A Day at Fanning Island (Tabuaeran)

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Geo: 1.79048, -157.357

The alarm goes off at 6:30am but I ignore it for 20 minutes. Time to get up, have a light breakfast and prepare to disembark the ship for Fanning Island. Far off the beaten path and almost 1000 miles south of Hawaii, Fanning Island is a remote, beautiful hideaway with just over 1,300 inhabitants. Locals call it "Tabaueran," a Kiribati word meaning "heavenly footprint." The island is an atoll -- a ring-shaped coral reef enclosing a protected lagoon and shaped like a footprint when viewed from above. With its sugar-white beaches and clear, blue-green water, it is a perfect paradise for snorkeling and swimming.

We have breakfast and then head to deck 4 to get our tender ticket. We get #30 and they're calling 1-4 now. The twins get some number they're not pleased with and let the poor kid that just passes out numbers know it. Jerks! I go back to the stateroom to retrieve my IPad to continue my work. I might as well take advantage of the down time. This works well and when they call 26-28, I return the tablet to our room and we proceed down to deck 1, awaiting our call. The sea, while not rough today, is rolling and it makes for a difficult tender boarding. We hear one lady cut her leg while trying to board the lifeboat and had to get 5 stitches. We're lucky, being next to last to board which cuts our time sitting on the board waiting for it to fill. I'm traveling light today; one camera, water, mosquito spray and ID. The all aboard time is 1:30pm and it's 10:30 now so we won't have a lot of time on Fanning Island.

There are no services here on the island. No running water or electricity and one radio. A nurse travels between islands for health care. The residents make crafts and sell them to guests on any cruise ship willing to stop. Norwegian Cruise Lines used to stop here before returning to the U.S. to satisfy the Jones Act and built a dock and several buildings. But they pulled out a few years ago so visits are infrequent. The people make all sorts of handcrafts such as baskets, knives, shell necklaces and other odd things from resources found on the island. Children sing as we arrive and the people are very friendly. These visits are their only source of income other than seaweed they dry and trade commercially for rice every few months.

We walk around the island and check out the beach. It's nice. The water is warm but we make no entry here, instead waiting for the upcoming islands that allow more time. Mom makes a few purchases and I take pictures. Travelers who have have done the South Pacific tour prior say that this is one of the best places to purchase souvenirs. They're genuine, handmade and cheap. People are dressed in their native costumes and, for the mere sum of $1, you can take your picture with them. I hear that the outfits are made of course plant fiber and, in the heat, is quite uncomfortable. The ship provides us with lemonade and ice water while on the island. A little after noon, we head back to the ship, mainly to avoid the rush later on. Back on the Amsterdam, Mom inventories her loot, we change and head to the pool for lunch and swimming. Ahhh. Feels so good. It's 88F today. It's only 2:30pm but the ship is underway and we return to our room. Mom is tired and takes a nap while I (what else?) work on the blog. I need to download all cameras from the last few days, post and then try the Internet again.

After a quick nap myself, I try the Internet to no avail. I wait until 7:15 and, when Mom decides she would rather order room service, I head to the buffet by myself for some soup and vegetables. I check out the show at 8. It's a guitar/violin duo called "Livewire", favoring Celtic music. We've seen them before. They're good but I stay only for two songs and return to Mom where she's finished her light dinner and is resting.

With no one to take pictures of and the Internet still out, I watch a TV movie starring the Rock, play Solitaire and call it quits. Three sea days before Pago Pago.

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Comments

[Boomer]

Now you need to figure out if they're actually twins or just kooks who dress alike.