Author: Anthony Perez

Categories
Hawai'i Oʻahu

Stairway to Heaven: The “LEGAL” Way

stairway to heaven haiku stairs oahu hawaii hike

History of the Stairs

The stairs in the 1940’s

During times of war, the US Navy built radio frequency towers along the ridge and over Ha’iku valley. The hidden amphitheater nature of the valley made this the appropriate location for such technology. The metal stairs we know and love today were actually and originally wooden stairs and were renovated to metal in the 1950’s. This is a summarization of what I’ve learned and read. Read some more on the Friends of Ha’iku stairs website.

https://www.haikustairs.org/post/building-the-stairs-construction-in-ha-iku-valley

Legal?…Illegal?

Let me start off by saying that the term LEGAL in regards to hiking Stairway to Heaven needs lots of clarification. There are two ways to go up

1) The “adventurous” one most travelers go up entails going through a Kane’ohe neighborhood, finding one of several entry points, and evading a security officer (most likely police also) to get a chance to walk up endless stairs up to the summit of the Ko’olau Ridge. What a dream, yea? Not for the residents of the neighborhood who have to deal with trespassers and noise early in the morning. You can hire a local for around $100 who can get you through with minimal issues….but, it’s still illegal.

2) The second one is on the Honolulu (leeward side) via the Moanalua Gardens Trail hike which is partially a state maintained trail that leads up to the summit where the stairs are. The pro is you won’t need to evade authorities nor bother residents. However, the con (if it matters to you) is that it takes four times longer than going straight up the stairs and if difficult in it’s own right.

So where does it become illegal:

Could be the very first step at the bottom or the last one at the top, being on the stairs at any point is illegal and will come with a hefty fine should you get lucky enough to get caught. Any many have gotten pretty lucky!

“The City Prosecutors Office said criminal trespass in the second degree carries a $1000 fine and even simple trespass cases the judge has the discretion to hand down fines of up to a thousand dollars.” [Article on KITV]

Should I go the “legal” or “Illegal” Way?

If you want the “adventure” of being one of many travelers that a local neighborhood gets annoyed about. Or want to risk a hefty fine many people have gotten just to post it on Instagram or Youtube, hell be my guest. But the reason why I went the “legal” way was not so I didn’t have to worry about evading officials, but because if hundreds of tourists snuck around my neighborhood at night and early morning making noise and bringing police around round the clock, I’d be annoyed as fuck. In short, RESPECT IS WHY!

If you’re still here and you’re not offended and would love to show some respect and aloha…here we go!

Hiking Moanalua/Kamananui Valley Trail

At the end of Ala Aolani Road, is the Community park where you can park your car. The rest is in photos 🙂

The start of the trail is a long walk through Kamananui Valley
lehua ohia native hawaii plant stairway to heaven hike
Beautiful ‘Ohi’a lehua
After the valley, you ascend up to the ridge quickly.
Stairway to Heaven has meaning, in this case it’s the trail to heaven where the Stairway to Heaven awaits =)
A hike up the ridge isn’t complete without a rope climb stretch.

The Summit & Stairs

Reaching the summit allows you to walk on over to the former secret radio tower that now stands derelict, full of graffiti, and not in the best of conditions. Here you will find the inside full of rubbish, “Blah Blah was here”s, ash from campfires, and beer bottles placed around as collectibles. Before you head down the stairs, head to the rear of the building and look down at the ridge, you will notice a number of platforms and another separate set of stairs.

Back to the main attraction, the stairs & views in photos:

stairway to heaven haiku stairs oahu hawaii
This was as far down as I went before I turned back for the summit and back the direction I came.
stairway to heaven haiku stairs oahu hawaii hike moanalua legal
Continuing north of my circle would bring me down to the where a possible security guard would be. [courtesy of Alltrails]

—————————————————

It took me 2.5-3 hours from trailhead to Summit.

