TRIP TO MARAKEI - JULY 14-15, 2012

Our plane was a 15-passenger plane with Air Kiribati.  The government-owned airline has 2 planes that service the islands.  Marakei is a small island northeast of Tarawa.  It took 20 minutes by plane to fly there.

Our hotel room at the island council building.  At night we slept under a mosquito net.

 It is a custom to take an island tour on your first trip to Marakei.  The island is a complete circle, with 2 small breaks, through which the water channels in and out at high and low tides.  The rim enclosed a large lagoon, miles across.  The rim takes 2 hours to drive around, but is never more than a few hundred yards wide.
  In this village, a new house was being constructed.  They start with 4 posts, then add a roof, but sometimes add a raised floor before the roof.

 This is a little different style of home with four walls, which we don't see on Tarawa.  The homes seemed neater and more spaced out.

 A fish trap in the lagoon by the outlet to the sea. 

Beautiful scenery!!

Val, President Maunga, Branch President Aritaake waiting at the airport after church.

Our transportation around the island.  Gratefully Val & I got to ride upfront.  There were many mud holes on the dirt road.

Touring around the island we stopped and visited the 4 ladies.  They were all made of cement and had a shell on one side that we could place some candy to show respect.  These ladies were there to  help bless the island to make sure there would be plenty of fish for the year.

As soon as I put the candy in the shell, little boys were there to grab the candy. 

 This new bridge was just constructed this year to connect the island.  Before the bridge, everyone rode in boats to get across.

Taro is a root crop that they use here like potatoes, but they don't look like them or taste like them.  It takes a lot of water for taro to grow.  They can use the water from the lagoon as it is not as salty as the ocean side.