"While the chief parlayed with Michael, women gathered at a distance to peer curiously…."

"Imagine for a moment a place where people never have to sweep the floor, find a parking space, get stuck in traffic, shop at the supermarket, wash clothes, answer telephones, wear shoes, keep accounts, licensee the dog, pay taxes and insurance bills. This is Ifalik in a nutshell. The island is large enough to support extensive taro patches, copious coconuts and a productive reef."

They discover the remnants of an ancient South Sea island culture verging on extinction and explore the daunting ruins of megalithic Nan Madol.  After the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, where they participate in a cargo cult Sabbath, they spend some time in New Caledonia, waiting for good weather to cross the Tasman Sea.

"We girls cannot go where we want. We must always show respect to the men. We cannot even visit your boat…"

"A noisy group of little boys just let out of school ran up and reached endearingly to take our hands. With strong white teeth they tore chunks from the soft outer husk of the young coconuts they were eating, generously offering us bits to chew."

"We were astonished by the sheer magnitude...hundreds of thousands of tons of the same strange layers of prismatic basalt logs….The black faceted rock seemed intimidating…."

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