POHNPEI

Pohnpei is the textbook image of a classic South Sea island. High mountain peaks pierce the blue sky and the land is covered with a thick carpet of tropical vegetation. It is both a mysterious and beautiful island, blessed with cascading waterfalls, lush rainforests and high cliffs.

Approximately one-half mile off shore is a coral barrier reef that encircles the island and trapped inside the barrier are hundreds of shallow coral reefs, channels and islets. Beyond the barrier reef, the bottom drops straight away to 6,000 feet, forming a vertical wall of coral, Gorgonian fans in an array of colors, (some grow to a height of 20 feet), soft corals and sponges.

The inside lagoon sites are ideal for novice divers or underwater photographers who wish to spend longer bottom time photographing fish and corals.

The vertical walls on the outside of the barrier reef are for experienced divers who seek super clear water and big fish action.

Pohnpei is especially known for its amazing variety and abundance of crinoids. They come in a multitude of colors and often cluster in groups of six or eight.

The Lost City of Nan Madol

Not all of Pohnpei's attractions lie underwater. A lost city made of oddly constructed stone logs sits at the edge of the sea-partly shrouded by jungle and crisscrossed by a labyrinth of man made stone canals.

Abandoned hundreds of years ago, Nan Madol remains an unexplained archaeological mystery. No one really knows who built it, how it was built, why it was built in such an odd way, or why it was eventually abandoned.

The major buildings are constructed of giant stone logs, 18 feet long and several feet in diameter. Each stone is estimated to weigh two and one-half tons. The logs are stacked in crisscross fashion to form walls 40 feet high and 14 to 18 feet thick. A boat tour of this silent city is an awesome experience.