Visit outer islands of Yap and Chuuk states

I am starting planning a travel in the FSM for next year. I would like to visit some outer islands this time.

I have heard that there is a ship that goes from Yap to Chuuk stopping in the outer islands on the way. Does anybody have information about such ship? Roughly how often it travels, and local contacts to ask for more information?

Otherwise, if information about that ship is really difficult to get, has anybody been in Puluwat? Is there a local ship going there and surrounding islands from Weno (capital of Chuuk)?

Thanks

I recently returned from yap. I was on Mogmog one of the outer islands belonging to Ulithi.
Initially I thought to be very very lucky because the ship just happend to leave the day after my arrival. That was postponed so I took the pacific mission aviation plane to Ulithi. 3 days later the ship left. That is no normal ship. It may not run for months or in case of technical problems it will simply return skipping the most remote islands. The ship is normally filled with families bringing the coffin of one family member back to their native island. The coffins (seven when I was in Yap) are put (because of the smell) on deck without aircon. People cook for themself. Normally each island gives food as gift for the passengers. I was in Mogmog when they were preparing the food for the families of the bodies. If you arrive at some island the problem there is food and the way back. Plenty of outer island students in Yap have to repeat a school year because of the ship trip cancelled.
At the tourist office in Yap I was told to consuder such a trip after retirement. Getting sick out there may be letal.

Wow @antonkaufmann502801, I'm so glad I found somebody who has actually been there, it's a rarity for outer islands of most Pacific archipelagoes.

Since I found you, I have got a bunch of additional questions that I was piling up, maybe you know something about those places.

Ultimately, my goal is to visit as much as possible "genuine" islands in the FSM, where the original culture is still retained. I know that most outer islands in the FSM are probably genuine, but I have to find a balance of what I can and cannot afford to do in terms of time and money, so having a bit more information would be really good.

So, I saw that there are flights now from both Yap and Truk that reach some outer islands. Would you be able to recommend any outer island that is reachable by plane that is more interesting / genuine than the others? I'd like to see at least one for each of Yap, Truk and Pohnpei archipelagoes.

For Yap, the furthest island that seems to be reachable by plane is Woleai. I see that not too far away lies another inhabited island called Ifalik. Is Woleai worth visiting, in terms of culture? Is Ifalik close enough to find a boat hitchhike from Woleai? What are my chances that in Woleai I would find somebody who can take me to Ifalik for a couple of days?

Regarding Truk: I have the very same question but applying to Pulusuk / Puluwat: Pulusuk has an airstrip and Puluwat is not too far. What is the likelihood of finding a drive to Puluwat from Pulusuk?

I know that Puluwat must be pretty "genuine" and interesting, I ready about it in a book of David Lewis, the navigator.

And do you have any islands to suggest in Pohnpei too?

Apologies if I am asking too much, maybe you don't know so many parts of the FSM. It's just that it's difficult to find somebody who has fresh information about those areas, so the more info I can get the better it is

Cheers and thanks again for your reply!

Adriano

Well I had a similar problem before going to the outer islands. A lack of information.
So Ulithi recieves two flights per week. Fais normally only one. Woleai has a runway with a depression in the middle. So this section is frequently flooded. There were repeated efforts to fix the runway. But I think that the problem has not been fixed yet. Uliti itself is "modern", yet I went from there by boat to Mogmog. That is a very traditional island. Clothing, sharing of things etc. Be aware that you need an outer island permit issued by the Concil of Tamol. There seems to be not regular way in getting this required paper. E-mails were in my case not ansvered. It was just pure luck that members of the Tamol happened to be at the airport. After some questions, they considered me to be ok and informed the outher islands by radio about my comming. So with this "oral permit" I was allowed to board the Missionary Pacific Aviation plane. So the elders on the island knew about my arrival and were warmly receiving me.
I was in Pohnpei and Chuuk. but not on their outer islands. Pohnpei is a beautiful and kind place.
Yet Chuuk is entirely different. It is not safe to go out. Even at daytime I was warned to walk from one end of the small town to the other. A lot of distroyed or burned-out buildings. Shops selling things had frequently only a small hole where you put in the money in and get the things out. The island has a heavy alcohol problem. I was told that 90 % of the peace and order problems in Guam are
caused by Chuukese. Quite a achievment considering that they make out only a small portion of the population in Guam. Chuuk made to me a similar impression like highland towns in Papua New Guinea. So in my eyes Chuuk is for wreck divers, but otherwise it is not really worth to go there. There are some outher islands, yet I would not really feel comfortable to venture out there.

Anton

Thanks for all this information about the airstripes, it's very useful to know. I think it would be good to avoid the monsoon season, to risk less those small flights to be cancelled.

