Solomon Islands

Guadalcanal

Among the photos I took on Guadalcanal are a few of war planes and of the rusting remains of an American landing craft. When I was last there, in 1975, there wasn't much left of the landing craft, mostly pieces of rusty metal protruding from the sand. I cut my foot on one that was covered by the sand. There are also a few signs marking the positions of the American and Japanese front lines at various times during the battle for the island.

 

Malaita

The photos I took on Malaita are mostly of what was then called a custom village. When I was there in 1975 my guide told me the people living on the island had rejected the western lifestyle and returned to their traditional way of life. At that time they allowed a few tourists at a time to visit their island, but I think it, or others like it, have now been turned into full-blown tourist attractions. Back in the days before the Europeans took control they built these artificial islands by dumping rocks into the lagoon until it was high enough above the water to support a village. The reason was to avoid being caught by surprise attacks from other villages.