February 2, 2016 – Fanning Island

With some confidence, we can now say that we’re most likely the only people we know who have visited Fanning Island (officially known as Tabuaeran to the local people).

Fanning is an isolated atoll located in the vast Pacific Ocean about 260 miles north of the equator – 1,000 miles almost due-south of Hawaii and more than 500 miles northwest of Tahiti. Fanning is part of Kiribati, an island republic in the Central Pacific, comprised of 33 coral atolls stretching along the equator. Kiribati’s capital, Tarawa, lies more than 2,000 miles to the west of Fanning, with nothing but open water in between. The land area of the atoll itself (no wider than 1,500 feet at any point) is in the shape of a narrow oval (covered in coconut groves) surrounding a 42 square-mile shallow-water lagoon. We read that Fanning’s highest land elevation is 12 feet, but most of the island ranges from two to six feet in elevation. Population of the island (in eight small villages) was 1,960 in a 2010 census.

Here’s an overhead photo of Fanning Island that we copied off the Internet (Bing Maps), where you can clearly see the large lagoon surrounded by the narrow land surface:

If you ever want to visit an idyllic, isolated South Pacific island where people are living as they did hundreds of years ago, this is the place to come. Fanning Island is almost untouched by modern life. We were told that they have no telephones, no running water, and no electricity (meaning there are no computers, no television, no video games, and no movies).

Obviously the ship did not dock at Fanning Island, nor was the crew able to drop anchor in the harbor, due to the depth of water. The Captain used computer equipment and autopilot to keep the ship pointing straight, while we boarded tenders to go to shore. It was an adventure getting on and off the tenders this morning, but we made it. Unfortunately, it was a little rainy (and muddy in spots), but about a hundred islanders greeted us with songs, dancing, and homemade wares for us to purchase. There were no tours, no hotels, no taxis, no restaurants, no museums, no Internet cafes. We saw a few dogs, some pigs, and lots of kids, but that was about it for activity on the island. 

                         

                         

From what we could see at this one location, the people apparently live in primitive grass huts or wooden platforms and live off the land and the sea: fish, coconuts, taro, and local fruits. We read that a supply ship from Australia calls two or three times a year at Fanning.

We walked a short distance and looked at the homemade objects being offered for sale -- shell jewelry, bone knives, baskets, and a few carvings. Most items were marked at prices for about $2 to $5, and we didn’t see anyone haggling over price.

We bought a nice $3.00 shell necklace for Ginny. Many families had dressed their (very cute) children for our passengers to take pictures for a charge of $1.00 tip.

Due to the rain it was too muddy for us to do much more walking. However, every single islander, young and old, that we saw today was barefoot and didn’t seem to mind the mud. Shoes are apparently a liability on Fanning Island.

We were glad to experience Fanning. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit a lovely, unspoiled South Seas island and its people. However, we decided not to move here due to lack of the modern conveniences to which we've grown accustomed.

Life on board the Serenity remains about the same. We did have our second formal night and continued to attend evening entertainment and enrichment lectures.

The ship's crew was finally able to open the pool for swimming, as sea swells have calmed down somewhat. The first eight days of the cruise, except for Honolulu, wind and sea conditions prevented enjoyment of most outdoor activities. Today we saw that our friend Frank (a neighbor back home in our Shell Point community) was one of the first to venture into the swim pool, despite a steady tropical rainstorm this afternoon. Luckily for us, the heavy rain started after we returned to the ship. We were able to go outdoors, under cover, to continue our personal competition in various card and dice games we brought with us. So far, the two of us are even (6-6) in wins.

We should arrive in Apia, Samoa this upcoming Friday (Feb 5), after two days at sea. Early tomorrow morning we should cross the equator, heading southbound.

Jim & Ginny