The Republic of Kiribati - where the map ends and where time begins

The island of Kirimati is in the country of Kiribati. Kiribati is made up of  33 islands, 21 of which are inhabited, scattered over 1,351,000 square miles. It's maritime zone is over 3 million square miles!

It was founded on Jul 12, 1979, gaining full independence from the United Kingdom and the current population is about 116,398.

Kiribati includes the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line Island chains.  The island of Kirimati is part of  the Line Islands.  Kirimati

Kirimati is also called Christmas Island. Captain Cook and his crew

Tarawa Atoll and others Gilbert islands were invaded by the Japanese in December 1941 and liberated by the Americans 2 years later in November 1943 in the Battle of Tarawa.

The president is Taneti Mamau. He started his public service career as a planner!

Local cuisine: fish (duh!), pali sami (corned beef with coconut sauce in a taro leaf), and pandanus fruit.

The traditional way of life (katei) involves a strong sense of personal pride, respect one to another, and a consistently open welcome to foreigners (irua oe bwaroko).  They respect elders and parents do their best to nurture their children with their values and traditions.

The International Date Line goes around Kiribati making it the place where time begins (UTC+14 hours)!

It’s the only nation in all 4 hemispheres of the world (North, South, East and West)!

Why travel to Kiribati?  Due to their low- lying topography (2-3 feet above sea level), the nation of Kiribati is expected to be a victim of climate change/sea level rise.  In fact, in 1999, two small uninhabited islands disappeared. I want to see the country, meet the people, and learn the culture before it is all underwater.

(The previous Kiribati president, Anote Tong, is a climate change champion and has spent countless hours educating the world about the plight of the island nations in the Central Pacific:  http://www.climate.gov.ki/tag/kiribati-president-anote-tong/  and  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/asia/climate-change-kiribati.html  and https://youtu.be/9KACXV-cW-4  .)