Certain things become more difficult when you're on a hunk of rock in the middle of the Pacific.
The power station in Nauru runs on diesel, and the supply of diesel is dependent on ships coming in. Therefore, power is rationed and blinks on and off. No problem--it is usually on in the evenings, and I have both a flashlight and a computer with a battery. The water supply relies on power for pumping, so that is variable too. So last night, just as I finished soaping up in the shower, the water cut out (but the power stayed on--odd). Again, no problem. I rinsed off with a couple of buckets of water I filled earlier in the day to use to flush the toilet. There is no public transportation, but so far I have met a few nice people willing to give me rides or at least arrange passage for me with someone else. Everywhere else I walk, which is manageable provided I have enough bottled water.
So you make do. I had been off the Internet for several days owing to a severe stomach illness and the fact that the Internet office was closed all weekend. So I had missed this little piece of news until yesterday when a source mentioend it to me and today when I finally read the whole story ...
Nauru's Only Jet Grounded
Melbourne Herald Sun
That's right, my government has gone and repossessed the plane that I flew here on, the only plane with regular service to Nauru. So begins a period of uncertainty. They know little right now at the Air Nauru office, but have mentioned, as the article does, that some other airline may be running some kind of service to the island. What's more, there are a number of Australian security personnel on the island and they will have to be spelled at some point. Maybe I could hitch a ride with them. So I suppose I'll be able to get out sometime between now and Dec. 29, when I had originally planned to leave, or Jan. 5, when I am scheduled to fly from Fiji to Vanuatu.
I suppose the only problem is that there is no guarantee that the new air service will resume the old route and fly me back to Fiji. In fact, my guess is that it would fly into Brisbane instead. There's a Nauruan saying, "Tomorrow will take care of itself." Hmph.
In the meantime, I'm meeting some interesting people and getting some good interviews. I suppose that's something. Will get up some pics soon.
The power station in Nauru runs on diesel, and the supply of diesel is dependent on ships coming in. Therefore, power is rationed and blinks on and off. No problem--it is usually on in the evenings, and I have both a flashlight and a computer with a battery. The water supply relies on power for pumping, so that is variable too. So last night, just as I finished soaping up in the shower, the water cut out (but the power stayed on--odd). Again, no problem. I rinsed off with a couple of buckets of water I filled earlier in the day to use to flush the toilet. There is no public transportation, but so far I have met a few nice people willing to give me rides or at least arrange passage for me with someone else. Everywhere else I walk, which is manageable provided I have enough bottled water.
So you make do. I had been off the Internet for several days owing to a severe stomach illness and the fact that the Internet office was closed all weekend. So I had missed this little piece of news until yesterday when a source mentioend it to me and today when I finally read the whole story ...
Nauru's Only Jet Grounded
Melbourne Herald Sun
That's right, my government has gone and repossessed the plane that I flew here on, the only plane with regular service to Nauru. So begins a period of uncertainty. They know little right now at the Air Nauru office, but have mentioned, as the article does, that some other airline may be running some kind of service to the island. What's more, there are a number of Australian security personnel on the island and they will have to be spelled at some point. Maybe I could hitch a ride with them. So I suppose I'll be able to get out sometime between now and Dec. 29, when I had originally planned to leave, or Jan. 5, when I am scheduled to fly from Fiji to Vanuatu.
I suppose the only problem is that there is no guarantee that the new air service will resume the old route and fly me back to Fiji. In fact, my guess is that it would fly into Brisbane instead. There's a Nauruan saying, "Tomorrow will take care of itself." Hmph.
In the meantime, I'm meeting some interesting people and getting some good interviews. I suppose that's something. Will get up some pics soon.
posted by Samir S. Patel at 8:18 PM
6 Comments:
Hey samir! Sounds pretty incredible so far, I take it most people are speaking english eh? are their native tongues they speak as well? How is communicating with people in general? easy? What are peoples living conditions like? are they houses, huts, hovels, tents? What do they do for education? Are there any missionaries on the island?
Hi Samir it's Ishay,
Sounds like that Israeli Boot camp can come in Handy right about now.
Let me know if i should get a search and rescue team togheter to bring you back.
I am actually serious about that.
IG
hey man sorry to hear about montezuma's revenge. try eating some bark and moss. somebody was telling me that bears do that to bind up the belly when they hibernate.
Wow... and I thought that getting stranded in the subway for 45 minutes was bad. Best of luck man, I'm sure with the ole' Samir luck, things will work itself out. Reading your blog is like reading a Clive Cussler adventure. Well, minus the people shooting at you, and well, the femme fatales.
First, I can answer some of Chris' questions:
Most people speak English, to varying levels of fluency, so communicating ranges from a major chore to very easy. Living conditions are poor for most. Even when the country was rich, it seems, the homes were not substantially upgraded. Houses, I guess you could call the ones I have seen, in a tropical, third-world style--mostly open, lots of corrugated metal, little furniture and, almost without exception, a lot of junk in the yard. There is a place a little worse, called "Location," that was where the laborers brought in to work the phosphate mines lives. These are pretty squalid, low-slung apartment blocks. Education is handled through a number of primary schools around the island. They are on break now, so I haven't seen them in operation, but the other day there was a conference for maybe 100 local teachers. Those with means send their children away for schooling after that. There don't seem to be any missionaries on the island now--they would be preaching to the converted (literally). The first missionaries came into Nauru in the late 1800s, I believe, helped stop a long period of weird civil war and converted everyone.
For the other comments, thanks for the kind words. Ishay, I don't think we've gotten to the Israeli commando search and rescue stage quite yet, but thanks for the offer. I'll let you know.
sammy, hope you're having a good time man. just read the guadalcanal piece and thought it was great. pictures were great man. how's the nightlife out there? take care and stay safe man.
Tim
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