Sorry I took a few days to reply.

So sad, I've just found out that Dr Mauricio died in June this year. Makes me appreciate even more that I was able to have that meeting with him.

A lot of what Dr Mauricio had to say is reflected in his 1 hour presentations found on YT.

There were extra interesting points that I took away from our meeting though:

• He made it clear that even though he received his Doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Oregon where a "scientific" approach was key to understanding both anthropology and archeology, that conventional understanding could not describe how Nan Madol came to be. He said it was necessary to combine conventional and the mythological to even begin to comprehend how it was constructed. He was adamant in that point. He stressed that the mainstream understanding of physics and construction techniques could never give an adequate explanation for Nan Madol.

• When I then asked if that meant that twin giants building it was a possibility he said he didn't know, but it was in fact a better explanation than any other because it was something that was actually documented, albeit in oral tradition.

• He had been studying Nan Madol for over 30 years and admitted he still did not know how it could've been built. Keep in mind he was the world's leading expert. And he lived there on Pohnpei.

• He said for many years UNESCO had been wanting to make it a World Heritage Site but certain criteria had to be met that he was finding hard to make happen. One of the things they wanted was the mangroves (that've been encroaching their way more and more over the bulk of the structures) to be removed. This was hard to achieve as finding the labour force to do it had proved impossible up to that stage for a couple of reasons: The locals for the most part are scared of the place and believe it to be cursed, and the tropical heat and humidity was more oppressive than anything I'd ever experienced. Working in such an environment would've been very difficult. There is no relief from the heat even in the water- the water is a constant 29 degrees C (84 F). Interestingly I see it now IS a UNESCO WHS. Being under the umbrella of the UN, I do not trust their intentions whatsoever regarding the classifications of WHS worldwide.

• While we were exploring the ruins I found a small underground "chamber/room" that seemed to be lined with limestone. It looked "melted" though (best way to describe it). I showed him a photo I took of it and he clearly knew the spot I was referencing. I asked him if there was a potential that the whole structure of artificial islands could've once been covered in limestone akin to how the Egyptian pyramids apparently were. He yet again said he didn't know, but that could've been a possibility.

• Then came the part of the meeting I found truly fascinating: Whether it was the same chamber/room I had photographed or another one somewhere else on the complex, Dr Mauricio told the story of finding a huge vertebrae in such a room. As per the myths he instantly got to wondering about the giants. He contacted colleagues in the USA to see if he could get it analysed. Eventually he heard back from the Smithsonian Institute (of course). They requested he send them the bone which he did. Many months passed before he heard a reply regarding the findings. They said it was a whale vertebrae. But, they also said they were going to keep it in their collection... Now, this was an instant red flag for me because The Smithsonian have notoriously covered up the existence of giants in North America for well over a century. There's a lot of info out there on that topic. Also interesting that the Smithsonian is based right there in Washington DC not far from all the other swamp creatures and their structures.

I feel so blessed to have spent that short time with him. Quite extraordinary how it happened in hindsight. I'm no archeologist, just someone who's been researching everything I could about the countless megalithic ruins found worldwide. It was very gracious of him to give his time the way he did. May Dr Rufino Mauricio rest in peace.

I have to mention a few things about being at the ruins. We were lucky enough to meet a local guide who took us in his boat. Therefore we were able to see a lot more of the structures than tourists going there on foot as there's only access to a couple of the main structures otherwise. We navigated our way through much of the artificial channels until the mangroves became too thick. To say the feeling there was eery is an understatement. We all found ourselves whispering and remaining as calm as possible. Our guide said this was the best way. He too was clearly nervous as was his teenage son who spent a bit of time in the water trying to negotiate the boat through the mangroves. We were talking afterwards about what a weird feeling we all had as he was in the water. Also, it was dead calm, not a breath of wind and not even a single chirp of a bird. Goosebumps weird. It eventually started raining and our guide said this was a good sign. He said it was bad luck if it didn't rain while visiting.

Another intriguing thing to note about Pohnpei is the jungle. The thickest, most lush tropical jungle I've ever seen. Straight out of Jurassic Park. Waterfalls everywhere, everything bright green and thriving. The vast majority of roads and population is around the coastal fringe and apart from a couple of small roads to the mountainous interior the jungle is largely untouched. One can only imagine the animals that would be supported by such a landscape... Except there are virtually none. There is a small native parrot and some small lizards, that's it. Not one mammal apart from introduced dogs, cats and rats.

I was astounded when I found out this info. I asked the local who told me about the lack of animals, "How could that possibly be?" She said that there used to be monkeys and many other animals, but the stories that've been passed down through many generations explicitly say that the... GIANTS ate them...

