Solomon Islands Earthquake and Tsunami

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Katrina

Earlier today there was a huge earthquake (8.0) of off the coast of the Solomon Islands. The Solomons are directly south of Kosrae and when the tsunami was generated, Kosrae was included in the warning issued by NOAA’s Tsunami Warning System.

Very fortunately for Kosrae (and us, since we are right on the coast) the wave died out before it reached Kosrae. We are safe and sound, but that is not true of the Solomons and other islands closer to the earthquake.

We are extremely lucky the the warning system exists and even luckier that our local leaders pay attention to this and other warnings.

Katrina

 
Posted in Kosrae Island | Tagged | 27 Comments

Introducing Yosio!

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Katrina

We have a new Dive Guide (in training). :) Thursday he completed his Advanced course and one of his elective dives was the Photography dive. I thought that you might enjoy a couple of his images.

Tiny Tiny Squid

Tiny Tiny Squid

Flowery Sole

Flowery Sole

Yosio has a few things to learn about the science of diving and leading dive groups, but he already has a great eye!

Cheers,
Katrina

 
Posted in Kosrae Village | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Happy New Year! Kosrae Tide and Weather Info

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Katrina

Hi!

I hope that your holidays were wonderful!

Now it’s time to get back to “real” life, like planning your trip to visit us. :)

Most of our activities, here on Kosrae, are tide and weather dependent, so I’ve posted the 2013 tide predictions here: Kosrae 2013 Tide Predictions

The US National Weather Service Pacific ENSO Climate Center predicts ocean and weather conditions for the entire Pacific Region based on the current El Nino / La Nina conditions. They publish a quarterly newsletter with climate discussion and predictions that is very accurate, for Kosrae at least! Here is the link to their newsletter listing: Pacific ENSO Newsletters

There are links to the current Kosraean time and weather on our Kosrae Today page.

Let me know if they are helpful and if there are other references that would be useful.

Happy 2013!
Katrina

 
Posted in Kosrae Island | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Visit Micronesia Discount Airfare!!! UPDATE

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Katrina

Hi Folks,

In the week since I published the original article, a lot of new information has come to light, so this is an update to the original article with more accurate and current information.

United Airline’s discounted Visit Micronesia fare:

Here are the details on how to buy this discounted ticket and the rules that currently apply:

  • The Visit Micronesia fare is available for ticketing Dec 1, 2012 – March 31, 2014.
  • It can be used to travel beginning February 14, 2013.
  • Travelers cannot live in the Micronesia region. (i.e. The Commonwealth of the Marianas, Guam, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands or Hawaii).
  • The ticket must be purchased outside of the Micronesia region and must be purchased before the trip begins.
  • Travel on United or United Express must begin outside of the Micronesia region. So, your flight into Hawaii or Guam must be on United or United Express.
  • The ticket number for the trip to Guam or Hawaii must be cross referenced on the Visit Micronesia ticket.
  • The Visit Micronesia fare provides a discount fare with multiple stops (2 – 5 islands, depending on the ticket purchased) for travel to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, CNMI and Palau. The turnaround island is included in the number of stops.
  • The first stop must be scheduled when the ticket is purchased, but the rest can be left open. The traveler has 30 days to complete their travel on the Visit Micronesia ticket.
  • There is a $250 fee for refunds and changes made by the issuing agency (United or your travel agent) before departure. After departure this fare is not refundable or changeable.
  • These fares aren’t available online. Since these tickets have many possible combinations of routes and islands to be visited, you need to buy the ticket through a travel agent or by calling a United reservations agent.
  • The Visit Micronesia fare details are found on page “GG VUS MIC” in United’s reservation system.
  • This is the current contact information for United, from the United Airlines website:
    • For reservations in the USA and Canada: 1-800-864-8331
    • This page, has contact options for other countries and regions.

