The port of call today was a most unique one called Tabuaeran, Kiribati, or more commonly known as Fanning Island. Actually, it is more of a coral atoll with a massive lagoon in the center and is part of the Line Islands . It is also part of a series of groups of islands and atolls called the Republic of Kiribati located very close to the Equator. It is as remote as it gets and is far from anything modern if not downright a place that time forgot. You might expect to see resorts that cater to those who seek a paradise for snorkeling, surfing and sunning. However there is nothing here at all for tourists that might wish to spend a few days here. There are no public food stores, shops, cafes or bars. And there are no toilet facilities……none, not even in the housing where the natives live. The pamphlet that we got mentioned bikes for rent, but we have never seen these bikes and how are you going to ride on dirt roads with potholes? Only the kids that live there have bikes, as well as motorcycles. And concerning surfing, the only place that might happen is on the outside perimeter where you would be swept away in the powerful currents of the Pacific Ocean. How do we know these things? We have been here at least 6 times over the years. The first time we visited here there were warnings about staying away from the ocean and not to swim in the waters of the lagoon near the tender pier. And there was a good reason why no swimming……contaminated waters with dangerous bacteria.
Years ago, the NCL cruise lines built a complex here similar to Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. It was a place where the food was brought over and the guests could enjoy the lagoon and the picnic like they do today on other private islands. One good thing was there were restrooms at the time. Located where it is, Fanning Island gets hit by many strong storms, and the damage was too much to handle, so it was shut down and left to the elements. The stop here also satisfied the Jones Act, which was not needed after a certain date. It looks like ruins in Rome now – abandoned and crumbling with time. NCL pulled out of here in 2007.
The few families that live here do have generators for power, water tanks, some solar panels, internet, and satellite dishes for TV. We have never seen the working adults, or the parents of the kids here. So we believe they are at work in the coconut plantations and harvesting seaweed. Fishing is another industry here. Their diet consists of rice, tinned meats (Spam comes to mind), reef fish, shellfish, coconuts, as well as pigs, chickens, and seaweed. Bananas, breadfruit, coconuts, and taro root grow well here. The kids are left with the grandparents, mostly elderly grandmas with few teeth. There is a schoolhouse and a church, or should we say covered sheds for classrooms. There is one large hut for a general meeting place. Washing clothes is done with washboards and large buckets, and hung to dry on lines.
They do have internet and have a place with plastic chairs where they were selling minutes or whatever to the guests from the ship who probably did not buy an internet package. Here we are in the middle of nowhere, and people are still doing internet.
We were greeted with a nice sunrise around 6:22am. The weather was a bit more comfortable from what we remembered. The high was 81 degrees, with broken clouds, 70% humidity, and a 13.7 mph wind, which created a nice life-saving breeze. We left the ship around 9:15am after the thundering crowd made their way to shore. Both tender platforms were opened on the portside, so getting off went rather smoothly. The swells we experienced last night had subsided, making tendering possible. The last two years, we have had this stop cancelled. One time was due to the dangerous conditions for tendering, and the other was because the officials had the wrong date for our visit, and they failed to show up to clear the ship. Since they had time to spare, the Captain at the time took us around the island with beautiful views from the ship.
The stay today was short, with all aboard at 12:30pm or whenever the last tender boat got back. The ship was held in place by the engines, it was to deep to drop anchors, and the guests began going off at 7am. The 4 & 5 star Mariners, along with the Neptune folks and Club Orange had to get tender tickets on the Wajang Theater. Everyone else had to get tender tickets in the Ocean Bar, then line up when their colors were called. The President's Club members simply had to show their room keys, and join the line to the tender boats.
We left the ship by 9:15am, and went down the forward elevators to deck A. The officers down there were not aware of the special pass we had, and we did not insist on jumping the line. By then the line was short and we were in no big hurry to get there. We need to let Kumar know that not every officer knows the deal for priority tendering with our small group and they do need to be on the same page. The ride was short, thank goodness, because these tenderboats are not roomy like the ones on the Zuiderdam.