And 5 hours in reverse due to a pulled muscle (yea, it really sucked)

Alot of time taking pictures plus lunch

7:30 AM – 5:45 PM

Personal Note

On a normal day of tourism, these stairs have been known to be crowded full of people. With mandatory 14 day quarantine for all visitors coming into Hawai’i, would mean that most of these trails have left room for Hawaii residents to enjoy minus any large crowds. And that was true for the Ha’iku stairs. I counted 40 to 50 or so people including myself from the trailhead to the stairs and were all local residents of Hawai’i. If there was any better time to do the Stairway to Heaven Hike, it would be during the coronavirus lockdown. Hawaii has always been welcoming and showing aloha to the outside world. But under these dark circumstances, these island have gotten a well needed break. That goes for the people of Hawai’i too!

stairway to heaven haiku stairs oahu hawaii
Categories
Current Discussions General Hawai'i Oʻahu USA

Community of Aloha | How Hawai’i Came Together During Covid19

Aloha print facemask hawaii coronavirus

Aloha print facemask hawaii coronavirus

I cannot speak on behalf of everyones accounts on these islands. But respectfully sharing mine, my family, the colleagues I work with at Longs, and the customers I have interacted with who have all kindly shared their experiences through this pandemic. Major mahalos to all of those who allowed me to take their pictures with their masks on.

—————————————————————————-

The Coronavirus pandemic has been one of the most difficult events in recent history on a global scale. There are few to zero corners of the world that didn’t feel the brunt and effects of Covid 19. In my travels, I have stayed connected with many people around the world. From New Zealand to Greece, and all sharing very similar accounts of lockdown, social distancing, and being stripped of any semblance of a normal life.

n95 facemask hawaii coronavirus
Wearing an N95 for the first time once Coronavirus cases surpassed 50 confirmed.

Pandemic Hits Hawaii

Here in Hawaii, everyday life had been severely impacted, as these islands (sadly) mostly rely on tourism for dollar dollar bills y’all. But even for an everyday person here, the panic, fear, and anxiety of catching Covid and jeopordizing our kupuna (elders) was hard enough for most of us. After all, most of us do live in crowded households. While I can’t share accounts for everyone across these islands, I can say that working at one of the busiest Longs Drugs in the island chain has allowed me to have major perspective on everything that has happened to Hawai’i during COVID. As an essential worker in retail, I have seen all kinds of patterns and habits, to how people shop, what people shop for, communicate and the widen spectrum of how people are coping. I’ve seen people yell at each other to get in damn near fist fights, while most other people try to keep the aloha and show and share gratitude. With that being said, that is why I wanted for so long to write this. Because through it all, the aloha still continued to remain strong in the people and the community. After all, it does reflect the tradition and energy of these islands, wheter you’re in town (Honolulu proper) or on the Big Island.

cvs facemasks
Once upon a time these were on our shelves at Longs.

In Mid March, the coronavirus outbreak had already been designated a PANDEMIC, with many cities and nations around the world shutting down. In Hawai’i, our outbreak had just begun to spread with cases crossing over 50 to 100 real fast. By this time, the community would flock to Longs Drugs to find shelves of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, Vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and thermometers wiped out, including most famously, FACE MASKS. And that is exactly what the highlight of this post is all about. Weeks went by where our shipments of 3m and CVS brand N95 and earloop masks were low until they simply stopped coming. People would come in and ask, to phone in and ask, until noone even bothered inquiring, at all. But there came a point where everyone had enough of it’s reliance on big corporations and came together with aloha as a beautiful community.

“In a time of hardship, these prints really brought out positivity and color to our daily lives.”

Tropical Paper Garden Aloha Print Facemask Selection from Anthony G. Perez on Vimeo.

On the first week of April, local company Tropical Paper Garden, had mass produced and distributed our first batch of beautiful Aloha print masks, with designs of honu, ancient Hawaiian symbols, and warm colors that represent the most important aspects of Hawai’i. It was not long after despite fabric shops being closed, that business owners set up spaces in their homes and started making their own mass productions of aloha print masks.

