Swimming : legless and blind

I would like to say that I go swimming in crystal clean waters teeming with colourful marine life and refreshing cool swells on a weekly bases, sadly that is not the case. The waters surrounding the atoll of Tarawa are lovely to look at, the lagoons stillness and colours can take your breath way and the ocean can be very powerful and dominating.

An atoll such as Tarawa is created by coral growing along the slopes of a sinking old oceanic volcano. Basically sands collect on the shallow reef  (the rim of the old volcano) that sits about sea level, seeds blow in and over time a impressionable ring of flat, narrow islands of sand, coral and some trees (in this case mostly coconut) all surround a shallow lagoon. Tarawa gets some protection from the erosive action of open ocean waves by an outer reef.

There are quite few such atolls sitting in the pacific, Kiribati has 33 but only 8 of them are populated and Tarawa is the most populated taking the title of being “the most densely populated piece of land in the world”.

 Welcome to Tarawa - East to West is South Tarawa, North to South is North Tarawa

 

Surrounded by water unfortunately does not mean swimming. The population and lack of sanitation sees the lagoon being the bathhouse for over 45,000 people and Westerns are advised not to swim in it while the reef on the ocean side drops off several 100 meters and posing a dumped or suffering from coral cuts at least.

Opportunities to get away and swim are grabbed quickly. My most recent adventure was with the people from my work who were hosting a couple of visitors from Australia. So into a truck went the wheel chairs, eskies, rice bags carrying everything and anything and about 25 people including babies, those who are blind, have artificial legs, able bodied or covered in sun screen (the 3 westerners). After renegotiating the pick up time (it was Saturday and 6am is a bit too early in my books!) off we set along the increasingly pot holed road to meet a boat and venture to Broken Bridge on North Tarawa. (a road bridge that has been broken for  some years, the story is that government couldn’t find the funds of $10,000 or the willingness  to fix it !) The bridge joins two smaller atolls and has water coming from the ocean into the lagoon, lovely fresh, cool clean water with the added excitement of jumping from the bridge and floating along.

I have only been to one water based Kiribati picnic before and I thought that was a treat, this one had it all. Women set about weaving mats for the picnic rugs, setting up a camp kitchen for preparing chicken and cooking rice while the men climbed coconut trees for fresh drinks, and more palm fronds. Then out come the crème le crème of entertaining cooking utilities, this was a real BBQ.    

 The hands and beautiful work of a young blind women making a picnic mat

Locals don’t seem to worry about the effect of the searing sun here and swimwear along with any other clothing range do not exist. Lava lavas (like a sarong) and a tee shirt are the universal apparel for all occasions, swimming is no exception. With domestic duties accomplished and BBQ kings cooking and keeping the coconut husks burning it’s time to take to the water and explore the bridge. Artificial limbs and walking aids are left to hold themselves against a tree, blind people tag onto a person ahead and it’s into the briny we go. The kids quickly use any person taller than themselves as a human floaty and we all lull about in the aquatic playground. I can only imagine the range of feelings and senses that change for a blind person or someone not having to bare the weight of an introduced limb when they take to this activity. The fresh water was offering me a new freedom, the joy and smiles on the faces of others seemed to suggest the same. 

The Kiribati BBQ (carried on site by a boat and a truck)

 

Swimming, eating, laughing, singing, a batch of anzac biscuits and a few speeches made up the program.  The BBQ and feast served us well, a quick shower of rain washed the pots, another swim and it’s time to board the boats and skim the lagoon back home.

Forget money hungry cruises and tiresome schedules this was real Kiribati hospitality and a treat to be part of.

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