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| Alfredo
collecting
Neritas |
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The first time we
went to Majuro (capital
of Marshall Islands.)
was in 1996. Jose,
Alfredo and I went
to the COA convention
and from there to
Honolulu and Majuro
for a few days of
shelling. We found
several nice shells,
but the nicest was
Cypraea cribraria
gaspardi. The shell
was rather easy
to find in shallow
water, but only
in one spot in the
entire island. So,
this time, Alfredo
and I headed for
another "short"
trip from São
Paulo to Dallas,
Dallas to Honolulu,
and from there to
Majuro.
One
of the weirdest
things about
crossing the
date line is
that we lose
one entire day
on our way to
the other side
-- which we recover
on our way back.
So we left Wednesday
morning from
Honolulu and
arrived on Thursday
afternoon on
Majuro after
a 4-hour flight.
The
weather was not
too good, but
since we would
stay in the water
the entire day,
it wouldn't matter.
Collecting proved
to be better
than last time
- perhaps also
because our skills
had improved...
Majuro is an
atoll about 50
km from one end
to other, not
a single elevation
except for a
bridge (let's
say it is not
a good place
to be if a tsunami
arrives...).
There
are no sandy
beaches, but
the fauna is
very variable
in each spot.
On the first
day we snorkeled
inside the atoll,
and collected
some Lambis,
various Trochidae,
Cypraea, and
lots of small
shells. At night,
we collected
Nerita exposed
on the rocks,
and Alfredo did
a night snorkel
at the place
where we had
found the Cypraea
gaspardi the
first time. The
place had been
wrecked with
lots of garbage,
including whole
cars, refrigerators,
and boat parts.
The worst was
that they had
filled the water
with concrete
to make space
to build more
houses. We tried
several times
to find the Cypraea
but there were
not even any
dead ones. Once
more, man found
a way to eradicate
some animals
not considered
important according
to their narrow
minds (who cares
about shells?).
That place had
been very rich
not only in shells
but also other
marine life.
Now you can see
only hundreds
of poisonous
sea urchins.
We
did not give
up and went to
other places,
which fortunately
were still intact,
or close to it.
People there
don't really
care about were
they put their
trash, so some
beautiful places
have huge piles
of trash and
twisted metal
rusted to the
point where it
is difficult
to tell what
they used to
be. We are not
talking about
beer cans, but
truck engines!
The
inhabitants are
quite poor and
it seems that
there is no public
health department
to teach them
to not treat
the island the
way they are
doing. Many houses
use the beach
as toilet and
wait for the
high tide to
wash away their
sewage. We had
to swim in those
places -- I am
glad we had no
health problems
until now (hey,
my hands are
turning blue!)
We
collected more
shells than we
imagined, but
we had to anticipate
our return. Alfredo
and I rented
tanks for a night
dive in shallow
water. We found
several species
not found during
the day, but
also forgot that
sea urchins were
much more active
at night. After
an hour and a
half of diving
our tanks became
lighter and Alfredo
tried to swim
down to reach
a shell and didn't
notice how close
he was to a black
urchin. He hit
his knee on it
and almost walked
on the surface
in pain. The
damned black
spiny thing is
so poisonous
that a simple
touch was painful.
Alfredo went
to bed that night
after taking
pain killer medicine.
The next morning,
his leg was still
hurting, but
not so bad as
to prevent him
from walking
or snorkeling.
Then
we went to Laura,
the western point
of the atoll.
After 4 hours
of snorkeling,
Alfredo came
close to me and
made a sign about
his leg. He was
having more pain
and his leg was
becoming stiff.
Since I know
that any infection
on cartilage
can destroy it
and it is irreversible
we had to be
careful. I gave
him some anti-inflammatory
pills and returned
to the hotel.
He took those
pills and the
next morning
he felt better.
We had made plans
to go to Arno,
a smaller atoll
close to Majuro.
We started packing
when he told
me his leg was
bad again, so
I decided to
abort the trip.
However, I knew
it wouldn't be
easy to change
planes since
flights to and
from Majuro are
always fully
booked; also
our flight to
Brazil had to
be planned ahead
for the same
reason. Luckily
there were two
seats to Honolulu
and from there
to Brazil. Our
trip took 48
hours straight
back to São
Paulo, the longest
trip I ever took!
I just wonder
how we would
have managed
to pack all the
shells if we
stayed longer,
since we collected
so much in a
few days that
we had almost
no more space
left in our luggage!
I am sure this
will not be the
last trip to
Majuro, even
if we only go
there on our
way to other
islands.
PS.
Alfredo went
to the doctor
and had to take
strong antibiotics
-- the spots
where the spines
entered his skin
turned black
and he will have
to remove small
pieces of dead
tissue.
Facts
The Republic
of Marshall Islands
is located in
the middle of
the Pacific Ocean,
and consists
of 29 atolls,
each made up
of many islets
and 5 islands
in the central
Pacific between
4 to 14 degrees
north, and 160
to 173 degrees
east. The atolls
and islands are
situated in two
nearly parallel
chain-like formations
known as the
Ratak (Sunrise)
group and Ralik
(Sunset) group.
The total number
of islands and
islets in the
whole Republic
is approximately
1,225 spreading
across a sea
area of over
750,000 square
miles. The total
land area is
about 70 square
miles (181 square
kilometers).
The mean height
of the land is
about 7 feet
above sea level
(2 meters). It
was discovered
in 1529 by Alvaro
Saavedra, a Spanish
navigator. And
it was named
after British
Naval Captain
William Marshall,
who sailed through
the area on the
Scarborough while
transporting
convicts to New
South Wales between
Botany Bay and
Cathay. From
1878 to 1914,
the islands were
annexed by Germany
who lost them
to Japan who
retained possession
until the end
of the WWII.
After the war
USA took control
and ran nuclear
tests until the
end of the 50s.
In 1979, an official
government was
established although
it still has
several commercial
and protective
agreements with
the USA. Language
is English and
the currency
is US dollars.
The total number
of inhabitants
is around 60,000.
English
checking by John
Wolff
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