Companies like Kauhale Living that specializes in making Hawaiian print shopping bags, shower curtains, and kitchen rags used whatever fabric and designs they had to make masks also. Interestingly a bag we had on the shelf matched a mask I bought for my girlfriend ;).

Even better, was aloha shirt companies like Kahala & other known Hawaiian print companies followed suit keeping businesses afloat all while keeping people safe by using their excess material and prints to manufacture masks also.

Homeade Aloha Print Facemasks from Anthony G. Perez on Vimeo.

coronavirus hand sanitizer hawaii
When hand sanitizer stopped coming in, local companies started manufacturing and selling their own.

It was the most amazing transition I had ever seen. One week we are all scrounging for masks and taking what we can get to another week where we are spoiled and being choosy about what Hawaiian designs appeal to us most. Having endless hoards of all these beautiful design prints made from a number of different local companies. The best thing you can do regardless if you’re a resident or visitor, is support local business. Once mass production became prominent on these islands, everyone had their hands on an aloha print mask whether it was from a local company or someones home. This is what caused me to fall in love with some of the beautiful prints I’ve seen people wear, from honu to lehua designs. I mean hell, even Avengers and Winnie the Pooh designs looked incredible and were created with a lot of expertise.

Aloha print facemask hawaii coronavirus winnie the pooh

Homemade Facemask with filter – Winnie The Pooh from Anthony G. Perez on Vimeo.

As much as I wanted to get permission to photograph everyone with their masks, I one, am not a photographer, and two had to respect the integrity and professionalism of my job. Which is why I asked for the help of my fellow colleagues to capture some of these beautifully well crafted Hawaiian facemasks. Here we go:

Some were camera shy 🙂 but others weren’t

And of course, cant forget my girlfriend and her son..

and lastly…me with my third (current) Hawaiian print mask

Aloha print facemask hawaii coronavirus kauhale living

While most of the world had managed to find a way to “supply your own”, I will have to say that it was an absolute blessing to live amongst this strong collection of mana and aloha to get us all through this in the best way we could. These local prints did so much for these islands and the community, giving all of us a sense of security and ease of mind. In a time of hardship, these prints really brought out positivity and color to our daily lives. And I surely saw that ease of mind through the community at Longs. How people spoke to each other again, how they shopped, and how they showed more appreciation for us essential workers more and more! I can’t say it hasn’t been a stressful time as it has been, but working retail in Hawai’i opposite of the mainland, is a true blessing.

Special mahalos to everyone who helped me put this together and even bigger thanks to my dear colleague Michele who helped gather some footage of her family making masks in their shop.

Categories
Current Discussions General Inspiration

5 Things I Can’t Wait For Once Travel Opens Back Up

travel coronavirus

Written May 30 (Global situations may differ than what’s depicted in blog)

What’s up voyagers! I hope everyone is doing well out there. Most of us are slowly resuming back to our normals lives but still have a bit of a journey to go with many restrictions in place. At least here in beautiful Hawai’i, local residents are resuming doing the things that they love with their friends and families. In March many of us were in quarantine and had to stay home with shopping restricted to what we needed with that added anxiety of how safe the store was. But as things loosen up, we are finding ourselves slowly returning to some semblance of a normal life. People are out more, stores and restaurants are opening back up, and we can enjoy some domestic leisure travel (with proper social distancing of course). With this gradual transition back to living life the way we miss, one can not help reminisce all the things I love and miss about travel, period.

So here are 5 things about travel that I dearly miss, & cannot wait for once I hit the road again.

1) Hit the Road

I don’t just simply mean hit the road in general. But literally hit the road, whether it’s getting in the car and driving or hitchhiking. There’s nothing more exciting (at least for me) than the “what’s next?” on a new journey. That start to a day of travel whether it’s going to the next beach town or a flight somewhere new. There is a general culmination of feelings that happens usually and only when a new journey is about to begin. The anticipation of knowing that theres a what, who, and where that awaits and you know will change you for the rest of your life.

