We pulled in to port to the majestic scene of spewing volcanos (pic. 1). I could smell the ash in the hallway as I left my room. Usually I eat on the back deck but today the ash was bothering my lungs so I ate inside. My tour left early and I brought along my dust mask just in case I needed it.
Our first stop was at a scenic overlook. It was going to be a hazy day as the sky was filled with ash. The next was the Volcanological Institute. We didn't spend much time there so I snapped pics of the placards to read later. There are 30 people who work at the institute, 5 or 6 are scientist. They have 3 evacuation plans for small, medium and major eruptions.
On the way up to and back down from the institute we saw many entrances to Japanese tunnels that were dug during WWII. There are 100's of kilometers of these tunnels. Pic. 3 is one of the entrances to the tunnels.
3 comments:
You are so luckie to be seeing all of this. Most of us would never in a life time get there. Love all your pictures. Looks like you are having lots of fun. What is the best part of the ship you like. Also have you had a problems with the hospital being by your room. I know you were thinking about that before you went on board. Keep up the good work.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the great pics of Rabaul.
What an amazing place.
David
Rabaul has several interesting stories about it. It was essentially made uninhabitable by the eruption of 1994. People are gradually rebuilding in the volcano's danger zone. During WWII it became an impregnable Japanese military base, and then a useless one as Allied forces bypassed it, surrounded it, and then attacked it repeatedly until Japanese Imperial Forces surrendered in the fall of 1945. Admiral Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, flew out of Rabaul in April 1943 & vanished into history. The US had cracked Japanese military codes, had learned his itinerary, and then sent a large air strike to obliterate the planes in Yamamoto's entourage. He presumably died in that attack.
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