Day 415: November 19, 2025 – Tulagi, Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean were a study in contrasts. At our first port in Honiara, 5 of our shipmates got mugged, including one person in a wheelchair. The good news is that one of them got their cell phone back, thanks to locals who chased down the attacker. I was wandering around the botanical garden on our first day there, when two local women stopped and warned me not to walk around the gardens alone. The next day, I did something I almost never do: I spent the entire day on the ship, too spooked to venture outside.

Our second Solomon Islands port, Tulagi, was the quintessential paradise island. A 45-minute boat ride brought us to a tiny village with wooden huts, lots of welcoming smiles and curious children.

This little fellow, who looked barely old enough to walk, was having a blast maneuvering a canoe that was three times his size.

This excursion was geared towards snorkelers and I’m not much of a snorkeler (too afraid of being underwater), so I didn’t see the beautiful corals others in our group saw. I went mostly because I was intrigued by Simon, who runs Simon’s Nature Reserve, a private marine sanctuary on the island. For over 20 years, he has been a staunch advocate of coral preservation. His mission is to tend to what he calls the “coral garden” around his village, while meticulously documenting its rich coral diversity. It was an honor to meet him, and he represents the Solomon Islands in my Faces of the World gallery.

Fiddler crabs with giant red claws scurried around the island.

Coconut water straight from the tree is always a treat on a hot day.

This colorful parrot (Yellow-bibbed Lory) came out to greet us. He was flying around freely so I thought he was wild, but it turned out he was a domesticated village pet. Stunningly beautiful, nevertheless.

Our second stop was at Roderick Bay, where we spent several hours snorkeling, eating, and just chilling out.

An interesting attraction here was an abandoned German cruise ship that struck an uncharted reef in 2000. It was severely damaged and remains here to this day. Island kids use it as a zip line and some of our group joined in the fun.

Getting into water that is higher than ankle-deep always takes me outside my comfort zone, but this tree swing in front of the shipwreck was hard to resist.