I’ve always dreamed about staying on an exotic island in a thatched roof bungalow with a porch lined with beautiful seashells looking over clear blue water with tropical fish.
My dream came true… in the Solomon islands!!
Not only did Clark and I find an amazing place to stay …
We found oodles of empty seashells!
And bunches of beach bling like SEA BEANS, SEA URCHINS and this awesome OPERCULUM (aka- SHIVA SHELL or MERMAID MONEY).
Just off the beach from our bungalow, I snorkeled with hundreds of colorful tropical fish. I found Nemo!
Brilliant live BLUE SEA STARS were in the water everywhere we went. We visited during an extremely low tide during the day so I picked this one up off a dry rock to place it back in the water.
We not only explored the beaches, we explored the villages to learn about the Solomon people and their culture.
These are MANGROVE OYSTERS we ate for an appetizer one night.
They use shells to decorate just about every garden we saw…
I even learned how to make the palm frond baskets to carry shells…
If you are a history buff then you know that the battle of Guadalcanal in WWII was fought in the Solomon Islands having deep United States, Japan and Australian history. Before we left for on our journey, our friend MurexKen gave Clark a book to read…Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
We learned even more about the impacts of WWII on these tiny islands by visiting Barney at his museum of self collected war artifacts on Munda Island. It was truly fascinating.
Then… our worlds collided when I saw this stack of SHELL MONEY. Yes, the people of the Solomon Islands still use shells for money. The ones I’m holding in the next photo are called Bakia and are made using stone tools to chip away by hand at fossil GIANT CLAMS (Tridacna gigas) found high in the mountains of the islands. They use this shell money as “Bride Price” to exchange for a wife and/or for honoring tribal chiefs when they pass away. Barney told me the history of some of the “SHELL MONEY” Bakia and a few have been passed down in his family for generations. Talk about a powerful moment- it was shellendipity!
Traveling from the east coast of the United States (Sanibel Island) to the remote islands in the South Pacific to look for shells may seem a little extreme to some people but we found much more than beautiful shells.
We found beautiful people. We met such nice people on our entire trip but the people at FatBoys Resort (haha yes, little did I know I had been dreaming of a place called “FatBoys”) made our vacation very special. We had no idea that FatBoys existed until we met Kerry at Dive Gizo (Clark found a Rotary meeting in the Solomons and she is the presient) told us we should have lunch there. We took a boat to lunch at FatBoys where the manager Mano (tall guy in the yellow shirt) made us feel like family that very moment we walked in. So two days laters we moved in for eight days. Thank you Panda, Saron, Kalisa, Timothy, Tiro (top chef and basket weaver photo), Benson, Jennifer and Rodrick (not pictured). And a special thanks to Mano!
Sooo… we are still trying to catch up on time zone changes and life in general but my next Solomon Islands trip post I will identify lots of the different shells we found… a few “firsts” which is so excting!
PS- In my little guessing game on my last post nobody guessed Solomons but I think Gail guessed the closest – Vanuatu. :)
PSS- Shout out to Gary Schmelz for telling us about this amazing place- thank you!
Sounds like another amazing trip! I love to read all about your fabulous trips! Thanks for sharing!!
I have to ask about your pretty teal shorts…. are there shells on them and where did you get them and brand!😉😊
Looking forward to more posts.
I’ve been to Bali and Tahiti, so I can imagine your delightful TRIP.
I’ll be on your AUG 11 trip to Cayo COSTA. See you soon.
Char Hester
I just love it when dreams come true!
What a wonderful trip all around!
Wow, what a fantastic voyage. You certainly live a charmed life. Thanks for sharing.
WOW!! Such an amazing adventure. Please deliver my food and drinks on the beach while I pick up all those unsightly shells. I’ll just take them all away! hahaha
Awesome finds. Great trip. What was you flight itinerary to get there?
