Continental Micronesia airlines operates an island-hopper run to Majuro in the Republic of the Marshall Islands via Guam, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Kwajalein — a great way to see fantastic scenery and sample the flavors of each airport.

Descending into Majuro in the Marshall Islands, a narrow Pacific coral atoll, feels like landing on an aircraft carrier, with waves crashing on both sides of runway barriers. The airport has old Pacific charm. Passengers walk across the runway, get passports stamped at a little shack, and pass giant ladies in muumuu dresses weaving baskets for sale.

It's easy to take a taxi or catch a ride with friendly locals. Majuro has one road running from end to end, flanked by the calm lagoon on one side, and the wild Pacific Ocean on the other. Like the High Arctic or the Tibetan plateau, it's an extreme environment, with no high ground to escape a tsunami or the storms and high tides that flooded the atoll during Christmas 2008. It feels like being on a long ship, and some travelers feel anxiety at first about being so far away from it all.