Marshall Islands

Bikendrik Island, Majuro

From July 21st to July 26th 2025

July 21

We left Pohnpei, Micronesia around 2pm and made it to Majuro, Marshall Islands by 8pm. We checked into the Robin Reiners hotel for 1 night because we got in too late to head to our accomodation at Bikendrik.

July 22

We got picked up this morning at the Robert Reiners hotel around 9:15 with all our bags packed, hopped on a boat and suited up for 2 dives. We knew we were going out for a wreck dive first, but we had no idea that the wreck dive included 4 different types of wrecks: a sea plane, a ferry/cruise boat, a helicopter, and then a DC8 airplane. Mind blowing! Normally when we got for a wreck dive, it’s just one wreck below water, but somehow all these items were within a 10 minute swim of each other. The glass-fish surrounding the ferry/cruise boat were a sight we had never seen before, and we also had never seen any aircraft underwater. So, all in all, this dive was full of firsts. Hiro, from near Osaka, Japan, was our dive instructor.

We then got to our “hotel” on Bikindrik Island where we were met by the Austrian owner, Suzy. She escorted us to our rooms and walked us through the amenities, gave us advice and tips on air circulation, how to use the hot water, snacks she left for us in the fridge (the lemon pound cake!), then told us to be cleaned up and ready for lunch in 30 minutes. We are the only guests at the Airbnb style property and the only people on this island.

Our room was charming of course, even decorated with an 8x11 pencil sketch of a revolver gun with the name Andy Warhol at the bottom of it. We went to the main house (common area) where the charm continued to present itself in every corner. We sat for lunch and sat in plastic patio chairs, but on the table had a proper table setting including sterling silverware to eat our grilled tuna fish for lunch. She even had sparkling water.

We went back to the room after lunch to rest, relax, explore around the property, and prepare for our aperitivo before dinner. Suzy made us a champagne, brandy, and sugar cocktail. She smoked cigarettes while we sipped on our libation. The conversation moved in all directions.

We sat for dinner and had beef beef bourguignon.

We sat for a digestif after dinner and continued our conversation with Suzy while she puffed on a few more cigarettes. She moved to the island 19 years ago with her husband, they lived in Libya and the Congo, she has an Iraqui brother, in her main house (among many other things) she has a painting from Matisse, Hitler (yes, him), and a Picasso because he was friends with her mother. She’s now 73 and living alone aside from the help she hires to help her keep the property put together. She talks about the geckos around the house and all their different personalities, laments about political happenings (past, present, and future), clearly has a colorful past and is genuinely curious about the world outside.

We walked back to our room in a downpour, an although we had an umbrella, we came back to the room dripping. While heading to sleep, a sweet little gecko dropped on the bedframe on Hailey’s side causing a little thud. It then scurried off back up to his/her position at the top of the room eating as many bugs as it can. At least it’s clearing the bugs out. Like a cat keeping the rats away.

July 23

We went diving at 10am at a spot called the Aquarium - just outside the reef where the ocean meets the atoll. We were reminded of The Blue Corner (from Palau) when we were there as it seemed to be a feeding ground. Plenty of schools of fish running swimming around, sharks swarming, and massive dogtooth tunas. It was the type of dive where you basically find a piece of coral to hold onto, and sit and let the action happen in front of you. A nice type of dive for a change. Normally you’re swimming around trying to look for things. This dive felt like we were passive participants.

Once we had reached our max deco time we simply let go of the coral and let the ocean drift us back into the atoll where we hopped back on the dive boat.

Our second dive was through a coral field underwater. Very beautiful.

Dinner started with a delicious celery soup with salty croutons, a tuna pate with saltine crackers, cous cous and lamb from New Zealand. The geckos were very lively at dinner, fighting in the bush right next to us (Max may have dropped some of his drink over there and they were fighting for the sweet/sugar/alcohol).

July 24

Today was a full day on the island with no excursions or activities booked. We woke up around 6 and did some exercises in the room. At 9am we sat for breakfast. At 10:30am Hailey was out watching the hermit crabs go about their business. By 12:30 Max was hungry so we went to have lunch which comprised of Traditional Austrian schnitzel and potatoes. Back to the room after lunch, did some travel planning on our computers, Hailey went back into the ocean water, then we went up for dinner at 6:30pm to hear some more new stories from Suzy.

July 25

Another full day on the island. We woke up and did our exercises, then went for breakfast at 9am.

At 11am Hailey went for a snorkel in front of the room.

We had dinner at 6:30pm and spend an hour with Suzy while having our digestiv learning more about her history and how the hotel came about.

July 26

Hailey woke up and did a 45 minute Peloton barre class, then went for a dip to cool off in the ocean.

We went for breakfast at 10am where we ate fried eggs with polenta, croissants, the most delicious Korean Ginseng tea, and the usual half grapefruit.

Our boat ride came to pick us up at 12pm and took us from Bikendrik Island to Majuro to catch our Air Nauru flight at 4pm to Kiribati.