2) Camping

I love Airbnb’s for the unique living experience you can have, Couchsurfing for that better connection with locals, and hostels to meet other travelers. But there is nothing like the freedom that camping offers if you just want to pitch a tent and create your own living experience wherever you are. I’ve camped in some of the most unique and beautiful places so far in my travels. A beach campout in Tonga, cliffside in Hawai’i, and glacier lake in New Zealand. Camping is also (more than likely to be) an affordable form of accommodation compared to other lodging options. So that time freedom that camping has given me is an element I seriously look forward to in the midst of busy traveling.

I also own a hammock which is a plus! Get yourself a hammock, you won’t regret it!

3) Meeting Locals

While I love and always look forward to meeting travelers domestic or abroad, the biggest joy I get, is having the opportunity to meet and connect with locals. One of my biggest priorities when it comes to travel, is education about my surroundings, from it’s history to the deepest routes of it’s everyday culture. And the best way to engage and truly learn is none other than connecting with a local (or locals). This is why I prefer to couchsurf in that it allows me to adapt and learn about how a life is lived in a place I am. And I’ve always found the learning experience in one day of couchsurfing could take me a week in a hostel, barely. It could be from the city of New Orleans to a small coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands (both places I’ve been to.) Reflecting on my travels, I love to look back at who I am and what I know when I first arrive at a place. And then see what I learned and how it changed me after I left.

This is why I love travel and molds me to not only be a better person and traveler, but allows me the opportunity to be a part, in changing the world for the better. By also bringing parts of the world to these places & it’s people.

Tonga people

“Us travelers, we are like soldiers of peace in a complex world.“

-Me

Learning a New Language

When I came into this world of nomadic travel, I innocently didn’t pay attention to some of the core reasons why I love travel. One of those things was keeping my ears open to new languages, dialects, and even accents. It’s one of those things you can’t not take in when you travel, whether you’re crossing state borders or country borders in Europe. Taking the time to listen to basic everyday words and expressions of a new language has become one of my favorite addictions and allows you to connect to a place a hundred times more.

Improve your English with a native teacher on italki today!

Locals appreciate it and will embrace you with open arms so as long as you wish to learn. Sure my Greek or Tuvaluan is rusty as sh** but hell, I have been invited into homes or social gatherings just for simply trying. Whether it’s learning a native aboriginal language in Aussie or a slavic language in Eastern Europe, I can’t wait to engage in a new language.

5) Take it all in

There is nothing more simple than just taking it all in. Whether it’s sitting on a sailboat watching the sun set over the Pacific, having a cold brew on a hot New Zealand summer day, or kicking back with a Frappe in a Greek cafe. Travel can get complicated with budgeting money appropriately, dealing with immigration, being safe and healthy and other things. And we can easily get caught up in other aspects of travel, like some of the ones I mentioned above. But there will and always will come a time to kick back, take a deep breathe, close your eyes, exhale, open them, and take it all in.

There is always a single point or multiple point in any extended trip I’ve taken, where I shut everything out and be in a particular moment. Sometimes I cry & sometimes I just simply smile and look at the horizon. But it’s these moment I find crucial to the balance in life as it closes a chapter of your life, top begin an embark on a new one. Everytime I had these moments, I have progressed in becoming a better traveler and a better person. Just happier in all honesty. These are the moments, I look forward.

I have experienced 8 years of life in 4 years of travel.

Time has no prejudice, which is why traveling the world is such a priority to me. Because in this short life we live, travel makes you whole. With the amount of world I still have left to see, it’s crazy to know that I’ve barely scratched the surface. Whoever you are out there! I know you feel the same. And even if you have yet to travel, I know you know that this is attainable. Travel may have been the lead cause for this pandemic to reach the heights that it reached, but as we get to do some of the things we miss doing now, that will be the same for travel, Borders will open up, planes will fly, & soon we will explore this beautiful world again.

