Majuro Atoll, the nation's political and business center and is home to nearly half of the Pacific nation's population. There are 57 small islets in the grouping - the largest of them is linked with a single 55 klm/ 35 mile paved road. This makes the string of islets look like one long and very narrow island. While many of the places have been called "Pearl of the Pacific", Robert Louis Stevenson gave the atoll that name when he visited in 1889.
An Atoll, now this could also be called an island but technically not. In the example of the Marshall Islands, this string of atolls was built along the top edge of an extinct volcano, so yes horseshoe in shape. Along the top of this ridge a corral reef begins to build and build and build and build. As a result of this reef there is now sand as erosion takes place from here there are now migrating birds that drop seeds and now there is plant life developing, the result is an Atoll. These islands (atolls) had a very strategic location in WWII, in fact it is where the test bombing took place for the big "A" bomb, Bikini island on the edge of the Marshall islands still remains uninhabitable.
We visited the capital, Delap on the Majuro Atoll arriving at about 11:00 am. Sunny and warm weather met us which later turned into a hot day as we re-boarded at about 4:15. The exciting stuff first, this is a maiden call for not only the MS Amsterdam but also Holland America which made this visit very special. Once I see the plaque I will include in a future update. No tours where available on this island as they just do not have the infrastructure to deal with a cruise ship.So everyone just walked off and took the local buses or cabs (some of which just became cab drivers for the day) or in our case just walked off and just kept walking. Could not really get lost here as there is one road, so you walk for a couple hours and then turn around and walk back. Lots of stores selling different types of handicrafts and other supplies. A couple of small boutique hotels, one offering drinks and an all day floor show (stopped here on the way back for a couple of beer). The real enjoyment here are the welcoming people, children to adults, all saying hello and welcoming us to the Marshall Islands - a plethora of photo opportunities today, so I will let the photos tell the story of our day in Majoro, Marshall Islands.
BTW - my format has changed (if you haven't noticed), there is a gentleman on board who has helped improve my way of uploading pictures to the blog. There have been a few hiccups over the past week but I think I have figured it out, in short, we are now showing the pictures first and the narrative below. We met this gentleman back on our 2009 Grand Voyage and he is the one that has inspired me to create this blog, so hats off to him, great to see him again and catching up.
Quote of the Day - We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. - Jawaharial Nehru
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