45 Minutes in Kiribati

Working in shark conservation takes me to some exotic locations on the globe.  This week I am in Fiji working with our partners.  My flight from Hawaii made a connection in Kiritimati in the Line Islands of Kiribati on the way there.  Here are a few photos I snapped out the window with my phone.

I've been to several atolls in the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia, but Kiritimati is unlike any I've ever seen before.  The island is a raised coral atoll, so where there would normally be lagoon are sand flats and copra plantations.

That's the Kiritimati International Airport over my shoulder.  We weren't allowed to deplane unless we were disembarking, but the airline attendants let us stand in the plane's door to snap photos.

Most of the people flying from Hawaii to Kiritimati were American tourists.  The sand flats have some of the best bone fishing in the world.  Flyfishermen fly in, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, and then fly out when the weekly flight comes back.

We were only on the ground for about 45 minutes.  I'm sure if you googled them, you'd be able to find photos of the island and the surrounding waters, but I thought you'd enjoy my photos.  I uploaded a few more to Facebook if you are interested.