Tropical Zone Gardening: Hawaiians !! Tsunami warning 11:00 AM!!!! watch/read news , 1 by lourspolaire

lourspolaire wrote:
Oh, Princess, I didn't know about the Republic of Kiribati and Fanning Island in particular until we found that island on our itinerary. I have good geographical knowledge but I had never heard of those islands, either. So, I Googled it and found 3 or 4 sites that actually originated from the Republic of Kiribati and a few others who mentioned their existence. Fanning is totally undevelopped: no electricity, no running water, communal living. Norwegian Cruise Lines opened an elementary school there years ago, which they staff and keep supplied with everything a school may need.

I loved our stop at Fanning island. It was like walking in the garden of Eden. That's also where I got acquainted with their rising water crisis. The picture I uploaded earlier shows the women's choir that welcomes visitors disembarking from the shuttle. We had packed an old suitcase containing a care package for the children: note books, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, coloring books, crayons, rulers, glue sticks, construction paper, children's scissors, stickers, etc. All that stuff came from the dollar store but you would have thought our meager offerings came directly from a jewelry store.

Also, those supplies ingratiated me with the island's fierce warriors who posed with me. They wouldn't accept cash from me. The old carry-on bag was used to bring back the shell of a large triacnid clam, typical of those waters. You know those clams: in the TV show Sea Hunt, Lloyd Bridges used to stick his foot in one of those every other episode. The clam would close and trap his foot. He was in danger of drowning every time. We were such fools when I was a kid. We actually believed that hogwash. The shell now sits proudly among the rest of my collection. Every one of them has a story. Again, I left a bit of myself over on Fanning Island.

Take care, all.
Sylvain.

Edited because I can't conjugate verbs today, somehow.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2010 6:09 PM