Since FaceBook will be releasing their new timeline presentation at the end of the month, I decided to take advantage of new design and post some of the Kosrae Village milestones, going back to our construction days.

I scanned in some photos and slides from the “pre-digital” days and added them to the Kosrae Village timeline.

Somehow we were all a lot younger back then!

Take a look and let me know what you think of our new look and old history.

Here’s the link to the Kosrae Village FB page.

Enjoy!
Katrina

 

Bruce and I are working on the special for his show marathon in April and May.

We came with a couple that seem like great ideas.

• A free cat or kitten (Genuine Kosraean Wild Cats, how can you go wrong?) for every visitor or
• “stay for 4 and pay for 5″.

So, what WOULD be a good special? Something that would be good for you and not break the bank for us???

Let me know…

Cheers,
Katrina

PS – if you know a vet that would like to trade some lodging for spay and neutering, put them in touch – we are about to be overrun.

 

Wow!! Kosrae Village is the runner-up for “best eco-lodge” in the Outside Magazine 2012 Travel Awards!

The award, announced in the April print edition which just went on sale, and on the Outside Magazine website is an exciting honor.

We are celebrating! and tomorrow we go back to work.

Cheers!
Katrina

 

Kosrae Village has donated 4 nights lodging with meals and some diving and island exploration to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) for their ecoAuction in support of ecotourism!

Visit http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=146135431 to learn more and to place your bid!

This is a great opportunity for those of you thinking of visiting us. We don’t have any blackout days, all you have to do is bid, win, and reserve! I hope we see you soon.

Cheers!
Katrina

 

Ok, you asked (begged?? ) and finally! here is the recipe for the Kosrae Village incredibly Juicy Orange Cake.

This is a wonderful cake, rich and very flavorful. We bake it in a bundt pan, but it would make amazing cup cakes too.

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda

Put 1 tablespoon vinegar in a measuring cup, add enough milk to make ½ cup.

Add all liquid ingredients to dry ingredients
Vinegar / milk mixture
½ cup milk
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons orange peel
½ cup coconut cream
1 cup fresh grated coconut

Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed, scrape bowl once.

Bake in greased and floured bundt pan at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of the pan to finish cooling.

We squeeze the oranges fresh and also use fresh grated coconut and coconut cream. Whatever you use, try to get the freshest and most flavorful products.

Enjoy!
Katrina

 

Believe it or not the year is almost over. Since 2012 is going to happen any minute now, I though that you might like the tide predictions for the new year. And, here they are: 2012 Kosrae Island Tides.

There is also a brand new special that is good until the end of March 2012. You will find it here: Kosrae Village Specials.

When you check out the specials could you pay extra attention to the second line in each of the discount options? It is supposed to be black – but for some browsers it’s red. So if you are seeing red (:)) please let me know.

Cheers,
Katrina

 

I mean that literally, the last couple of months have been frantically busy.

The University of Washington held their second Kosrae Island Exploratory Seminar this year with Kosrae Village as their home base. The class, an absolutely wonderful group of people, was here from the second half of August through most of September.

This Saturday we just said goodbye to the 2011 coral monitoring team who have been here since the first of October. And since I work with the reef surveys my head has really been underwater for the past two weeks.

Oh yeah, tucked in the middle I had a quick trip to Pohnpei for a FSM Association of Chambers of Commerce board meeting and Bruce has gone to Guam for the Guam Micronesia Island Fair (GMIF) and travel fairs on the Guam Navy and Air Force bases this weekend. After GMIF he travels to the States for DEMA and to visit family.

Now, I *finally* have a chance to tell you about this year’s University of Washington Exploratory Seminar and my pet project, our ongoing reef inventories. Here is a link to the post about the Exploratory Seminar and the link to the reef survey post.

Cheers,
Katrina

 

Donna, Gale, Steve and Dave

This year’s team was incredible, one of the best groups we have ever had; hard working, eager and patient when we had to make last minute changes, when equipment failed or when any of the 2001 things that can happen, do happen.

Hunting the Wiley Invertebrates,

Measuring Visibility

Laying Out the Transect Line

Recording Coral Damage

With a Saturday arrival on October 1st, we spent the weekend on getting over jet lag and familiarization with the survey techniques and protocols. Every year we “tweak” what we are doing to try to be more efficient, more accurate, and to collect better data. This year, thanks to suggestions from last year’s crew (George are you reading this?), we had our invertebrate team (the folks hunting sea cucumbers and sea stars) and the person recording coral disease, bleaching and damage take photos instead of just recording information on a slate.

Each evening the team reviewed that day’s photos, doing identification and discussing the possible causes of coral damage. This method was so successful that I think it would be worthwhile to do some fund raising to ensure that all future team members have digital cameras.

Monday Morning Start

Monday was our first day in the water and a shake down in every sense. We also had three other divers with us who wanted to come along and see what all the fuss was about. And we survived! We collected good data! And there was just a little snickering from our “observers”.

Over the next 10 days we collected data at 7 sites. And that’s not all we did.

• We helped to drill a new mooring site.
• We found three mooring pins that had been lost during the destructive 2008 king tides, and
• we replaced or installed 7 mooring lines and buoys.

We were a *very* busy team.



Drilling a New Mooring



Checking a Mooring Buoy, Kosrae Village



Another Site Completed!



















Now I just need to complete the analysis of the mountain of data sitting on my desk ( hopefully in the next month) and then I should have current information available on the state of our extraordinary reef to share with you.



Kosrae Island, Micronesia



Utwe Village, Kosrae Micronesia



Canoes are Still a Common Transportation Method on Kosrae

Cheers!
Katrina
ps – these photos were taken by the team members, please ask before you use them.




 
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This year’s class was made up of a fantastic group of young women who had a very intense 4 weeks on Kosrae. The class focused on the relationships between Kosraean communities, culture and the local environment.



University of Washington Class and Host Parents

Most days the class was in the field, slogging through the mangroves (studying, replanting, and collecting propagules), snorkeling over coral reefs (learning to identify the common corals and reef creatures, collecting environmental data and assessing risks to the reefs), along with excursions to visit the Lelu Ruins, the clam farm and other field trips. Relax in the evenings and on weekends? Nope! Evenings and Saturdays they had classroom activities, learning the science behind what they were seeing in the field.

The class spanned the Kosrae Island Liberation holiday weekend which celebrates the end of World War II. The instructors, Julian Sachs and Neimah Ladd had organized a homestay for the students over that weekend and they had 3 days of total immersion in the Kosrae culture and community.

Here are some photos of the Liberation festivities and their underwater exploration.

Enjoy!
Katrina



 
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