But unlike before, we will have a greater appreciation of the world. The travel world we couldn’t enjoy, was back.

Categories
General New Zealand & The Pacific Tuvalu Voyages

A Week in Tuvalu: 5 Reasons You MUST Visit

“Tuvalu mo te Atua“

For a country that popped up on my radar in such a short time span, one year that is, I would find my self in love with a place way before I would arrive. There is only one other country where this has happened and that was in Greece. Until this day, I long desire a return to a country I spent nearly two months in. But for Tuvalu, I discovered in some time before leaving for New Zealand from Hawai’i. A time where I was barely making my way back on my feet from my achilles surgery. My original Pacific Island plan would have been: American Samoa > Samoa > Fiji > Kiribati, > Tonga. Tuvalu wasn’t even a place I heard of, like most people. But that time spent off of my feet recovering allowed me to discover unique group of low lying Polynesian islands in the Central Pacific. My curiosity was awakened!

A year goes by and with my New Zealand working holiday visa up, it was time for that long awaited trip around the Pacific on two healthy feet. In that total 7 months of working ordinary jobs in NZ, I found a plan that would set aside a budget for all of the island I wanted to visit, including Tuvalu. My travels would bring me across the main Tongan islands, sailing west, and exploring Fiji by boat and on foot. By this time, I had fully adapted to Pacific Island way of life having had the opportunity to village stay in Vava’u Tonga, and two villages in Fiji. Learning words all so sounding so similar and embracing the hearts of people across the islands. Getting off the sail, I had to prepare many onward tickets thanks to Pacific Island immigration rules to my next set of islands, Nauru, Kiribati, and finally Tuvalu.

A New Perspective: Life on an Atoll

tuvalu

I have flown to a small fraction of the world and forever enjoy my window seat. But arriving in Funafuti was by far the most unbelievable sight in my life. Seeing an atoll via photos is one thing, but with your own eyes is indescribable. People’s everyday lives squeezed on land no more than several hundred meters wide and 1.5 to 2 meters above sea level. With threads of king tides and cyclones.

Opening the plane door gave me the opportunity to be greeted by the hottest air I’ve felt in a very long time hence why doing the least amount of things in the open sun from 12 to about 3:30 is probably the smartest thing you can do. But it’s just surreal to be able to hear the calm water of a lagoon and a few steps away, the violent waves from the open sea. Funafuti is built up a bit more than I’ve read which isn’t a bad thing. Electricity is had with solar and water tanks provide….water. An engine on two wheels dominates the skinny road system across the island and fresh fish from the lagoon is the island supermarket.

Tuvaluan Food is Sooooo Good

Speaking of food, I’ve got to say that living a fraction of my life as a fats desiring large amounts of food all the time, I have grown accustomed to eating when it’s time to eat. In Tuvalu, I didn’t find myself eating so heavy. I mean, I’ve been fed endlessly with locals insisting I eat more and more. But the food is simple yet so damn good. While resources are limited, Tuvaluans can manage on their own pretty well not depending too much on imports. Sure rice and other things are brought in. But I never saw locals whipping open tin fish and corned beef for their meals. 

The lagoon provides fresh fish like clockwork and oh god it’s so good. I’ve had black marlin fish cooked umu style. I’ve apparently eaten like a Tuvaluan, eating raw fish fresh out of the water. Plenty of tuna (baked), taro, pumpkin, breadfruit, with rice, and once a piece of sausage. They have a few Chinese restaurants but only ate once on my exhausting arrival day. A lot of food can be coconut based too, as I’ve had fresh caught fish mixed with coconut cream, curry and some rice. As for drink, can’t exactly say they have any breweries, but besides Red Horse & Fosters, Kao makes one hell of a natural alcoholic drink made from the branch of a coconut tree. Had 9 cups one night and had to cut myself off to be able to ride home. haha.

