Day 11 • 6 July 2016 • Pohnpei Pleasures

After a hearty breakfast with some team members finally getting a pancake fix), we headed out in the rain to discover an outstanding historic site: Nan Madol. As our small bus traveled the roads of eastern Pohnpei, we crossed from Nett District first into U District (pronounced "ooh") and then into Madolenihmw District. Approaching the area where the ruins are found, the road conditions got progressively worse even as the weather steadily improved. Nan Madol is a site of numerous human-made islands, essentially a palace to keep regular islanders and their royalty separate. Pohnpeians would bring food and drink to their masters on these islands, and the dynasty persisted into the 16th century. Access to these impressive ruins is by rainforest trail, entered at the homestead of a caretaker family. Right at the entrance, we saw one of Pohnpei’s most impressive animal inhabitants—a large Indopacific freshwater eel (Anguilla marmorata), considered sacred in local lore.

Road conditions, Part 1. Some of the road around Pohnpei was recently redone by a Japanese company, but other parts are still quite rustic. 

Road conditions, Part 2. As we drive farther away from Kolonia, the road narrows and the tarmac becomes rough.

Road conditions, Part 3. As anyone who has traveled in the tropics can attest, there is usually the point a certain distance away from a major urban center, when the blacktop ceases and the dirt begins. Today, this was made particularly adventurous because the rain made the exact extent and depth of potholes difficult to discern!

Road conditions, Part 4. The last stretch of road to the Nan Madol trail is simply a track, which makes meeting oncoming traffic particularly exciting.

A nice specimen of Indopacific freshwater eel (Anguilla marmorata) in a small stream on the property leading to the Nan Madol ruins. This specimens was easily the girth of a human arm .

We embarked on the trail to the ancient site, which runs through some beautiful wet lowland tropical forest and into a mangrove-dominated coastal area. Lots of birds, including the amazingly colored Pohnpei lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubiginosus), and even Pohnpei flying foxes (Pteropus molossinus) were flying overhead, unfortunately mostly just out of sight or range for a proper photo! The Nan Madol ruins are quite a sight. Large, generally hexagonal stones are piled crisscross into something like woven walls, and the sheer size of the construction as well as the stones themselves makes one wonder how this feat of architecture and engineering could have been accomplished. The stones themselves were apparently quarried a relatively short distance away, and the hexagonal shape is produced when lava cools and crystallizes under certain circumstances, but dragging these monolithic blocks across a mangrove habitat and piling them neatly into a monument that has withstood the ravages of time defies easy explanation.

The first section of the Nan Madol ruins in the middle of the Pohnpei wet tropical lowland forest. Note the construction, involving large, nearly hexagonal blocks. Meanwhile, Schawna and Alex Mitchell are being distracted by some bird or another flitting by in the upper storey.

After the dry forest on Arno Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei is just SO green, including epiphytes growing on large trees, ferns everywhere, and the odd colorful floral accent.

The encounter with this endemic Pohnpei kingfisher (Todiramphus reichenbachii) was quite fortunate, with the species inexplicably in decline since at least the early 1980s.

The Pohnpei lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubiginosus) is a real show-stopper in the Nan Madol forest. Not only does it stand out by its beautifully wine-colored plumage, its screeches are also responsible for much of the noise in the forest! Photo courtesy of Jose Huerta, who had the better lens and the fortune to get ONE shot off just in time.

  

We began our visit by wading across a shallow, narrow passage that separates the largest of the buildings from the land, reminiscent of a castle and its moat. There are various specialized areas in the building, including an innermost sanctum and a place for sacrifices (mainly of plants). One walks around the walls and considers the physical impossibility of the construction! Of course, all the while we observed the animals that are now the only active inhabitants of Nan Madol.

Viewed across a shallow channel, the incredible architecture of the Nan Madol site becomes apparent. Not only are there dozens of artificial islands, they have this incredible architecture.

One of the first animals one notices when crossing the narrow channel to Nan Madol are the mudskippers (Periophthalmus modestus). These two lined up so nicely, we had to call them Markin and Nemo.

