruising in the Solomons is the man-eating salt water crocodiles (not kidding!) that live in the mangrove swamps, especially at the estuaries where the big rivers empty into the lagoons. Needless to say, I have given up mangrove-kayaking for the duration. Rod had been pooh-poohing their existence in any great numbers here in the belief they had been hunted to near extinction, but the traders who showed up by canoe with four skulls for sale (killed by spear last month on a croc hunting expedition) changed his mind. The government in power after the 2000 coup banned gun ownership for the general population so, except for the spear technique, the only way to get rid of the predators is to report them to the local police who contact the government who sends in a professional crocodile hunter with gun. The locals get to keep the meet, the croc hunter gets to keep the skin, and the villagers get to keep their children!

From Munda we moved to a protected little bay on the far side of Rendova Island. AVATAR was anchored uncomfortably close to a small river mouth but, with houses on either side within a hundred yards, I guessed the area might be crocodile-free. The usual welcoming committee of several local men in a small boat showed up astern shortly after our arrival so we asked them about any resident crocs. Oh, yes, there were several both small and big. At night they swim in the bay hunting but we were not to be concerned. They were good crocodiles, kastom crocodiles, and the villagers here are able to speak with them and ensure our safety.

A more practical approach by western standards was related to me by Trevor John in Nono Lagoon whom I met kayaking early one morning. He explained the logistics of surviving a crocodile attack such as the one that occurred a month or so ago at Seghe Point. A local man there was night diving for mollusks (night diving has definitely been scratched from our to-do list of activities here!) when a croc grabbed him by the head. This man was big and strong and possessed of a large head; he managed to pry open the jaws and escape. Fortunately he was swimming right offshore of the local clinic where he was temporarily patched up and then airlifted to Honiara. He nearly died of his wounds and blood loss but did survive. Trevor John explained for my edification that when a croc attacks in salt water it only intends to capture its prey, get a good grip and then drag the victim to shore where it will then finish the job. The proper frame of mind if grabbed is to keep this fact in mind and, rather than giving up under the assumption you are already dead, put up a good fight.

Speaking of Seghe, Mike and I were snorkeling there just a few days ago, happily unaware of the above crocodile that escaped and was not hunted down after the attack! There is a windsock marking a grass runway built by Seabees in only ten days during the war. A sunken crashed P38 Lightning, a twin engine twin tailed WWII fighter plane, is pancaked on the bottom in relatively shallow water, still intact 70 years later with a bent prop tip the most visible damage.

We have sailed to the vicinity of New Georgia Island and anchored off the Zipolo Habu Resort on nearby little Lola Island. Rod is reliving old times here. On his travels through the Solomons a dozen years ago aboard Uwilhna he laid over here for several months and replenished his cruising funds by running the resort dive shop.

The proprietor is Joe, an American originally from Seattle, but he has been running this resort in excess of 30 years, has a Solomon wife named Lisa, and three grown daughters currently pursuing their diverse lives in Australia and New Zealand. He says the rain is warmer here!

The resort hosts the Stunned Mullet Fishing Tournament scheduled for early November, right before we fly home. The entry fee is free and the grand prize is SD$1,000. When the tourney is over Joe keeps half the fish and the other half is donated to the local hospital. So Joe is expecting 150 entrants – 50 or so in the power boat/fishing reel category and 100 in the hand fishing category for locals in their dugout canoes. I suggested Rod take my kayak and join the latter but he had two excuses: one – catching something really big and being towed out to sea, and two – being shown up by the locals who have insider knowledge of all the good fishing spots. A stray fishhook in the inflatable kayak might cause trouble as well!

We enjoyed listening to Rod and Joe reminisce, an excellent dinner in the resort restaurant, and Sirius XM Margaritaville music playing on the sound system. The resort was between guests so we had the place to ourselves while the staff had their own party just outside celebrating a night off. Lobster, mud crab, and bumphead parrotfish were on the menu.

Yesterday we went on a two-dive outing with the local dive shop from nearby Munda. The reefs here in the Solomons are all controlled by local families or villages and the dive shops pay kastom fees for access. As a result it is often more politic for us to go out with the professionals rather than dive on our own.

We took the resort’s open boat into the town of Munda, not too much to speak of. Bank of New Zealand has closed it’s doors and left town, only leaving an ATM behind which was non-functional, at least on that day. We joined a long queue waiting for cash from the only other ATM in town. At the general store we acquired a beach umbrella to provide a bit of shade for working on projects on deck in the hot sun. We had lunch at the Agnes Resort, and then Mike and I went on a visit to the WWII museum, run by Joe’s wife’s cousin Barney.

Actually the museum is more of a collection than a true museum, but it is obviously a labor of love. Ten years ago Barney happened to find the dog tags of an American soldier, David Joseph Santini, and this sparked his interest in collecting all the memorabilia still lying around the island, naming the resulting creation The David Joseph WWII Museum.