The Beauty is out of this world!

I haven’t been to any of the outer islands and will have to leave that for my return trip. But I found Vaiako town and the rest of Fongafale island to be beautiful in it’s own right. There is a charm felt one you get on two feet to walk around and take it all in. And riding around the island was one of the most incredible experience yet. A 125cc Suzuki doesn’t compare to an 800CC Suzuki in New Zealand, but for such a tiny area, it does just fine. I camped out with friends at the west end to a beautiful sunset and decent swim to riding to the near end where the islands rubbish goes. 

True beauty though, lies off island and on the islands within the atoll. I couldn’t leave Tuvalu without taking a tour around the atoll knowing I wouldn’t make the outer islands on this trip. So I went to the island council, negotiated 150AUD to one of the islands, and found myself a ride. But because my drivers “though I was a good guy”, they took me into the conservation area for free. We basically toured nearly entire atoll. The water is blue, island is green, and the sand so soft. The pure definition of paradise only this is Tuvaluan paradise. Walking the jungle to visit the remaining American sites from WW2 to snorkeling off of another island. Drinking fresh coconut and taking a “gogo” bird home as a pet. And finally taking cover from the mid day sun having fresh fish for lunch in Funafala village.

Rich Culture Surrounds You

It’s not like everything is far in Funafuti, but yet culture surround you. It become you! So much that it doesn’t take much before you are sitting in someone else’s home being welcomed into the family. I loved just people watching everywhere as you seen woman riding on their mopeds in their colorful sulus and ‘fau o aliki’. Because I heard of some things going on at the Vaitupu maneapa, I made my way over to see and ended up getting invited in to join their feast. Next thing I know, I am sitting amongst them while they perform their Fatele, competing two sides to drumming, singing, and dancing. The singing and dancing is just incredible. I can go on with emotions at how happy I was to be a part of something like this.

I thought that to connect with people would have to be on foot as it gives chance for conversation. I was wrong! I rented a motorbike to ride to each end of Funafuti and at one stop for photos, I was invited over for conversation, some fish and fikei for lunch, and some Tuvaluan language lessons. I would stop to say goodbye on my last day and would be gifted some fresh sweets at the airport. In fact, another friend I made that happens to work at the airport would gift me a shell necklace to say goodbye. Funafuti is so small, that it does not take much to make friends at all. The people are mostly shy at first, but alike much of the Pacific, if you show pure kindness to the heart with a smile and wave, you will be taken in as a friend, as family. Being offered food, drink, and sweets all for your company and good spirits. The most inviting, kind, and warmest people I’ve met is on this little island. I can’t imagine the reception of the outer islands. 

You Won’t Want to Leave

When you get a taste of something that you end up liking, but don’t get the chance to have more of it, the craving end up being high as hell. My craving to experience more of Tuvalu is exactly like that, I simply wish I had more time and budget to stay longer. Even if I had stayed on Funafuti one week longer, would have sufficed. But had I had extra time and budget, I would have taken that ferry and ventured to the outer islands to experience the true Tuvalu. Hell, I would have applied for a visa extension and stayed in an island or two. Maybe Vaitupu or Nanumea, who knows. All I know is that my experience in Tuvalu was cut way too short. After all this was my dream country and all that I desired to experienced turned out a million times more incredible than I anticipated. I can’t wait to return to fully give the country the true visit it deserves. Fetaui Tuvalu! Until next time <3

Check out my complete voyage on Youtube!