View of the interior of the Nan Madol complex. Shown here is that the construction not only included walls, but roofs, which are made of even more massive blocks than the walls.

Of course, a human-made site in the tropical forest like this is a great place for animals of all types. Here Amanda Callahan is pointing out a small lizard to Dakota Brooks.

We encountered several white-banded giant skinks (Eugongylus albofasciolatus) in the vicinity of Nan Madol. It was particularly interesting to see these animals feast on pieces of coconut, since one might ordinarily assume that all skinks, like most reptiles, are insectivores. However, many animals are also opportunists that can utilize plant material to supplement their diets, and there is certainly something to be said for eating a fatty piece of coconut over several dozen scrawny ants—especially for a skink this size, with a body the size of an adult hand. 

The most common leaf litter species is probably Emoia caeruleocauda, one of several species of blue-tailed skinks. On Pohnpei, about half of the adults show a fading of the dorsal stripes as well as a color change in the tail from blue to brown. 

Another common species, interesting because of its iridescent dorsal color, is Emoia boettgeri.

A beautifully colored emerald tree skink (Lamprolepis smaragdina), here in the bright coloration that gave the species its name. Several different color patterns occur in Micronesia, and we saw some of those on Arno Atoll only a few days ago. Photo courtesy of Jose Huerta.

After spending a considerable amount of time not only in the ruins but also in the adjacent forest, we were ready for lunch and a refreshing dip in the nearby Kepirohi Waterfall, with the greatest water volume of all Pohnpei waterfalls. It is definitely a beautiful area, and we not only ate and swam, we also decided to test out how Marlin the Drone would work out near a waterfall, in the manner suggested by Dr. Evenhuis in Hawaii (see Day 3 at lunchtime). Jose Huerta did the flying at my suggestion, and we obtained some excellent, science-worthy footage. Now all we would need is a waterfall with swarms of flies!

Kepirohi Waterfall, a showpiece of water play on Pohnpei.

We tested out Marlin the Drone at Kepirohi Waterfall, and here he is hovering in the perfect position to observe some of the waterfall-loving flies (Dolichopodidae) Neal Evenhuis is interested in.

Cooling off at the foot of Kepirohi Waterfall are (from left) Mindy Hull, Schawna Rankin, Jose Huerta, Ruby Resendez, and Alex Mitchell.

The lunch break allowed enough time to pass for a boat to approach the road where we had been dropped off to visit the waterfall, and we transferred our equipment and ourselves onto the boat. We were heading to Seabreeze Island, a small fringing reef island owned by the proprietors of our hotel, who are in the process of developing it. In return for an extension of our Nan Madol tour to include the boat ride and the snorkeling experience, we offered drone footage in return. So Marlin, Jose, and I once again went to work to record fly-over footage with and without snorkelers of this tiny speck, which eventually will become an eco-friendly snorkeling destination for Seabreeze guests, about a 45-min boat ride out from Kolonia, where the hotel is located. We returned there late in the afternoon after a long day with lots of interesting animal records and many short lectures on the encountered plant and animal life.

The temporary shelter on Seabreeze Island. Water is collected from the roof and channeled into the white tank on the left. Electricity at the facility will be from solar panel, and compost toilets will be used. A perfect little piece of reef heaven for snorkeling enthusiasts.

An example of a drone flyover of Seabreeze Island.

On these trips, it's not all serious science. Here, Mindy Hull amply demonstrates that she has a bubbly personality. Photo courtesy of Kaitlin Rickerl.

During her snorkeling excursion, Morgan Lewis followed one of our local captains as he spearfished for some dinner. The footage turned out to be a great example of being in the right place at the right time!

On the return trip to Kolonia, we had two boats, enabling some shots of what our boating on Pohnpei looked like. From left: Morgan Lewis, Amanda Callahan, Schawna Mitchell, Dakota Brooks, Alex Mitchell.

Upon entrance into Kolonia Harbor, Jose Huerta managed to catch this excellent shot of the mountain that sits above the Pohnpei airport and the cranes, but also a family in a traditional outrigger canoe. A neat juxtaposition of tradition and technology with a natural backdrop.