Munda has an airport where Dash 8s commute to the bigger towns of Gizo and Honiara. In 1942 Munda was an important Japanese base of some 4500 troops. In November of that year the airstrip was constructed in secret and populated with a fleet of 30 Zeros preparatory to launching an attack on the US airfield on Guadalcanal. The Japanese went to great lengths to camouflage the runway with a canopy of coconut palm fronds and maintain its secrecy, but the Solomon Islanders quickly ratted on them to the US and a month later Allied Forces attacked the island, destroying many of the planes and capturing the base. For the duration of the war the airstrip was controlled and expanded by the US.

In the Agnes Resort at lunchtime we noticed a work crew of New Zealanders wearing heavy work boots and wielding computers and satellite phones. Barney told us they were an exploratory crew, preliminary to a planned renovation of the airfield, here to survey the multitude of artifacts embedded beneath the runway including unexploded ordinance. Presumably too old to detonate, but it would give one pause as one’s commuter plane taxis for take-off!

The Solomons are littered with war relics. The fighting was hard and bitter here. The last Japanese combatant came down from the mountains of Guadalcanal to surrender in 1965, having fended for himself twenty years after the end of hostilities! Hulks of crashed planes rust in the jungle or disintegrate on the bottom of the sea. Off Guadalcanal a body of water is aptly named Iron Bottom Sound for its multitude of sunken ships.

Barney’s museum collection, all gathered up from Munda Airfield and nearby, includes helmets, grenades, medical supplies, tommy guns, torpedoes, knives and bayonets, canteens, dog tags, buttons and a myriad of other assorted items. He has recently acquired the engine of a Japanese Zero and is thinking of heading up a nearby creek to salvage one or more of several crashed planes. I met another man previously near the Diamond Narrows who had salvaged a wrecked plane by ferrying it in pieces (wings, fuselage, etc.) across the lagoon to his island in the bigger of his two wooden dugout canoes.

Photo Gallery

We have been wandering a bit through the Solomon Islands in search of legitimacy. Our information indicated we would be able to clear into the country (both boat and crew) in the Russells, but when we arrived early in the morning at the small port town of Yandina and asked directions from a passing canoeist, he sadly told us that the customs office in his town was no more; as well as bank and post office, all gone.

We turned down the offer of two triton shells (beautiful but endangered) from a pair of young boys and then we headed off to the next likely port of entry, taking our time to enjoy the journey. A half day’s sail brought us to the spectacular Morovo Lagoon and Uepi Island Resort where we anchored for two nights. We took advantage of the resort’s diving program to make two dives just outside the pass. Both dives involved an immediate descent to 30 meters, stationing ourselves on a point and watching the interaction between the smaller reef fish and pelagic predators. There were thousands of fish in all sizes, colors and shapes schooling in the current at the edge of the precipice…in the blink of an eye all would dart into invisibility, leaving a blue void, to be instantly explained by the appearance of a shark on the prowl or a fast-moving tuna making a run.

The second dive was a drift dive, letting the current of the incoming tide sweep us through the pass back into the lagoon. Joe fought an ongoing battle with the many resident triggerfish who were aggressively defending their nests. They have big strong teeth suitable for munching on coral and are not above taking a good chunk out of a diver! Our final dive ended in the shallows right by the steps of the resort dock where we just climbed to shore and loaded our gear back into our dinghy.

Solomon Islanders are renowned for their carving skills. One of the dive guides asked permission to visit us aboard AVATAR when he got off work, partially from curiosity to see the boat and partially to offer us some of his carvings for sale. Lamae and a friend joined us for drinks on the flying bridge where we shared stories and finally got down to the serious business of trading. We had read that Solomon Islanders don’t bargain per se but when we showed reluctance at the price of a piece we admired, as the visit wound down, he suddenly offered us his ‘second price’, significantly more reasonable than the original asking price. So I am now the proud possessor of a two foot tall sculpture, carved into a hollowed out branch of kerosene wood, adorned with beautifully rendered intertwining sea creatures; salt water crocodiles, octopus, squid and turtle mingled with assorted fish. And as Lamae paddled away in his canoe we could see him leafing through and counting his fistful of US dollars.

From Uepi we moved on to Noro, our second option for clearing in. This was a busy port, filled with fishing ships and a large tuna cannery, and we had more luck here. Not only with clearance, but also finally getting ourselves some Solmon dollars from the ATM, cellphone and data cards, and a few provisions. The customs official did tell Rod that clearance stations were on the decline here…the only other remaining station is in Honiara on Guadalcanal, the capital city. For 2012 we are only the fifth yacht to clear in to the country…obviously not a tourist hot spot as yet, and still dampened by the after effects of a coup that took place in 2000.

From the busy harbor we sailed through a labyrinth of winding waterways and islands, through the Diamond Narrows (a very narrow but deep channel used by the US in WWII as a shortcut for warships), to a much more peaceful lagoon where we anchored overnight, legal immigrants at last!

Photo Gallery Includes Additional Photos