Your potential savings are huge, for example right now (Nov 2012) the round trip Visit Micronesia ticket from Honolulu to Kosrae and Pohnpei is currently priced at $620.00. But remember that this does not include the taxes and fuel surcharge, which can be quite hefty! Your mileage may vary. :)

Now that you can afford the trip you have always wanted to take, do it!

See you soon!
Katrina

 
Posted in Travel | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Win A GoPro Camera!

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Katrina

I thought that you might like to know about the Kosrae Visitors Bureau contest to give away a GoPro! Here is the press release and a link to the contest details:

“Picture Yourself On Kosrae” GoPro Outdoor Camera Giveaway

Enter to win this versatile camera loved by outdoor enthusiasts, divers, hikers and explorers
By Kosrae Visitors Bureau
Published: Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 – 8:09 am

TOFOL, KOSRAE, Federated States of Micronesia, Nov. 1, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ — Now’s your chance to enter to win a GoPro® HERO3 Silver Edition Camera as a part of the Kosrae Visitors Bureau’s “Picture Yourself on Kosrae” Sweepstakes and Outdoor Camera Giveaway.

Here’s how it works. Simply visit the contest website, or Twitter and enter to win by providing your email address. Entries can also be submitted at http://www.facebook.com/KosraeIsland by clicking on the sweepstakes tab at the top of the page.

“We’re giving away a GoPro® because it’s the ultimate camera for the outdoor enthusiast, and Kosrae Island is a bona fide outdoor paradise, both underwater and on land,” said Grant Ismael, executive director of the Kosrae Visitors Bureau. “People who visit Kosrae are treated to magnificent scuba diving, challenging jungle hiking, natural beauty and the warm smiling faces of Kosrae. All are ideal subjects for capturing with the GoPro HERO3 camera to share with others.”

The winner will receive a GoPro® HERO3 Silver Edition. Sweepstakes entries will be accepted October 31 through December 1, 2012. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on December 5, 2012.

Sweepstakes entrants who have visited Kosrae are also invited to share their Kosrae stories and images by sending them to Kosrae@Placemakinggroup.com.

ABOUT KOSRAE: Kosrae is an eco-traveler’s paradise and an internationally acclaimed dive destination. A 42-square-mile island, it is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and is located between Guam and Hawaii. Kosrae’s reefs are considered to be among the most pristine remaining in the world. United Airlines’ Island Hopper serves Kosrae via Hawaii and Guam. Visit the Kosrae Visitors Bureau web site: http://www.kosrae.com.

SOURCE Kosrae Visitors Bureau

I’d love to enter, but somehow I don’t think that I’m eligible! :)

Good Luck!
Katrina

 
Posted in Kosrae Island | Tagged | 3 Comments

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Katrina

Oh, well, maybe not. :)

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been up to my ears for the past couple of months. Part of this is because Ben Frank, our amazing dive guide and dive operation supervisor, has moved to Hawaii. So while I’m training new guides, I’m also the primary dive guide. AND, we’ve been buried in divers for the past month or so. Did I say I’ve been really, really, busy?

But all of this means I’ve been diving almost every day, and that has been wonderful!

Coral Silhouette

Healthy and Diverse Coral


Last week we had great vis, light currents and no swell or wind for the entire week. To top things off, we’ve had dolphins playing around the boats and a constant parade of sub adult white tipped reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, a giant travelly, wahoo, barracuda, puffers, peacock sole and of course the constant small tropical reef fish and invertebrates that live on our healthy and diverse reef.

Tomorrow night a night dive and in a week the coral monitors arrive!

I hope that you are all having a great September.

Cheers,
Katrina

 
Posted in Diving & Marine | Tagged | Comments Off

Hey! Surprise! I’m Back!

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Katrina

Hi Folks!

I’m so sorry that I’ve been AWOL for the last couple of months. Life has been busy and frantic.

Sonya Koshuta of S K Design in New York was kind enough to send me her experience in purchasing the Star Alliance Micronesia Airpass and I thought that her info might help some of you.
—————————————————————-
From Sonya:

Hello there!