Regarding Chuuk, I actually had nice experiences with the locals. They seem a bit threatening at first, but when you talk and hang out with them they are very friendly. Probably they have gang fights between themselves, but I think that, at least towards a neutral foreigner who is curious about their culture, they are quite more open.

I spent 10 days in the FSM 5 years ago, in the main islands of Chuuk and Pohnpei (and 30 minutes in the airport of Kosrae during a stopover); I found the FSM to be one of the most interesting and authentic countries in the Pacific, this is why I want to come back and visit some outer islands as well.

So you likely had a better time in Chuuk than I. Hopefully you can forgive me my lack of political correctness. After my short visit, I did quite some research about traditional and present Chuukese societ. I wonder how far you can agree with the following lines?
There is a striking difference between Chuuk and other Micronesian social structures. This is the virtual absence of any traditional leadership on Chuuk. Yap, for example, has a very hierarchical society, elders, island chiefs and chiefs with authority over island groups. Disputes can be settled by them. Offenders can be punished (in the past there was even death punishment). Most important there is a higher authority to settle a conflict, if for example two villages or islands have a land issue. On most Micronesian islands, there is land which belongs to the community (e.g. male or women houses). Such structures are not existing in Chuuk. In Chuuk a village leader is merely a symbolical leader. His strength is limited to mediation. He has no power to settle a quarrel, even less to punish an offender. In case of a rape or a murder, the offender simply moved to another village to avoid the contact with the relatives of the victim. If the victim is unlucky (his/her number of brothers is less than the numbers of brothers belonging to the offender’s family) than there will be neither retaliation nor justice. So Chuuk is a truly anarchic society (in the meaning of an absence of hierarchy). Chuukese learn that nobody outside their family is supporting them. So you have to fight for yourself. Therefore, Chuuk produced a lot of fierce, individual warriors, but no really leaders. It was amazing to everybody, how quickly the German colonizers could pacify Chuuk. A bunch of brave, but independent, individualistic Chuukese worriers faced a small, but solid German police force. It has been hypothesized that Chuukese quickly gave up their fight, because they realized that the Germans (sorry, another stereotype) provide them with a strict and thoroughly organized ruling structure, something which could not be provided by the Chuukese society. The unaddressed injustice encountered within Chuukese society is likely also the reason for the alcohol problem encountered (“The Weekend warriors : alcohol in a Micronesian culture” by Mac Mashal). The Chuukese society forgives virtually any behavior or even crime committed under the influence of alcohol (of course women are not supposed to drink). All these aspects lead to the situation why Chuuk is considered to be the black sheep in Micronesia. It takes more time to build a road in Chuuk than in Pohnpei, it will cost more and it will deteriorate faster as well. Chuuk regularly talks about leaving the Federate State of Micronesia. Asking, how they could live as an independent State? Some people say that China will be more than happy to establish a foothold in the Pacific. So few Micronesians or Americans are interested in such a development.
I was mentioning, that I would think twice before going to some remote island in Chuuk. This has to do with the issue stated above: lack of a respected leadership. I went to many isolated places in Asia and Papua, where probably not everybody would dare to go. Yet, such visits were always done in a way that somebody contacted a village leader by phone or before by handing me a written letter. Arriving at such a place I believed to be under the “protection” of that local leader. Everybody knew that, and as a consequence, I was never really in trouble. This is something which probably does not work in Chuuk, because of the limited authority of local leaders. I do not want to say that this will directly lead to life treating situations. But being in a remote island means, that you need a roof, food and finally a transportation back. If there is nobody who feels responsible for you, then you likely encounter a number of people trying to take advantage of your situation.

So these lines are the product of my experiences and some research I have done. E.g. using the following sources:
Chuuk: Caricature of An Island by Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Weekend warriors : alcohol in a Micronesian culture by Mac Mashall
Yachts crews write about their experiences in Chuuk:
https://www.noonsite.com/place/federated-states-of-micronesia/chuuk-state/weno-chuuk-lagoon/related-user-comments/

Anton

Thank you for the very interesting quotes, this makes Chuukese culture even more interesting in my eyes. I hadn't read yet anything about Chuukese culture, but the South Pacific and its history is my great passion, I have a lot of books about any aspect of the Pacific, and I am always glad when I can add some new read to my collection.

I can see how it might be problematic to visit outer islands of Chuuk state, especially the problem of coming back from an island you can only reach by sea. But on the other side there are so many places in the Pacific where you can get stuck for various reasons, it's a risk you always have to take into account when visiting a remote place.

If you are interested in Micronesia, I found very interesting the book "Upon a stone altar", by David Hanlon: it's about Pohnpei's recent history. You can probably find the pdf online if you google it.