Ok On my next Solomons post :)
Pam, I can believe someone I know has also been to the Solomon Islands! Mitch had a teacher pen pal there and we went to Guadalcanal , then flew to New Georgia, then Munda and then by canoe to Vona Vona where Our friend and his family live. His uncle was one of the men that saved Kennedy according to his family’s story. They are so remote that you don’t need money because there is no place to spend it. There was no electricity or refrigeration so if you wanted to eat you had to catch it or pick it. Everything was wonderfully fresh. One night we could only catch lobster. We also saw that WWII museum with all the relics dragged from the jungle.
We’ll all be back on Sanibel for Christmas and I until the end of January with my friends. Maybe we can compare notes.
Sue
Sue! That’s so cool you’ve been there and you saw the same museum. I just read an article on your friends uncle – I think he was finally honored him and awarded him a medal- it took decades. Hope to see you when you’re here!
Wow, what beautiful finds. This must have been the hell of a trip!! Cannot wait to see more fotos of your shells!
What a beautiful shellventure on gorgeous islands with wonderful people. Thank you, Pam, for sharing. Can not wait to see even more from your trip :)
I love the outfit you have on in the photo of you holding the shell money. Would you please consider sharing the details on it (where you purchased, brand, etc.)? I’ll be on a trip in September and something like what you’re wearing would be perfect for it. Also, I know you said you’ll be sharing about the shells you came across on your trip I would hope you would consider sharing more on your trip. Something like a trip a report with the details of flights or how you got there, etc. Basically anything you could tell us that would help us plan a trip such as yours in the future. Just the little bit you’ve shared here has definitely sparked my interest on Fatboys and I’d love to hear more that would help me present the idea to my husband.
Hi Rebecca, I don’t mind at all- as you can see, that’s my fave new shirt. :) I love the fit and it’s the right thickness. It’s Lilly Pulitzer and I got it online. The shorts are Lilly too and I got those at Her Sports Closet in Periwinkle
Place shopping center on Sanibel. I will definitely share more info on my trip. I’m not great at trip details like a report on travel sites since I focus so much on the shells but I’ll try to give as much as possible :)
I was wondering if the shorts were Lilly Pulitzer; that line is hard to miss. Thanks for the information; I really do appreciate it.
Haha yes Rebecca- they are Lilly. I find that the whole
brand makes me happy. It’s like making your own sunny, happy day. The aqua top with pink trim is Lilly too :)
How amazing! I’m so glad you went so we could see all the beautiful shells and a little history! Thank you Pam!
I loved hearing about your trip, Pam! I’m so happy for you and Clark. Your shells are amazing, the turquoise water is stunning, and that blue sea star is out of this world! Thank you for sharing your fantastic adventure, and I can’t wait to see more!
I am wondering if you will be listing the details of your trip !! I am interested in how you got to the Islands and if you stayed on only one island . Thanks for any information you can share !!
Hi Moralee! My next post on Solomons I’ll give more info. :)
So amazing!!! beautiful shells, beautiful island, beautiful people. What more can you ask for in a vacation! Thank-you for sharing your adventure…another place to put on my “must visit” wish list. BTW, is that a junonia, or a type there-of?
Thank you for sharing your many adventures with all of us. As usual, your photos are breath taking.
Thank you for sharing your many adventures with all of us. As usual, your photos are breath taking.
Your photo titled “We saw oodles of empty shells”, there are cone shells with a
black line down the side. I saw these in the Solomon Islands, but cannot
identify them. Could you tell me what they are??? I’d really appreciate it.
They are strawberry conchs (not cones).
Hello, I have just come across your site. I live in Sarasota & will going to Eleuthera next week & was searching for info on shelling opportunities & found this. Solomon Islands had been on my radar in the past, but we ended up with Bali & then another time to the Philippines. I love that section of our planet! Do you have a blog about your Solomon Island trip? If not, would you please share which islands you preferred & if you felt the beach house would still be a choice at this point in time, I would love to know that as well. I understand thing may have changed since your stay was back in 2017. I would really appreciate any thoughts. Thank you very much & I loved reading your posts on this site!
Best regards,
Gina