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Destination : MARSHALL ISLANDS

The Marshall Islands are a vast sprinkling of over 1,225 sandy atolls and reefs spread across a half million miles of open ocean. The majority of Marshall Islanders live in Majuro, the region's capital, leaving the greater part of the outer islands sparsely populated. The islands are natural Pacific paradises.
They lie in Oceania, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea. After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947 and 1962.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands consists of two chains of coral atolls in the Central Pacific with a total area of approximately 705 square miles. The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a parliamentary democracy, constitutionally in free association with the United States of America. It has a developing agrarian and service-oriented economy. Tourist facilities are not widely available, but they are adequate. Hotels exist in the capital of Majuro and on Ebeye, the country's second most populous island. Water shortages are common.
Food crops grown on Bikini and throughout the Marshalls include coconuts, pandanus, papaya, banana, arrowroot, taro, limes, breadfruit, and pumpkin. A wide variety of trees and other plants are also present on the islands. All fruits and vegetables used for the Bikini Atoll dive and sport fishing operation are imported.
Animal life on Bikini and throughout the Marshalls includes small lizards, hermit crabs, coconut crabs, and a wide variety of birds. Pigs, ducks and chickens are raised for food, and dogs and cats are kept as pets.

The flipside to the paradise picture is that many of the Marshallese still struggle with the after-effects of the 20th century's nastiest technology. Several of the islands - the Bikini Atoll in particular - served as testing sites for atomic bombs through the 1960s, and many of their inhabitants have suffered from radiation poisoning, while their home islands remain too contaminated to be resettled. And yet, despite these hardships, the Marshallese are exceptionally welcoming and their culture and identity alive and well.

The Republic of the Marshall islands has 29 major atolls each made up of many islets and 5 islands in the central pacific between 4 degrees and 14 degrees North, and 160 degrees and 173 degrees East. The atolls and islands are situated in two almost parallel chain like formations known as the Ratak (Sunrise) group and Ralik (Sunset) group. The total number of islands and islets in the whole Republic is approx. 1,225 spreading across a sea area of over 750,000 sq. miles.

The total land area is about 70 square miles (181 square kilometers). The mean height of the land is about 7 feet above sea level (2 meters) Population total is around 60,000.