The End Of The Road

This is where I went this Saturday to test my theory: you need to go to an uninhabited part of the island to find a clean beach. As there is only one road here it was easy not to get lost, I took the minibus with a colleague and we rode all the way till the end of the road. When the bus was going back we stepped out and had to walk or get in the back of any vehicle willing to take us, we then arrived to where the sea and the lagoon meet.



It is at this exact place that we found a gorgeous beach, as the tide was low there was easily 20 meters of sand between the water and the tree line. It was amazing. You really have to go to an empty part of the island to have a clean beach and you can find this one in Abatao. If you feel like taking advantage of the place you can spend the week-end at Tabon Te Keeke, it is a small hotel which offers two rooms on stilts. You will be able to relax in this very calm place with the sound of the water as background noise while on a deckchair or protected by a mosquito net. In case it would start to rain or the wind would be too strong, there are removable shutters to protect you.




We didn’t stay very long in this place nor did we swim because it was raining all the time. Moreover by the time we arrived the tide was already rising and it was much more work to walk back to the other side with the current against us. With the rain and the current we finally reached the other side totally wet and were in no mood to walk back to where the buses are. Thankfully a broken down bus appeared out of nowhere and was heading our way, there was no sliding door on the side but we were so happy not to have to walk under the rain that we didn’t wait for another one to eventually show up. Thanks to this bus we could dry ourselves while waiting to reach the other buses.



On the way back we passed by a lot of people going to the airport. The country was organising a rehearsal for the arrival of the Taiwanese president on Monday. Taiwan has a lot of economic ties with Kiribati, they own some fishing ponds on land and have purchased fishing rights in Kiribati water. I saw the presidential escort they are not joking, but with the number of holes that are in the only road of the island I am not sure they will be able to go as fast as planed. Also looking at the quality of the hotels in Tarawa, I really have no clue where the president will spend the night...