Tabuaeran is a low-lying atoll on the equator, rarely visited by tourists. It belongs to the country of Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas), which is a scattering of about 30 islands in three widely separated groups in the mid-Pacific. Tubuaeran is in the easternmost group, the Line Islands, and is separated from its country’s capital. Tarawa, by 2000 miles, which is a long drink of water. There is no airstrip on Tabuaeran, and the supply ship, the Moamoa (a creaky-looking affair which was present when we visited and is shown above) calls three or four times a year. Tabuaeran is, in other words, a very lonely, very isolated place.
We arrived at Tabuaeran after a 1000-mile voyage south from Hilo, Hawaii and tendered to shore. We were advised about Tabuaeran’s isolation and poverty and the island’s needs, especially school supplies for the children. So many passengers brought ashore bags of notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, pens, and the like, much of it purchased at stores in Hawaii. The many children of Tabuaeran looked on with delight as the passengers came ashore.
Passengers were also warned not to expect any conveniences like drinking water, toilets, etc. on the island, and some opted to admire the island from the decks of the Rotterdam. But I was determined not to miss the most primitive place we would see on our voyage and hopped on a tender. On the return passage, “hopped” is the right word; the tender lifted as I began my jump from tender to platform, and the result was a leg strain that hobbled me for the rest of the cruise. Still, the close-up look at Tabuaeran was worth it.
Tabuaeran is also called Fanning Island, after an American sea captain who visited it in 1798. Its country, Kiribati, was given its independence from Great Britain in 1979 and is a full member of the UN and the IMF. It is a curious country, spread as it is over 1.35 million square miles of ocean (an area bigger than India!). The good folks who live on Tabuaeran had better hope that the Moamoa is more reliable than it looks.
