Yesterday was a special day for Kiribati because the president of Taiwan arrived for an official visit. Everything was setup at the Otin Taai hotel to receive the Taiwanese delegation: the local operator worked all week-end to setup WI-FI access all other the hotel premises and a 1Mb satellite link has be contracted so that everyone could have a good internet connection (during the previous visit there had been complaints about the bad internet connection).
Sadly for my colleagues sleeping at Otin Taai they were not Taiwanese and they were asked to leave the hotel even though they had reservations for an extra night. They had the pleasure of having to look for a hotel room on the island at the last minute on the day of an official visit. One of them found a room with the missionaries of the Sacré Coeur and the other found a room in an empty house on the island; no need to say which one of them had the better night.
What was really funny yesterday is that the country decided to be clean for the president of Taiwan. You could see people with brooms sweeping near the road. I went for a walk before the arrival of the convoy to take a few pictures and I found a hole with garbage in it: instead of taking the stuff to the dump they had decided to burry it instead! It is true that it is quicker, I really didn’t think they would do such a thing. The inhabitants of Tarawa did something for the president of Taiwan that they don’t even do for themselves, I doubt that the president is aware of that.
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...
During my exile here i took the time to listen to the complete recordings of Jacques Dutronc, one of France's most popular artist. I rediscovered a song called La Metaphore which is for me one of the best song ever recorded. I am sorry for non french speakers who won't understand the lirycs: Jacques Dutronc - La Metaphore.
It is the rainy season in Kiribati and it often happens that rain is falling almost non stop during the week-end. Water is a very important resource here and the local population is organized to manage water as best as possible.
Rainwater collecting is a vital thing on the island, as there are very little chances for underground water to be available on this type of island it is important to collect as much water as possible for everyone’s need. I learned this week that the country has 4 desalination plants to turn salt water into still water, the person selling and maintaining the technology is staying in the same hotel as mine. He explained that Kiribati islands have a few water tables but they don’t produce enough water for the need of the whole population. His plants produce the necessary quantities of still water needed for everyone’s well being. The still water produced in the plants added to the rainwater collected in each house prevents everyone to suffer from a lack of water.
When you go for a stroll you can’t miss those huge plastic tanks that are placed below the evacuation pipe of the gutter to collect as mush water as possible. The inhabitants will first use the rainwater as it is a free resource, without those tanks the country would probably need much more desalination plants.
I have a little bit more time these days so i take the opportunity to add one sound of the day. This song may be very popular it doesn't change the fact that it is a true anthem: Jay-Z - Empire State Of Mind Feat Alicia Keys.
Last week we moved from Otin Taai hôtel to the Fema Lodge, it is much closer to the office and I don’t have to endure the 30 minutes car drive on a very bad road anymore. In the Fema Lodge, I live in a 4 bedroom apartment where I share the bathroom, the kitchen and the living room. It is a real pleasure to be able to have a real breakfast in the morning and if you don’t feel like cooking the hotel can cook something for you.
This week-end we went to buy a few things with my colleague in the few shops we could find around our hotel. As there are very few things to do here, it is always nice to go for a walk, you get to see how and where people live and it is very interesting. On the way I saw that there were small houses in courtyards, looking more closely I found out that those were tombs. It seems that people bury there relatives on family ground. There is indeed a cemetery on the island but I think that it is a local custom to bury your elders where they have lived all their life. I was not at all surprised as I have seen the same thing in French Polynesia on the island of Raivavae. It is possible that this is common to all the pacific islands, anyway it is good to have your relatives close to you all the time. It wouldn’t be possible in France but I like the idea, here it is possible because the families never move.
The people are really nice and welcoming, some said hi to us on the way or waved at us. We went out to get some minced mint in order to cook some spaghetti bolognese but we had forgotten that it is not possible to find everything on this island. In one shop we found some frozen beef and some bags with frozen chicken legs but no minced meat. We then went to another shop where all four freezers were full of frozen chicken legs. We finally bought some chicken legs as well as some cabbage which seem to be very popular on the island. I had hoped to find some cheese but was not lucky, thankfully my stay here is soon coming to an end and I will soon be able to eat anything I wish.
I have only been once to the beach since I have been here even though there is absolutely nothing to do. The reason is simple, it is very difficult to find a clean beach on this island. I must have been to at least ten beaches before finding one that is not too dirty; not so long ago it was not too far from my hotel but now it is a 35 minutes drive to get there so I will try and find another one that is closer.
When you hear about Kiribati your first question will be where it is then once you find out that it is located in the pacific you will quickly imagine it to be a paradise and you couldn’t be more wrong. This place is one of the dirtiest places I have seen in my life! I live in a place where everyone who has some garbage will just throw it in the street, this didn’t occur to me in the beginning of my stay on the island because I was quite busy looking at the people. The locals are quite fond of frozen water with syrup which is kept in small plastic bags, they bite one corner of the plastic bag and suck on the ice; you will find those plastic bags everywhere along the road. Chinese noodle are also very popular around here but with a twist, you don’t eat them in a bowl with hot water but dry in the wrapping like potato chips and of course the wrapping ends up on the ground.
I have to be honest there is absolutely no trash cans anywhere and I haven’t seen any garbage collection. To get rid of your garbage you have 2 choices: either you bring it to one of the dump on the island, they are so close to the sea that when it is a little bit too strong it while bring some stuff in the lagoon; or you keep a place on your property or a barrel where you will put your garbage and burn it later. There is absolutely no education regarding how to deal with garbage on the island, yet it is crucial for such a place; anyone can do as they please. Almost every family has pigs on their property, they also act as waste management; some of them are cage but a lot of them roam free all day. Would you have pigs in your garden to take care of your garbage?
Coming back to the beach, you have to know that in the pacific islands, the inhabitants have become used to throwing their garbage to the sea thinking it would sink because they couldn’t see it anymore. In most cases what was thrown would be moved by the currents and end up somewhere else on the island becoming someone else’s problem: you get beaches covered with different kind of plastic products and metal elements. Tarawa is an atoll, there is an internal and an external lagoon, in each case what is thrown into the sea will end up on the ground.
During the week-end, the families will come to the seaside and have a picnic, as they spend the whole day there they bring everything they need. At the end of the day when everyone is gone you can see the traces of their stay. To find a really clean beach you need to go to an inhabited island. The photo below represents the same beach as above, you can now see what the beach really looks like when the angle is different and the garbage belt appears.
