Kosrae Nautilus Resort
When we first stepped off the plane in Kosrae, I wondered what sort of place I had gotten myself into. The airport consisted of two rooms, there didn't appear to be many houses or stores and the landing strip was suspiciously short. Kosrae is on the edge of civilization with the population consisting of mostly subsistence farmers and a few fishermen. Bats even fly overhead in the early morning and late afternoon to give the place a special wild feel. As soon as we got to baggage claim, however, somebody called our names through the crowd. It was the owner's son, Scotty and one of his trusted employees, Salek, welcoming us to their island. Suddenly we knew we were in the right place.
The Nautilus boasts 18 rooms, a restaurant with some of the best food on the island, and a pool in some prime real estate. You can't discuss the Nautilus without mentioning Doug, the owner, who personally ensures that you have everything you might want. He and his family have developed a local reputation as some of the nicest, most genuine people in the south Pacific. And because they take such good care of their guests, they cater to many repeat customers, so Doug prides himself in keeping the same employees around year after year so his returning guests will already have friends.
We went as part of a dive package and could not have been more pleased underwater. The hard coral surrounding that island is absolutely pristine. There are anemones with clownfish on nearly every dive. And even though Doug won't admit it so as to not get your hopes up, the large animal life there is splendid. We saw a gaggle of grey reef sharks, many blacktip reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles, two species of stingray, schools of barracuda and even got pushed around by a school of dogtooth tuna. The diving just didn't get old and when the conditions picked up by the end of the week, they showed us some of their incredible wrecks in the lagoons.
The Nautilus is one of the world's lost gems, tucked into a haven in the middle of nowhere. If unplugging from the bustle of the western world is on your to-do list, the Kosrae Nautilus is the perfect escape.
