Hunting and Gathering
13 January 2013 | off Ambo Village - Tarawa Lagoon
Andy
Sunday 13 January 2013
We have just completed our THIRD week in Kiribati, where is this year going? We are starting to get to know our way around, and have met some wonderful local people. We moved anchorage slightly closer to the Parliament dinghy channel after sounding the depth and checking for bombies. Gas cooking bottles have been refilled, petrol jerries replenished, and the local shops reconnoitered for future food gathering. Work visas have been stamped in our passports, and we have been gathering materials for the mooring we hope to put down shortly. The in-country orientation week starts on Monday, when we meet the other new volunteers joining us on the program. Then - Monday 21 January, we start work in our new roles!
Catching local buses has been another achievement, not too hard when there is basically only one road stretching along the islands, joined by causeways. Bus trips are a real hoot, 16 seater mini-buses, often driven at break-neck speeds and invariably with loud auto-tuned rap blasting from the stereo, which never seems to be broken, even when other parts of the bus are - smashed windows replaced with clear plastic taped onto the frame, rusted doors held shut by the female conductors. The buses are routinely crammed with up to 25 people, most of them generously proportioned Polynesians, along with their belongings - sacks of rice, live chooks, trays of food for a botaki (party). Although frequent, the buses are also often full and will toot and flash their lights as they pass without stopping, almost apologetically.
Being so near to the equator, it is also always quite warm - 30 degrees or more and humid most days - not the heatwave conditions of Australia I know, but imagine it hot and dusty and without an airconditioned oasis to escape into. We seem to be permanently sweaty, sticky and sometimes smelly! Luckily, having the boat on the lagoon, we are blessed with ever present sea breezes, and the occasional rain squall, this being the rainy season, which makes it all much more bearable.
The New Year's Eve Party at the Australian High Commissioners was a great way to meet lots of the local volunteers and ex-pat community, and a farewell a few nights later to some Japanese volunteers was another opportunity. Everyone from the High Commissioner down has been fabulously welcoming and friendly, offering help and assistance. We were warned the social life gets busy and yesterday we attended another farewell/welcome for Defence staff rotating after a 3 year placement, followed by an entertaining and very interesting 'weigh-in' for the hotly contested monthly fishing competition at the Captain's Bar in Betio. Unfortunately, we didn't take our camera, but the fish were huge and spectacular - at least to our non-fishing inexperienced eyes - a lovely yellow finned tuna, a 5 pound skipjack, 60 pound sailfish, a big mahi mahi, a 50 pound trevally, and that's just the ones I can remember. Once we are settled we are looking forward to joining in the monthly fishing fun, and trying our luck outside the lagoon.
Perhaps the most exciting development for this little internet junkie was getting internet access sorted for the boat - we have a second hand out door modem (new ones aren't available until at least March) and have set up our own internet account - $30 a month for half a gb a month download - not the fast fat pipe big download plan connections us electronically addicted westerner's are used to, but wonderful after nearly two months of very limited access. Speeds are only about twice dial up and large documents or photos are impossible to send, or download, so we won't be looking at any funny u-tube videos or watching i-view, and Facebook can be very slow loading, stalling and crashing the connection.
Every day so far has been interesting and challenging, and already I miss the almost disgustingly abundant array of fresh fruit and vegetables we take for granted in Australia - but the boat came in last weekend and there are apples and oranges in the shops again, and even carrots. Until next time, hope 2013 is starting off well for you, more photos will be uploaded as I get around to resizing them...
Photo note: Betio -Tarawa 5 NM out at sea, our first early morning glimpse of our home for the next year