Your site greatly helped me!

After being transferred thru 5 desks and too many people via UNITED AIRLINES yesterday on the phone, I was able to reach the “Alliance” desk.

As of 9/19/12, the Micronesia Air Pass still exists and the way it is priced is via what cities you plan to go through.  I understand these prices to be cheaper than what you would normally pay if you booked on your own, but in order to get the cheapest route, you do not want to back-track through 2 zones at a time.

There is no base price to pay for the pass, but you just have to know it exists.

There is a 3 days stay minimum at each stop-over, and you must complete at least 2 stop-overs in order to get the discounted fares.  I believe that you can “start” at any of the airports they service with the Micronesia pass, however they do include Tokyo as a starting point…

Additionally, you might want to know that you can only buy the airpass discounted fares following the purchase of a round-trip ticket to one of the origin cities, using award miles or money on a Star Alliance / United partner….

Best,
Sonya
::::::::::::::::::::::
sonya koshuta
S K  DE S I G N
p 646 245 7916
—————————————————————————————-

I hope this is useful!
Cheers,
Katrina

 
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New Kosrae Island Video!

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Katrina

The Kosrae Chamber of Commerce (http://www.kosraechamberofcommerce.org) has produced a great promotional video for Kosrae Island.

You can view or download the video here: http://vimeo.com/39022220

Enjoy!
Katrina

 
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Wildlife R Us!

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Katrina

We’ve got a great young family staying in one of the cottages close to the restaurant and the other night Mom came rushing over, totally excited because of a huge crab they were watching. I went over to check it out and saw that it was a young coconut crab, which is terrific news!

We’ve been trying to establish this area as a coconut crab sanctuary (they are VERY tasty, equally slow growing, and pretty endangered on Kosrae) and now that we are beginning to get sightings of young crabs, it looks like our effort is beginning to pay off. Here are some photos:

Young Coconut Crab at Kosrae Village, Micronesia

Young Coconut Crab

I don’t know if you can see it, but the crab is just starting to develop the blue color on it’s body that will be very distinctive when it is fully grown. This guy is pretty little – if he was all stretched out he might be 12 or 15 inches from one foot to the other.

 

Young Coconut Crab at Kosrae Village, Micronesia

Young Coconut Crab

 

 

 

And wait – we aren’t done!

Last night they thought someone was playing pranks by throwing pebbles up on their roof. So early this morning when they went to see what was going on, they saw at least eight (yes, EIGHT!) huge fruit bats (our fruit bats or flying foxes are really big) feasting in the trees over the cottage – and dropping small fruits on the roof as they were eating breakfast.

I think that everywhere, all of the time, amazing things are happening all around us. We just have to look.

Cheers!
Katrina

 
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Salmon!

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Katrina

Well, no maybe not in Micronesia. :)

Those of you who know me, or who have been reading this blog for a while, know that a couple of years ago I revisited my roots. I went commercial salmon fishing in Alaska with my sister Liz. And (barely) lived to tell the tale.

Right now, I’m here in Kosrae where it is warm and snuggly, but Liz is back in Naknek  for this year’s fishing season – where it might not be so warm!

You might also remember my post about the proposed Pebble  Mine, right smack in the middle of the prime salmon spawning grounds, and the associated controversy. Yesterday, or maybe the day before, the EPA held a hearing in Naknek to present their findings re the proposed mine and also to collect testimony from various stakeholders.

Liz posted an account of the hearing here http://naknekseafood.blogspot.com/. Check it out, it is informative and interesting reading. And if you care about this issue, she lists various ways to make your thoughts known.

Liz normally writes everyday during the season, and I always read her posts – she’s funny, insightful and writes well, and she’s my sister. :)

Where do I stand on the Pebble Mine issue? Guess. NO Pebble Mine!

Cheers,

Katrina

 

 
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