Ahoy 5170 Century Builders,
When we first met our cabin steward, Eria Teibuako, I asked him where
he came from. He said he and others on the ship come from Kiribati.
I hate to admit ignorance, but I did not know where that is. So I tried
to get educated about its location, etc.
Kiribati is a small country made of 33 islands in the central Pacific
Ocean. It consists of 3 Island groups, the 16 Gilbert Islands and Banaba
(formerly called Ocean Island), the 8 Phoenix Islands, and 8 of the
Line Islands. These Islands spread across about 2 million square miles
(5 million square kilometers) of the Pacific Ocean. The entire population
is around 90,000.
The capital of Kiribati is Tarawa and has a population of around 25,000.
Tarawa is an atoll (ring shaped reef) composed of many coral islets
that cover a total of 9 square miles (23 square kilometers).
Kiribati became independent from Great Britain in 1979. The task of
coming of age has been made formidable by the scattered nature of the
islands. As of several years ago the Phoenix and Line Groups of Islands
had no direct air link to the capital.
There is a Marine Training Center in Kiribati which has placed at any
one time around 2000 men on German Ships all over the world. The pay
for these men is quite good since they get paid by the German companies
and they make more than a nurse might on Kiribati. A nurse on Kiribati
makes around $200 Australian per every 2 weeks. Most jobs that are available
on Kiribati are in Tarawa.
Most of the I-Kiribati who live on the outer islands do not work yet
it does not seem to be a great problem since they can feed themselves
with fish, fruits, bread fruit, coconut, and milk fish. There is a problem
when one needs things that might take money, such as health care, etc..
I do remember sitting in Anaheim during the parade of nations and hearing
various nations that I had never heard before. I wonder if Kiribati
is one of those nations and if not if there is someone working on adding
it to the family of Rotary. It looks like and island paradise in the
book that I found on board our ship. I imagine someone would love to
make the sacrifice to help establish a Rotary Club in Kiribati.
Cindy is going to say a few words so I am going back to my Paul Harris
readings, I¹ll be back to close.
This freighter adventure, I¹m relieved to tell, is going very
well. We have been lucky in our weather conditions and the ship's officers
and crew have been very courteous, eager to please us in accommodating
our requests. We have a comfortable cabin which includes sitting for
about 7 people, a small refrigerator, a separate sleeping area for 2
and our own private bathroom.
Ron has already described our daily routine of meals and the 3
pm coffee service. As a person who really likes a good cup of coffee,
I'm very happy I brought my own supply of Peet's coffee to be brewed
by the cup in our cabin.
We are enjoying the liberty permitted by the Captain for us to
visit the Bridge & view the surroundings from high above on the
ship.
It isn't the pace of life that the traditional cruise ships offer
with shopping, dress code requirements, and structured hours of activities.
It¹s easily recommended for anyone who would like some quiet time;
reading, writing, completing some portable hobby or just sleeping without
a phone ringing. In choosing this method of travel it allows us to see
each other a lot more, and that's a good thing. As on any vacation,
you miss having your ""stuff"around. I especially miss
our dogs and working on projects that need to get done at the office
and at home.
I never thought I'd ever go to Japan and viewing the Aleutian
Islands on the way is an unexpected bonus. But that is part of the bonus
experience one gets when traveling this way.
Saying goodbye from around 130 miles east of Attu Island in the Bering
Sea on the Great Circle Route to Tokyo, Japan Until we see you on the
website tomorrow.
Ron and Cindy
