Outer island visit

Today I take to the skies, well that’s the plan, I have a booked, paid for and confirmed ticket to fly to an outer Island called Nonouti, but that’s no guarantee of a seat! I will catch a local bus to the airport for the allocated check in time and hope that I am one of the 12 or 13 that do actually get on the plane and keep my fingers crossed that it does depart.

The purpose of the trip is to meet up with the members of the organisation I am with who have travelled the 250 kilometres south by boat as past of the villages Mwanabea celebrations. The I-Kiribati truly like to celebrate and the anniversary of the villages meeting place along with weddings and first birthdays are significant occasions. For this celebration the group have been invited to write and perform songs for the celebration and after months of planning almost 60 people with disabilities and their family members are there now and I will rejoin them later today.

Last Friday was the boat departure day, wheelchairs, babies, kids, bags of food, water bottles, a drum kit, guitars, speakers big enough to blast an atoll and basically everything but the kitchen sink was packed for the trip that I had been told would take between 18 hours and 2 days ! It took 5 small truckloads to get everyone and everything to the boat, the trip I travelled on had 30 people on the back of the truck, 2 wheelchairs and loads of “stuff”. 

I spent many hours watching the goings on, climbing on the boat and hanging out seeing everyone set up home on the boat ready for the journey. It didn’t take long and the cards were being dealt, the ukes being played and the beautiful voices filling the air.

Ok, time to catch a bus to the airport. My bag weights the 15 kilo plus more, I have  my yoga mat to sleep on, mozzie net, sleeping sheet, vegemite, enough miso to keep me going for a month, lollies for the kids, an “aussie” cap as part of gifts, chalk for the kids to draw on the mwanabea and enough wet ones to attempt to keep refreshed in some way.

Trust I will have plenty to report back, some stories and lots of photos.

Up Next : Adventure in Nonouti