After about 10 days here on Fanning, we've gotten into the swing of things -- -lots of relaxing and reading and playing games in the late afternoons. At the beginning of the week, there were some waves, so we got to surf. The first day, it looked way too intimidating for me, so Tim went out on his own. After about two hours of great surf, he was joined by a local surfer (we think maybe the only local surfer here with a board), and he surfed for at least another hour - the waves were great and glassy. It is a high tide break, so you pretty much get one good session a day. The next day it was smaller so I decided to paddle out on my boogie board, and stayed way way off on the shoulder where the waves don't break. It was also pretty close to the cut, so the current kept pulling me out, and I was constantly kicking to stay in place. Quite a workout, after a bit over an hour I was tired! Didn't look very inviting to try to catch a wave on the boogie board… So, the next day, I paddled out on my longboard. The waves were small (well smaller but still intimidating for me!), and it was pretty glassy. Finally I got up enough courage to sit in the right spot and was able to catch a couple waves - very different than anything I'd ridden before! But the best is when we get out of the water, and the lady who lives right at the surf break comes up with two coconuts for us. I didn't think I was a fan of coconut water, but I have seen the light. It was the yummiest, sweetest tasting drink ever! I can't believe I haven't been drinking these things the whole time in Mexico and the Virgin Islands! I swear I've had them before and I don't remember liking them!??? Anyhow, there haven't been waves for a few days, so we've been doing other things.
One day we borrowed bikes and rode to the end of the road, 7 miles out. Of course, we took our time getting to shore, and by the time we had the bikes and started out it was 11am, midday in the hot sun. Luckily there was a good breeze, but we were still hot and tired by the end. We were stopped along the way - once by a local schoolteacher whose daughter we'd met, and later by a man who wanted us to stop for a rest and visit with the nurse at the clinic which serves the outer villages. After visiting for a bit, we made our goodbyes, and had just mounted the bikes when they called us back… Tim had admired their banana trees, so they chopped off a branch laden with green bananas, and gave it to us! We're waiting for it to ripen and we'll have lots to share with folks when it does! I can only make so much banana bread since I'm rationing our eggs.
Along the road, the kids always say hello, and try out their little bits of English - What is your name? Hello, Goodbye. Schools are on a two week holiday right now, but maybe I'll try to go into the schools and help with English classes if I can work it out.
We've been visiting a lot with Bruno (the French man) and his Kiribati wife, Tabeta, who run a guesthouse here. They invited us for lunch the first weekend, and we had yummy yellowfin tuna - sashimi and cooked. Apparently the tunas are running here - just outside the cut, so we're hoping to go fishing one day soon. Yesterday we cooked some jambalaya and brought it over for a meal. Tabeta has been really helpful with teaching me Kiribati words, I learned a bunch yesterday! They have a 4 year old son, Paul, who has become my new friend too. And another sailboat has pulled in, s/v Tao (I think), with Gunter (German) and Claudia (Brazilian) aboard. They've been cruising in the Pacific for years, and spent many months here - we look forward to visiting with them a bit more before they leave in a few weeks.
All in all, things are good here in Fanning. The waves have come up again, but unfortunately the tide is only high at dawn (a bit too early) and late afternoon (when the wind is honking). But we're going to go check it out this afternoon, and hope for a few waves. If not, there's always tomorrow!
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