That is the trip. There is no list of sights to work through and no old town to walk: there is a place where collective life happens in plain view, on a rectangle of tarmac, every day.
01 The runway as main square
The runway was built in 1943, runs north-east to south-west across the widest part of Fongafale and sits 2.7 metres above sea level. It takes up more than an eighth of the islet's length. On an island between ten and four hundred metres wide, there is no other open space remotely like it.
Being unfenced, it is used. Late in the afternoon, when the heat eases, volleyball and football games appear, people out walking, motorbikes circling on the smooth tarmac and groups sitting along the edge. It is the exact equivalent of a main square, except that sometimes a plane lands on it.
The protocol is simple and it works: a few minutes before the flight arrives, a fire engine drives the runway with its siren on and people withdraw to the sides. Once the aircraft has stopped, the runway goes back to being what it was.
02 Getting in, and above all getting out
Fiji Airways is the only airline with scheduled service and flies an ATR 72: three days a week to Suva — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday — and two to Nadi, Monday and Friday. That is it. There is no other practical way in and out on a short trip.
The consequence is that the timetable decides how long you stay. You can stay two days, four, or a whole week, but not two and a half. It is best to accept that from the start and pick the combination that suits you rather than fight it.
And leave slack. If a flight is cancelled, the next chance is not that afternoon or the next day: it is two days later. Do not build a tight connection in Fiji and do not buy a return ticket with no flexibility.
03 What there is beyond the village
The essential outing is the lagoon. In June 1996 the Funafuti Conservation Area was created along the western rim of the reef: 33 square kilometres taking in six uninhabited islets, with reef, sand and birds. You go by boat from the village and it fills a whole day.
It is a useful contrast. On Fongafale 6,602 people live packed into less than three square kilometres; half an hour's sailing away there are islets where nobody lives at all. The same lagoon separates the country's highest density from its empty beaches.
The rest of the atoll is covered on the single road, which runs the length of Fongafale. By motorbike it takes a little over half an hour end to end; on foot, the urban stretch fills an afternoon. There are no other routes: to come back, you retrace your steps.
04 The practical part
Book the accommodation before you buy the flight, not after: there are very few beds and an official delegation can fill them all. Carry cash; the currency is the Australian dollar and cards get you nowhere here. And confirm the hotel in writing before leaving Fiji.
Fresh water is rainwater kept in tanks, so use little of it even though it rains daily. Add high-factor sun protection, repellent, footwear that grips on coral and light quick-drying clothes, knowing that at 82 per cent humidity nothing dries completely.
A warning about expectations, which is what usually goes wrong here: this is one of the least visited countries in the world and it has no tourist infrastructure. There are no daily organised excursions and no office to sort out your day. Almost everything is arranged by asking, and it works.
05 How to build four days
Day one, orientation: walk the urban stretch end to end along the single road, see where everything is and finish at the edge of the runway as the sun drops. No more plan than that is needed.
Day two, lagoon: the boat trip to the conservation area, with snorkelling and an empty beach. It is the long day of the trip and should be arranged the day before, by asking at your lodging.
Day three, north: hire a motorbike and ride up to the peninsula at the far end, stopping where the island narrows so much that you can see the ocean and the lagoon at once. An unhurried ride back in the afternoon.
Day four, plane day: a free morning and, in the afternoon, the ritual. People gather at the pavilion, the siren sounds, the runway clears, the ATR lands and half an hour later the volleyball is back. If yours is that flight, you will see it from the inside.
clr_flickr Nuku'alofa, for the traveller who gets into the water with a sixteen-metre whale.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center Honiara, for the traveller who comes to see a volcano that incubates eggs.
Gelu Purcelu