Tuvalu

Home to fewer than 12,000 people spread across nine tiny coral atolls, Tuvalu is one of the world’s smallest and most isolated countries. To get there, I boarded one of the few weekly propeller flights from Fiji to Funafuti, Tuvalu’s main atoll. As we began our descent, the pilot suddenly pulled the aircraft back into the sky. Several dogs had wandered onto the runway, forcing us to abort the landing and circle around for another attempt. Apparently, it happens more often than you’d think.

After clearing immigration, I walked a few minutes to my hotel. Unfortunately, the room wasn’t quite what I had hoped for. It was filled with mosquitoes, spiders, cockroaches, and plenty of other insects. Years earlier, my OCD would have made a situation like that almost unbearable. Instead, I grabbed a sponge, spent some time clearing out the room as best I could, and got on with the trip.

The heart of life in Tuvalu revolves around its airport runway. With so little flat land available, it doubles as the island’s largest public space whenever flights aren’t arriving. Children played soccer and volleyball, families walked together in the evening, and people gathered to chat as the sun began to set. The prison, home to only a handful of inmates, sits just off the runway, as does the country’s tiny mosque. Although Tuvalu has only around 50 Muslims, I met the imam, Anugerah, who had moved from Indonesia to serve the community. Before I left, he generously gave me a copy of the Quran translated into Tuvaluan, one of the most unique gifts I’ve ever received.

While on the runway, I met a local electrician named Papau. After learning I was a tourist, he told me to hop on the back of his bike. For the rest of the afternoon, he became my guide, taking me up and down the island and even showing me some relics from World War II. Even six years into my journey, I was still amazed by how willing complete strangers were to welcome me into their lives.

Back at my hotel, I also met Dylan, a filmmaker from the Netherlands who was in Tuvalu recording the sounds of the island for a documentary. I joined him as he captured everything from crashing waves to conversations between locals. It struck me how two people from opposite sides of the world, pursuing completely different passions, had somehow ended up in one of the most remote countries on Earth.

Tuvalu reminded me that a country’s size has very little to do with the impact it can leave on you. It may be one of the smallest nations on Earth, but it gave me some of the most memorable experiences of my entire journey.