Trip Report Tuvalu (May 2018)

Hello

One destination during my trip in oceania was Tuvalu. Put together some memories as maybe some fellow traveler might find something of it useful.
For the full report with photos and map, please take a look here: Tuvalu Trip Report May 2018

MAY 22 - ARRIVING IN TUVALU
Coming from Tonga via Fiji and then to Tuvalu. Flying to/from Tuvalu is only possible on Tuesdays and Thursdays and only von Suva (Fiji). I didn't want to spend almost a week in Tuvalu and so I decided on the option Tuesday to Thursday.
In Fiji airport at the customs, I was heavily asked by immigration security officer, due to my stop and goes in and out of Fiji the last few weeks and about my itinerary in general. They asked everything about my trip from where to where and what I have done. She wanted to see all my visa and even asked how expensive it was but denied to answer that question. After 15 minutes she let me go and I was surprised that the plane took off exactly on time from Fiji and arrived on time in Tuvalu. I didn't expect that at all!

Don't have to mention that there is only a small airport in Tuvalu and immigration is quick and easy done at a small one-officer counter in front of the airport.

Due to the low amount of days Ill spend in Tuvalu, I made an accommodation reservation all in advance and am staying in L's Lodge, which is really nice with good air-conditioning.

There is Wifi on available in Tuvalu but its expensive, of course. As in many other countries, here its Tuvaluan Telecom that is the guru.

MAY 23 - I WANT A MOTORBIKE - LIKE A TUVALUAN
So many motorbikes here. Feels like every Tuvaluan has a motorbike. The narrow streets are cramped and flooded in rush hour with big wide people on motorbikes, sometimes even with two or more persons on a small motorbike, which is funny to observe.

When I started to ride the motorbike I asked some pedestrian which way I best should ride to visit something of Tuvalu. The friendly person laughed:

"Hello friend, welcome to Tuvalu. Sorry to tell, but we only have one road and in this direction it ends at some big palm and in this direction it ends at the Tuvaluan dumpsite."

The whole island of Tuvalu and its capital Funafuti is a long slope of an atoll and there is one long main road from north to south which can be driven with about 15 minutes by motorbike drive.

Basically, that's it, no further "long-distance" roads. The slim stretch of land is surrounded with very high sea level and at some points its visible to see both sides of the water, the lagoon side, and the ocean side.

THE SOUTH OF TUVALU
At the south of the Funafuti is ... nothing. Just some bush and then the shore. The water is almost same level as the street and there about 1 meter left. When the water rises, there is no way to go. You can climb like Chuck Norris, but you wont be Chuck Norris enough to escape the rising sea level in Tuvalu.

THE NORTH OF TUVALU
At the north of Funafuti is the Tuvaluan dumpsite and as I found out being a waste manager to coordinate and organize dumpsites in Tuvalu is a very high paid job. Totally understand that that this is a huge challenge!

THE AIRPORT "AIR-SUPER-FIELD"
And then there is the airfield, oh yes the airfield, which is for multiusage purpose. Not much used by planes with two flights per week.

During the day it is used as a small highway to travel from north to south of Tuvalu, or as a huge roundabout to bring food to the pig farms on the right side of the field.

When working day is done, half Tuvalu is assembling around the airfield for playing sports.
But for Tuvaluans its the event area and the holy piece of land. But that makes sense as it is the only big open area in Tuvalu and therefore it is used for playing volleyball, rugby, athletics, and even the national soccer team is training there. So yes the airfield is the main communal area for all Tuvaluans and every day around 4pm it starts becoming really busy, like a huge event, people from all over Tuvalu gather every evening and play sports there on the landing slope :)

MAY 24 - GO TO THE AIRPORT AND THEN SLIGHTLY LEFT TO SAMOA
The day started very early as right in front of the hotel a 15-headed construction team showed up to build a small piece of a 10-meter concrete road. Probably its necessary to have special skills or methods to build streets in Tuvalu, as on every full moon the water from below the earth is rising to the surface and floods huge areas of streets, including sometimes the airport.

BYE TUVALU, HOPE THERE IS NO EXODUS GOING TO HAPPEN
After breakfast, I packed the underwater camera and went to the shore where the Tuvalu-Ship was anchored. Wasnt able to go diving here in Tuvalu, but at least I wanted to make usage of the camera that I brought all the way from home :)

The last activity for me in Tuvalu, here in a country which I never ever will visit again.

NOT because I didn't like it, (I absolutely liked my stay in Tuvalu), but because this country is so very difficult to reach. And in addition, maybe in already a few years this country will be evacuated even more intensively anyway, as a living here on a vanishing country gets more and more difficult.

SAMOA, I'm on the way now!

For the full report with photos and map, please take a look here: Tuvalu Trip Report May 2018

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