The Captain began circling Fanning Island (also known as Tabuaeran) around 7am. This island is actually an atoll that belongs to the Line Islands and is part of Kiribati. One other place we have visited often belonging to Kiribati is Christmas Island, but that is located 200 miles away. There are about 1990 residents living on Fanning, but when we visited in the past, we saw mostly women, children, and a few elderly men. The younger men were always far off involved in the coconut industry as well as fishing and seaweed cultivating.
When tourists like us invade the island, a series of tables are set up near the tender landing. Very unique souvenirs are sold such as wooden-carved knives complete with ever-so-sharp shark teeth. Many items made with seashells are bowls, platters, baskets, and jewelry. And everything is really affordable. The tender landing is located in a small village that happens to have remains of what was an NCL picnic/rest area, which is long since abandoned. We learned later on during Kainoa's talk that NCL had a ship that toured the Hawaiian islands, and in order to satisfy a foreign port stop for the Jones Act, this island served that purpose. Once the Pride of America started Hawaii cruises, and it was registered in the USA, the need for NCL's cruises and private island faded.
The port essentials flyer handed out yesterday mentioned "fun facts" about Fanning Island. They included the fact that there is no electricity, no plumbing, no restaurants, or bars on this entire island. No plumbing means no public restrooms. Honestly, how much fun is that? Perhaps that is one reason the scheduled visit was for 5 ½ hours.
Kainoa talked on the aft channel at 10:30am, which we could listen to as we slowly sailed around the island. What we see as a coral atoll with a lagoon in the center today, was once a huge island. Over the millenniums, the island began to erode in the center, leaving the wide ring of tree-studded coral. This island has a total of 13.2 square miles of coral and a 42 square mile lagoon of the prettiest colors of aqua blue you will ever see. The deepest part of the lagoon is only 49 feet deep. It is believed that the first people to reside here were Polynesian, specifically the Marquesans. Today the people that live here are Micronesian and speak a dialect of Gilbertese and some English.
The Captain turned the ship so the folks on the starboard side could view the sights as well. A few scattered facts we gathered from Kainoa's talk were that there is some WWI history here, and an aerial view of the atoll resembles a footprint. There were no reports of Covid here, even during the height of the pandemic. As many times as Kainoa has been here, he admitted to never seeing the other side of the island. Same for us, and it was a wonderful way to spend the morning without having to use the tender boats. Even though the temperature was around 84 degrees, we were "melting" on our veranda. With the ship doing a mere 8 knots, there was little to no breeze. Being so close to the Equator made a difference as well.
There is really no need for money here, which by the way, is the Australian dollar. People live with bartering and very well may be subsidized by the government. We did not hear the details, but there is a general warehouse for everyday necessities, like a supermarket. Common foods eaten are fish, pork, locally-grown veggies and fruits, and probably Spam, which is a favorite of the South Pacific Islanders. Recalling what we learned while on Christmas Island, the average age for men was 50 while the ladies may reach 70. They blamed it on the fact that the main diet consisted of mostly snack-type foods which are high in fat and salt, and low on nutrition. But that was 20 or more years ago, and maybe things have changed since then.
The main mode of transportation is canoes, with a few vehicles like old pick-up trucks and jeeps. The biggest concern of the locals is that the kids are sent to school when they are older, and many choose not to return. For that reason, the population has declined over the years. And there is no hospital to speak of. If there is an emergency, the patient would have to be flown elsewhere….not an easy thing on such a small piece of land.
The Captain talked at noontime and said we would be leaving the island by 1pm. He would increase the speed to 14 knots which was really fine with us. Increased speed = nice breeze. We had the best place on the ship to view the island tour…right from our veranda. And the best aspect of the morning for us had to be the number of birds we saw. Today's varieties were the white terns, brown boobies, frigates, and most of all….. tropic birds. They were the big surprise of the day that we did not expect since we have never seen them here. We spotted them flying higher than most birds, flapping their wings rapidly, soaring and dropping like airplanes do when they hit turbulence. First there were two, and eventually there were several. Of course over a thousand photos were taken during the duration of the morning. No kidding…. The job of downloading would take the rest of the afternoon.
At the end of the Captain's talk, he mentioned some exciting news that we would be doing the "Golden Crossing" of the Equator and the International Dateline sometime between 3 and 4am. No, we will not be awake for this one. But there will be a King Neptune Ceremony tomorrow and trust us, we do have many of those certificates.
Dinner was casual, but when we got to the dining room, we noticed the waiters had on their bowties. That is usually done on a "dressy" night. Even some of the appetizers were formal ones like shrimp cocktails, foie gras, and escargots. We had the cocktails and a niçoise salad with tuna. Normally the tuna is flaked and barely there. Tonight, we each had a seared filet of tuna steak along with the salad fixings. Very good, but almost enough for an entrée. One of us had the steak Diane (not extraordinary) and a Southwestern manicotti dish which was vegetarian. Both good, but the salad was the best.
Entertainment was an instrumentalist (flautist) by the name of Paul Stepien with a variety of musical styles, promising a breath-taking journey. If that is not your cup of tea, then there is always the Ocean Bar Band, piano bar entertainer, and the Classical duo in the Explorer's Lounge. Never a dull moment.
Tomorrow will be another day at sea as long as we get the blessing from King Neptune……
Bill & Mary Ann