Categories
General Kiribati New Zealand & The Pacific

Kiribati: An Adventurers Paradise

Kiribati culture tarawa
Tarawa Kiribati culture
Swimming with local kids in North Tarawa

Mauri, Mauri!! Kiribati was a country I dreamed of visiting for several years. I can’t remember what and why that was? Tabon Te Keekee’s overwater buias or the relics of war still scattered across Betio Island. All I know, is that Kiribati grew from “What the hell is Ki-ree-bah-tee?” to becoming one of my top dream countries. A major itch to go and a curiosity that grew week by week to visit these islands compromising of the Phoenix, Line, and Gilbert islands stretching across the Equatorial Pacific. I knew after some time, that Kiribati was a country of many problems, namely on the capital island of Tarawa and that personal perspective was something I just had to have for myself. It was only a matter of time before I would find myself on a one way flight from Tuvalu to the land of fair skinned people.

Flying into Tarawa, Kiribati

North Tarawa

Opposite of Funafuti’s tiny main island is Tarawa, a wide and insanely long stretch of atoll. Only this atoll has two contrasting sides, North and South Tarawa. Beginning my time in Kiribati, I had a nice 4 night layover in Tabon Te Keekee, a “resort” I long desired to stay in since I heard of Kiribati. Although I learned of places to stay across the Gilberts with bias for a fraction of the 120 a night I paid to stay, I found it to be worth my stay. Next to the resort was a small school where I was able to attend culture day rehearsals of dancing and singing. Abatao is also a really nice place to take a walk through many villages passed crooked bridge and at the end to broken bridge for one of the best swims in Tarawa atoll. You might even get lucky like me and have two little kids join you all the way until the end.

South Tarawa

Returning from Nauru, I was ready for the overwhelming experience of South Tarawa. I found a cheap Airbnb for 147 for 6 nights in the village of Teaorereke in an ocean front home beside a family. Teaorereke is far from the airport but close enough to experience Bairiki, Betio, and the unique walk across the long Nippon Causeway separating the two islands. I enjoyed walking South Tarawa as even for a crowded place, kids would still yell out I-Matang. Even on crowded Betio, walking amongst the relics of World War Two, I had kids yell out to me to take selfies or to give me fist bump. But best of all, a local came up to me and handed over a bullet from the war, sadly confiscated at the airport upon departure. Betio island has tons of remains from war but even so, they are scattered around for discovery, not placed on a map for tourism like walking around Pearl Harbor.

Even on crowded South Tarawa, you will still find culture all around you. Traditional built kiakias and buias with families eating, sleeping, or playing on their phones in them. So that means the culture is even richer on the outer islands? Absolutely. Don’t be surprised if you find people kicking back on in their buias playing games or watching movies on their phones or motorbikes buzzing up and down the main road. Other than that, you will find yourself as the only I-Matang and the center of attention for everyone, especially the kids.

Butaritari Atoll

I spent a week on Butaritari, and was the only foreigner on the entire island. Lucky for me, I happened to be on Butaritari for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Makin (Butaritari) where the entire island came together to put on the show of a lifetime giving thanks to America for saving their ancestors. The show was touched up with an invitation into the maneapa for cultural dances by some local girls. I’ve got to say, that Kiribati cultural dancing is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen.

Harsh Realities on Tarawa

Kiribati has many problems, from overpopulation on South Tarawa and pollution. There are barely any waste disposal programs but even so, people have no idea where to put their rubbish other than, anywhere but where they walk at home. Betio is one of the most littered places I’ve seen in such a densely populated small area. Kids pee and shit all over the beach and any places where they can drop their pants. The food is delicious but found myself getting stomach sick on a handful of occasions. Dogs are violent and hostile and are most dangerous in packs. I would know so as I was actually attacked by dogs in South Tarawa. And of course, the evolution of the land that disappearing from climate change.

But beyond all that, Kiribati is an adventurers paradise, A nation full of smiling, friendly faces willing to talk to you or take you in as family. Some of the most beautiful children I have ever seen who yell “Hi”, “Mauri”, or repeat “Good, Good, Good!”, begging to take a selfie or jump in many of my photos. A place with zero tourism, and nothing but culture waiting for the right adventurer to come!

Check out my FULL Kiribati Experience on Youtube