Sorry I took a few days to reply.

So sad, I've just found out that Dr Mauricio died in June this year. Makes me appreciate even more that I was able to have that meeting with him.

A lot of what Dr Mauricio had to say is reflected in his 1 hour presentations found on YT.

There were extra interesting points that I took away from our meeting though:

• He made it clear that even though he received his Doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Oregon where a "scientific" approach was key to understanding both anthropology and archeology, that conventional understanding could not describe how Nan Madol came to be. He said it was necessary to combine conventional and the mythological to even begin to comprehend how it was constructed. He was adamant in that point. He stressed that the mainstream understanding of physics and construction techniques could never give an adequate explanation for Nan Madol.

• When I then asked if that meant that twin giants building it was a possibility he said he didn't know, but it was in fact a better explanation than any other because it was something that was actually documented, albeit in oral tradition.

• He had been studying Nan Madol for over 30 years and admitted he still did not know how it could've been built. Keep in mind he was the world's leading expert. And he lived there on Pohnpei.

• He said for many years UNESCO had been wanting to make it a World Heritage Site but certain criteria had to be met that he was finding hard to make happen. One of the things they wanted was the mangroves (that've been encroaching their way more and more over the bulk of the structures) to be removed. This was hard to achieve as finding the labour force to do it had proved impossible up to that stage for a couple of reasons: The locals for the most part are scared of the place and believe it to be cursed, and the tropical heat and humidity was more oppressive than anything I'd ever experienced. Working in such an environment would've been very difficult. There is no relief from the heat even in the water- it's a constant 29 degrees C (84 F). Interestingly I see it now IS a UNESCO WHS. Being under the umbrella of the UN, I do not trust their intentions whatsoever regarding the classifications of WHS worldwide.

• While we were exploring the ruins I found a small underground "chamber/room" that seemed to be lined with limestone. It looked "melted" though (best way to describe it). I showed him a photo I took of it and he clearly knew the spot I was referencing. I asked him if there was a potential that the whole structure of artificial islands could've once been covered in limestone akin to how the Egyptian pyramids apparently were. He yet again said he didn't know, but that could've been a possibility.

• Then came the part of the meeting I found truly fascinating: Whether it was the same chamber/room I had photographed or another one somewhere else on the complex, Dr Mauricio told the story of finding a huge vertebrae in such a room. As per the myths he instantly got to wondering about the giants. He contacted colleagues in the USA to see if he could get it analysed. Eventually he heard back from the Smithsonian Institute (of course). They requested he send them the bone which he did. Many months passed before he heard a reply regarding the findings. They said it was a whale vertebrae. But, they also said they were going to keep it in their collection... Now, this was an instant red flag for me because The Smithsonian have notoriously covered up the existence of giants in North America for well over a century. There's a lot of info out there on that topic. Also interesting that the Smithsonian is based right there in Washington DC not far from all the other swamp creatures and their structures.

I feel so blessed to have spent that short time with him. Quite extraordinary how it happened in hindsight. I'm no archeologist, just someone who's been researching everything I could about the countless megalithic ruins found worldwide. It was very gracious of him to give his time the way he did. May Dr Rufino Mauricio rest in peace.

I have to mention a few things about being at the ruins. We were lucky enough to meet a local guide who took us in his boat. Therefore we were able to see a lot more of the structures than tourists going there on foot as there's only access to a couple of the main structures otherwise. We navigated our way through much of the artificial channels until the mangroves became too thick. To say the feeling there was eery is an understatement. We all found ourselves whispering and remaining as calm as possible. Our guide said this was the best way. He too was clearly nervous as was his teenage son who spent a bit of time in the water trying to negotiate the boat through the mangroves. We were talking afterwards about what a weird feeling we all had as he was in the water. Also, it was dead calm, not a breath of wind and not even a single chirp of a bird. Goosebumps weird. It eventually started raining and our guide said this was a good sign. He said it was bad luck if it didn't rain while visiting.

Another intriguing thing to note about Pohnpei is the jungle. The thickest, most lush tropical jungle I've ever seen. Straight out of Jurassic Park. Waterfalls everywhere, everything bright green and thriving. The vast majority of roads and population is around the coastal fringe and apart from a couple of small roads to the mountainous interior the jungle is largely untouched. One can only imagine the animals that would be supported by such a landscape... Except there are virtually none. There is a small native parrot and some small lizards, that's it. Not one mammal apart from introduced dogs, cats and rats.

I was astounded when I found out this info. I asked the local who told me about the lack of animals, "How could that possibly be?" She said that there used to be monkeys and many other animals, but the stories that've been passed down through many generations are that the GIANTS ate them...