After traveling all the way to Papua New Guinea, I knew I had to take the opportunity to visit another country in the region—specifically, one of the Pacific island nations. With few direct flight options from Port Moresby, Honiara in the Solomon Islands became the obvious choice. Where are the Solomon Islands? The Solomon Islands is an island nation located east of Papua New Guinea and west of Fiji, in the region of Melanesia. Melanesia is a subregion of the Pacific comprising several island nations, including Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The term “Melanesia,” coined by European explorers in the 19th century, means “islands of black…