We were greeted with a group of singers (all school age kids and up) and the ever-present 5 gallon bucket for tips. They were very good and people did leave some dollars. This atoll is a mere 13 square miles with a beautiful lagoon that is 42 square miles and up to 49 feet deep. The elevation is 10 feet and the population in 2015 was 2,315 people that speak Gilbertese and some English. Once off the tender boat, we walked into the village called Paelau . On the shady side of the village, were tables set up with their treasures. Their handicrafts are cowrie shell jewelry and baskets, shark tooth knives (we have one and it is very sharp), and stamps. Of course, we did our part and purchased a cowrie shell necklace and matching bracelet. Even though their prices were very low, some folks were bargaining with the elderly women. We feel this is not the place to do that unless you are buying in bulk.
A much younger group of little girls dressed in native costumes were dancing for the guests. Most of the elementary school age kids were in their uniforms and most all of them were wearing different colors of plastic sunglasses. We figured that someone probably purchased these glasses at Oriental Trading Co. and handed them out to the kids. Great idea, but the older and bigger boys had two or three pairs instead of one. And we hate to say it, but some of the older kids were begging for money when we got away from the village center. It was obvious to us that people had brought over the pillow candies to hand out, and the kids left a trail of the wrappers all over the roadside.
There were a few frisky dogs, but the first animal life we saw were two little pigs and their huge mom under a tree. Then eight very small piglets came out of a shrub and ran to the other two, eventually becoming BBQ spareribs in the near future. Also spotted were a few chickens with babies. We continued up the road passing a small lagoon where some frigatebirds were flying overhead. Other birds we saw were noddies, brown and masked boobies and white terns. Always searching for the tropic birds, we saw none today.
Some folks had wandered up this way and went snorkeling in the lagoon near some of the "homes", which have been described as open-sided, rectangular structures with raised floors and corrugated metal roofs. Blending modern with traditional? Not exactly. Most every home we saw was damaged by storms and never fixed. The elementary school was located here and many of the guests had brought school supplies like pencils and crayons, although it gets so hot here, the crayons melt. By the time we got to this point, the kids and the teachers had left.
We decided to turnback at this point because it was getting hotter and the last tender back was 12:30pm. We knew from experience that there would be a long line of people waiting to go back. There was a huge tree with a rock ring around it, and a good place to sit. The lagoon near the village was full of swimmers and snorkelers, unaware that sharks are 74% of the top predator here. Our crew had set up a wonderful water station, and the cute beverage servers were using spray bottles to mist everyone that wanted it. One of us sat in the shade while the other went to take more photos of this end of the island. We boarded the third tender boat back and were in our room by noontime. The first thing we did was get rid of the muddy sand and nasty burrs on our shoes.
Captain Willems came on at 1pm and announced that this stop had been a welcomed success. Despite the currents, the sailors did a fine job getting the guests ashore and back. We have 1300 nautical miles to go to reach American Samoa in three days from now. The ship will cross the Equator and the International Dateline also. Expected temps were 81 degrees, partly cloudy, some rain, and winds up to 20 knots.
At 2pm, there was a sail away at the Lido and Sea View Poolside with complimentary beverages of wine, beer, and cocktails of your choice. These are always well-attended of course.
We consumed at least 6 sodas when we got back and ordered sandwiches from room service. Then we watched as the ship sailed away from the atoll, heading basically south. There was another fine sunset that we watched from deck six forward around 6:30pm. As we get closer to the Equator, the sunrises and sunsets will be about the same time, but 12 hours apart.
Dinnertime included two salads, 2 orders of chicken tenders, and one ravioli plate and one Mexican fajita. Dessert for both of us was one scoop each of coffee fudge and rocky road ice cream. The show was the singers and dancers with Feel The Beat. We were about the last to leave the dining room and we think it had been one hot and exhausting day for most. It was for us…… Three days at sea will be most welcomed.
Bill & Mary Ann
