I came back down to earth with a bit of a bump after my private island experience when I flew to Kiribati (pronounced “Kiribass”), one of the least developed countries in the world. Nauru Airlines flies the route from Majuro to Tarawa (capital of Kiribati) as a stop on a different island hopper which also serves Pohnpei, Nauru, Fiji and Brisbane. The airline was a pleasant surprise; I certainly wasn’t expecting sandwiches and a full bar service on a one hour flight! On the way, I met a 19-year-old Brazilian woman trying to become the youngest person to visit every country and both poles. I happily completed and signed a page of her Guinness World Records “evidence book” when we reached Tarawa. I wish her luck but it sounds quite stressful to me!

I can honestly say that Kiribati has been my most challenging destination so far this trip, but also one of the most interesting. There are very few tourists there; nearly all the foreigners I met were working for foreign companies or NGOs. You have to suspend nearly all western expectations regarding activities, timescales and communications. There isn’t much to do and the activities that may be available are frequently delayed or cancelled. The only way to really organise anything or resolve problems is to talk to people and make contacts. I had some very interesting conversations with locals who were keen to talk about their way of life and ask about mine. We even covered topics such as family planning – the average number of children per Kiribati woman is four – that aren’t necessarily discussed openly in such a conservative and widely Christian society.

Most accommodation is basic and guesthouse style; this is true for the “main island” of South Tarawa, but even more so for the outer islands. I stayed for three nights on South Tarawa at Dreamers Kiribati, which is run by Richard and his wife, Beta. Richard is British-Kiribati and speaks both languages fluently, while Beta is ethnically Kiribati and has four adult sons from a previous marriage. The couple’s guesthouse, which is entirely family run, gave me a very warm welcome and cooked me delicious dinners using local ingredients. It’s not fancy but it had everything I needed; I really enjoyed my time there. I drew the picture below to capture the view of the lagoon at low-ish tide from the terrace at Dreamers.

Through word of mouth, I found the wonderful Tinaai, a mother of three who’s set up her own tour company. She took me on an “adaptation” (cultural) tour and also organised every detail of my trip to Abaiang island. When my flight from Tarawa to Abaiang was cancelled the first time around, I called her on an airport phone and she arranged accommodation for that night and transport to it (there’s a chronic shortage of hotel rooms in the “main island” of South Tarawa, so it was no mean feat!). 

Tinaai took me on the adaptation tour over the course of two consecutive half days. We began with a mangrove planting experience which involved picking ripe seedlings and planting them in groups of three in a nearby lagoon, while taking care to avoid planting in crab holes! Over time, the planting efforts will help to shore up the lagoon and reduce coastal erosion. The giant clam farm was closed (!) so we went for a traditional lunch of chicken curry instead. We finished the tour with a visit to an organic farm (funded by China, which seemingly has designs on the whole Pacific region) and the national museum, which had a nice selection of traditional crafts, weapons and WW2 relics. The Kiribati people used to have a reputation as fierce warriors who made weapons and armour from materials including coconut trees, shark teeth and stingray tails! As the only person on the tour, I felt I got a personalised and unique insight into Kiribati life and Tinaii’s own story. If I’d had more time, I’d have liked to have done the WW2 tour as well (Tarawa was the site of a brief but fierce battle during WW2, and some relics remain to this day).

After waiting a couple of days for the rescheduled Abaiang flight, I finally made it! The flight only took 10 minutes but the views from the small plane were stunning. The very long and thin coral atoll of Abaiang appeared, followed by a clearing cut into the jungle, where we landed on a dirt runway! I was approached by a lovely young woman who somehow transported both me and my luggage on the back of a motorbike (there are very few cars on the outer islands) to Terau Bungalows, where I was staying. This accommodation had proved impossible to book online in advance, so I was glad to end up there. I was staying in one of five “buras” (wooden huts on stilts) right over the ocean. It was an incredibly picturesque and tranquil location – highly recommended for an island getaway.

This is where things started to go wrong. Also staying at Terau was a lovely man, Itaka, who worked for the state communications company. He’d been sent to Abaiang to check on the status of two masts on even more remote islands which provide vital mobile phone services to isolated communities of just a few hundred people. He invited me to go with him to visit these islands and I happily agreed. The mission was successful; Itaka established and documented the demise of one mast and the maintenance needs of another. However, the rough seas extended the total duration of the trip from a couple of hours in the early morning to several hours, returning at 1pm… There was no shade on the boat and my diligently applied suncream was no match for the harsh Pacific midday sun. I could do nothing but watch as my skin started to blister. We returned to Abaiang as quickly as possible but still painfully slowly. My goose (or rather, my arms, neck and lower face) was well and truly cooked.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details of what happened next, except to note that Itaka somehow managed to get me on the boat back to Tarawa the next morning, which left four hours earlier than scheduled! The staff at Dreamers met me and kindly took me to a pharmacy, where I bought various medications which I’ve been applying religiously. Nevertheless, the burns are considerable – especially to my arms – and I’m planning a trip to the specialist burns centre when I arrive in Hawaii on Sunday. I’m back in the Marshall Islands briefly, unable to do much and feeling very sorry for myself. Any messages of support and healing would be much welcomed!

Cross-stitch progress update