Nan Madol...view of ocean from top of wall

Me at Nan Madol

Last room standing at Nan Madol....imagine a hundred or so of these in ruins

Psychedelic Tree on way to Nan Madol

Kaproiah Waterfall

Spirits of Nan Madol
School starts this week, tomorrow actually. Things here are good, and always an adventure for sure. We spent yesterday back in Nan Madol with some of the volunteers from town (they came and spent the evening). We finally made it to the most photographed waterfall on the island. It was pretty good, although I would say that the waterfall hike that we went on weeks ago was far more exciting, more opportunity to swim in far cleaner water. Kaproiah (SP) is about a fifteen minute walk from our house and just at the base of a long river. I didn't venture into the pool below the falls although the housemate Matt jumped right in. (in the future now...no scary skin rash though!) I am wary of waterfalls that are so low and close to the coast, there are a number of villages above this fall who use the rivers for all kinds of cleaning activities (and prob. a few other things as well, the brown 'sudsyness' around rocks in the pool didn't seem to inviting to me). It is pretty amazing in its height and sight though. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea. Overall I think that this waterfall is kind of overrated, but it is a great place to spend an afternoon just reading and sitting soaking in the beauty, but not much else really.

Another view of Kaproiah

After the waterfall we walked for quite a ways in the beating down equatorial noon time sun to Nan Madol. This is the ruins of many (90 plus) islets built hundreds of years ago out of giant basalt rock logs. The one room that still stands is amazing and a testament to the accomplishments of this small Pacific culture. The complex was home to a number of ruling families before being abandoned before the Spanish arrived with their missionaries to proselytize themselves and their religion. The ruins are hard to describe and hard to imagine, but all the separate islets/islands are separated by small canals that are sometimes chock full of water (at high tide) and sometimes nearly empty (at low tide). You can wade between many of the ruined islands and some you would need a boat. It is possible to swim and snorkel here as well (and it is a scuba sight somewhere).
It is interesting to see what is probably considered the most "tourist" thing to do on the island. There are no signs directing anyone to the location and the road to the path is interesting and like many roads, dirt and full of potholes. We arrived at the entrance to the complex, which is just a family's home, where we all paid the $3 fee (in addition to the dollar you pay the family that lives up at the top of the road down to the path entrance) and made our way through jungle/mangrove swamp to the complex. The picture of the one last room that is still standing is below, but better pictures can be found on google image by searching for Nan Madol. The other picture gives an idea of what the rest of the complex looks like (although not really). This place is nearly impossible to describe, and the feeling of otherworldliness that it has is incredible. (H.P. Lovecraft used Nan Madol in his writing to describe it as one of the places that exists on the planet that contain some kind of gateway to another world, or a more dramatically inhabited ancient world)
There are many a legend and story about this place which I tend to believe and subscribe to. One mystery is how the place was constructed and how people managed to bring giant basalt rocks from the other side of the island (where they have found the quarry where the building materials came from). Brining the things there was one thing, but another was how the rooms and islets themselves were built. (I mean, you try crisscrossing two ton basalt logs on top of one another for upwards of 20 feet) Many locals tell the story (and the guidebooks) of what are called "wizards" or maybe more aptly named "magicians" who flew the stones into place. Many in our group are skeptical of this version and imagine complex systems of pulleys and lifting machines. Believe what you will is my philosophy, nothing can be proved, just conjectured at this point. Another thing about the place is the fact that it is protected and inhabited by spirits (many such sprits exist around the island, in particular around waterfalls and pools in the jungle). People are not allowed by the family/caretakers to spend the evening, and start taking visitors (what few there are) out well before the sun begins to set. There is a story of a man who spent the evening there are promptly came out the next morning mad as the hatter! Many such stories that have actually happened and are able to be proved have occurred in many of the spots where spirits protect pools and waterfalls.
All in all the trip was great and the place is spectacular to visit, i will be returning again soon, not only because it is a great place to get into the water, swim around, and snorkel as well. It seems surprising that on an island in the middle of the largest ocean in the world, there are surprisingly few places along the coast to just "get into the water". Most of the time, this would involve lugging through inches if not feet deep mud and mangrove root systems that look like something out of a film set. There were some great things to see on the walk as well and here are some pictures (above) to try and give you an idea of what it looks like around these parts.