PACIFIC MAPS
Pacific Ethnic Divisions Map
The native peoples of the Pacific Islands may be divided racially (or is it ethnically?) into three groups: Polynesians, Melanesians and Micronesians. Most people in the west see Polynesians in popular media and so that's what they think of when they picture pacific islanders. Samoans are Polynesians, as are Hawaiians, and people from the Society Islands (e.g. Tahiti etc.) ... and others. Melanesians are black people, however, similar to African-Americans. Fijians are an example as are Papua New Guineans, and Solomon Islanders ... and others. And Melanesians seem to have a much wider variation. For example some Melanesians have blond hair, some have very dark skin with aquiline noses like Semites and some have orange skin. Finally, Micronesians, (ex. Guam) if in the Americas, could be taken for Hispanics in some cases (at least I think so). I need to show some pictures don't I? That's coming.
Pacific Early Exploration's Map
I have not yet included the voyages of Cook. Evidently Portugal had really good navigators but perhaps the Spanish crown had more money? Where you see Spain_Portuguese, it means the explorer was a Portuguese sailing for Spain.
Pacific War Map
The map illustrates the rapid expansion of the Japanese Empire and its rapid collapse. Note attacks on the US mainland after Pearl Harbor. Even though these attacks did not amount to much, they led to a heightened fear of the Japanese and the subsequent internment of Japanese living in the western part of the US. The photographs are not yet available in this rendering.
Pacific International Air Routes Map
I apologize for the "spaghetti" but even with this complexity, it's not the complete picture. Also, it is an old picture (2014). It is now 2022 so I will have to update it. Nevertheless, it demonstrates two things: (1) you can get there from here ... if you're willing to sit on your butt for 24 hours, and (2) the two best cities from which you can get into the islands themselves are Auckland, NZ and Honolulu, Hawaii.
A brief rundown on some of the airlines from personal experience and from what I've heard:
And finally, island hopping is fun ... even adventurous - especially when you see the pilot looking out the window trying to figure out where he's at, or landing on a grass strip that's under water, or landing on one wheel in the middle of a turn - good grief! You'll get caught up on your prayers real quick.
A brief rundown on some of the airlines from personal experience and from what I've heard:
- Air New Zealand is a great airline.
- Qantas is supposed to be the safest in the world ... and perhaps the most expensive?
- Air Niugini is a nice airline and their planes are clean.
- Cathy Pacific may have some amazing pricing, but it may be a "secret" too, so go through a travel agent (are they still around?).
- United goes to a lot of the little islands in the North Pacific since they took the routes from the old Continental Airlines but United has some issues with being on time.
- Flying into the south pacific can be very expensive. But one way to save money may be to make several purchases route by route instead of a single purchase from here to your ultimate destination. My formula may only work, however, if you purchase tickets on the ground and only if that leg of your trip is within a single country. For example, when I checked on the price of a round trip from LAX to Rabaul, PNG it was more expensive that purchasing a round trip ticket from LAX to Port Moresby and then purchasing another round trip separately inside the country from Port Moresby to Rabaul (both cities are within the same country).
- There are a number of budget ticketing agencies like CheapOAir, Kayak and Priceline, but airlines are now charging for every little thing so I am not sure how much can be saved. And to get that best deal may require staying over in an airport for a long time. Our first trip saw us hanging around in the Manila airport for 16 hours! This time we will have to do it again: Manila airport for 10 hours! Therefore, total travel time can easily exceed 24 hours.
And finally, island hopping is fun ... even adventurous - especially when you see the pilot looking out the window trying to figure out where he's at, or landing on a grass strip that's under water, or landing on one wheel in the middle of a turn - good grief! You'll get caught up on your prayers real quick.
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Thank you and please come back. This page will be updated because nothing is static.
Thank you and please come back. This page will be updated because nothing is static.
