Today's Questions and Answers

Here are more answers to your inquisitve questions about our trip to Palmyra Atoll.

What types of food are on the island?

We were very spoiled by the food and accommodations on Palmyra. We were hosted by The Nature Conservancy, which runs a research station on  Cooper Island.  They have a really nice set up with cozy sleeping quarters for two nestled along a vegetated pathway, a main shower and laundry room, a central restroom area with composting toilets, and our favorite - a large galley for cooking and dining. The galley was led by Kate Stadler who has many years of experience working on remote islands. She was also a teacher on Moloka'i for several years.  The meals had to be planned carefully well in advance since all the food came from Honolulu by cargo plane. Cooking for 40+ people is no easy task, especially when they are hungry Hōkūle'a crew!  Some of the most memorable meals were: Mexican burrito buffet, barbeque ribs, kalua pork and cabbage, and fresh ahi caught by the staff. There were also plenty of delicious dishes for the vegetarians among us.

Hungry voyagers grinding down dinner on Palmyra. Photo by Angela Fa'anunu

Did you see lots of plastic trash?

Fortunately, Palmyra does not get a lot of plastic trash washed upon its beaches. It is spared of that but the same can't be said for many other places, unfortunately. Plastic is a huge problem in our oceans. As it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, it makes a sort of "plastic soup" that can't be good for marine life.

What was the weather like?

When we were on Palmyra, the weather was beautiful!  It's a little warmer and humid than Hawaii but not unbearable. It started raining after the crew left, which is not unusual. Palmyra is located in an area known as the intertropical convergence zone where trade winds from the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere collide, rise and dump rainfall as they cool off at higher elevations. As the colliding trade winds rise, they create a phenomenon called the doldrums: light winds and lots of rain. Palmyra receives an average of 175 inches of rain each year. Daytime temperatures average 85°F (29°C).

Were there sharks?

Yes! There were sharks of all sizes in the lagoon. We saw small baby sharks right at the water's edge, looking for food. They just looked like big fish. And as we went kayaking, we saw slightly larger sharks that became startled when we came by. Then when we went snorkeling, we saw lots of larger sharks, which at first was unsettling for some of us.  But we soon realized that they weren't interested in us at all. They had a lot of other more tasty food swimming by. The main sharks we saw were black and white tipped reef sharks. There are also grey sharks and hammerheads.

Black tipped reef shark. Photo by Russell Amimoto

Scientists have been studying how sharks in Palmyra's lagoon are coping with increased water temperatures. There's an interesting blog posted recently by The Nature Conservancy about studying Palmyra's sharks.