Nede's Notes

Island life is interrupted by the arrival of the four planes a week around lunchtime on Mon, Tue, Thu and Sat. While many passengers are coming for business reasons, a few tourists want to tick off their trip to the least visited country. With the Filamona being close to the terminal, its long-term guests are ideally placed to interact with outgoing passengers as they await their flights.     First time approaching Funafuti from the north The country gained independence from Great Britain in 1975 and became a Pacific nation by 1978. But due to its remoteness and the convoluted travel arrangements necessary to get here, tourism isn’t catered for. According to the last census, Tuvalu is the second least populated country after the Vatican. Independence Day is next week, 1-Oct, and will be celebrated with a big parade and party. Everyone gets two days off except us. We have to work due to programme and weather delays, but I hope to be able to talk about the festivities next blog...

The maneapa was back in action all day and night on Monday with the 46 th  anniversary of Solomon Island’s Independence celebrations even though the actual day was Sunday, 7 th  July. The cake Team shirts for the celebrations The music and dancing were great, there was a big cake and many speeches. Last of the speeches. Note the hi-tech sounds. The Solomon Island community in Tuvalu has its own Executive Committee which was reelected at the end of the celebrations. The President and Secretary I wandered over and was immediately welcomed into the celebrations. For forty people there seemed to be an enormous amount of food, complete with a whole slow-cooked pig, BBQ lamb chops, pre-cooked sausages and many other foods unfamiliar to me.  Plates of island food Slow cooked BBQ pork The party was over by 10:00 pm and the maneapa returned to its empty shell by 11:00 pm. The deal is, you can hire the venue for $25 but you leave it clean and tidy. The Police come and check afterwa...

As I write this week’s blog, a church group sings in the maneapa next door. Watch the women warming up The women are sitting at opposite ends to the men and each group take turns in singing. Hear the women sing And the men respond Sometimes there’s a soloist and sometimes they all sign together. They had their church service this morning at 10 am then all walked the hundred or so metres down to the maneapa for lunch, fellowship and of course, singing. The Vaiaku Vaialofa Church Of the 11,500 Tuvaluans, 92% are Christians with 86% belonging to the Church of Tuvalu (CoT). Twelve churches on Fongafale Islet cater for the 6000 inhabitants of which only about 840 are not members of the CoT. A curious thing happens every night at 6:45 – 7:00 pm. The police park in the middle of the main intersections with their light bars going, Police stop the traffic between 6:45 & 7:00 pm Mon-Sat and a bell tolls at the beginning and end to signify the call to “devotion” when the island stops for 15 m...

This week began with the opening of Parliament at 8:00 am. While an auspicious occasion for the Government it didn’t seem to capture the local inhabitant’s interest. However, we had an excellent overview of the Police Guard of Honour. Police Officer in ceremonial uniform Preparations had been happening all the previous week with maintenance and painting of the Women’s Centre. Each morning last week the Police would practice their drill from about 6:30 am. I guess so they could be ready for normal duties at 8:00 am. His Excellency, Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, formally opened Parliament and presided over the remainder of the event. Opening of Tuvaluan Parliament by the Governor General By the time the plane arrived at 11:00 am, you couldn’t tell anything had happened, the flag pole and stand had been trucked away and the hall returned to normal use. Police Guard of Honour on Airport Apron While the island has probably, a dozen or so “ maneapa ,” (halls) to accommodate events it seems the Wome...

The Monday flight to Tuvalu was direct from Nadi and saved the normal hop over to Suva first. Sitting on the left side of the plane provided a panoramic view of Funifuti Atoll as we neared the runway on Fongafale. The southern end of Funafuti Watch the approach to Fongafale I skipped through Customs without incident despite having a full company internet package in my luggage. A complete Starlink kit, company router and two Wifi extenders weighing in at about 16kg. Fortunately, I had left most of my stuff in my room at the Filamona so I didn’t have much else except my five-week supply of plunger coffee. I can’t remember the last time I purchased instant coffee; it would have to be more than 25 years ago.    My room and office One of the resident bug catchers Coming from low single-digit temperatures to nearly 30º C wasn’t as overwhelming as I had thought. It’s not so much the heat but the humidity which hovers around 80%. And every day this week has been wet, with rain and thu...