Tuvalu is such a small country but it is rich in its charms and culture.  We’ve met so many lovely people who have welcomed us with big smiles and hardy waves!

Formation of Atolls – David’s Drill

An great attraction in Funafuti is “David’s Drill.”

Scientists from the Royal Society of London conducted experimental drilling in the late 1800s.  Their goal was to test Charles Darwin’s theory of atoll formation. Darwin, the famous formulator of evolution theory, believed that all coral atolls rest on a volcanic base. The deepest bore at David’s Drill reached over 1,000′ and proved Darwin’s theory. The boreholes can still be seen to this day in Fongafale village.

Funafuti has the oldest, most comprehensive geological map of any atoll globally.  This provides a unique dataset for on-going contributions to the geological sciences.

Tuvalu Stamps – Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau

The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is located at the southern end of the township of Funafuti. Stamps depicting facets of Tuvalu are printed overseas and are highly collectable.

Since 1975, collectors from more than 60 countries around the globe have eagerly sought new issues of Tuvalu stamps.

There are over one hundred stamps on display that you can purchase.  You tell the worker what stamp you want and she searches the boxes (2nd row, left photo) for your stamps).

The popularity of these unique and original stamps grew rapidly.

These are the stamps I purchased:

Public Gym – Fitness Area

Near the beach with a beautiful view is a fitness area donated fitness equipment.  It looks a bit old (2019) but it all works.

Amazing Garden

It is very difficult for the people living on atolls to have any type of garden.  The reason is because they do not have any soil or dirt. 

However, the clever people of Tuvalu have created and maintain a spectacular community garden.  With much thanx to the Taiwanese. 

The Taiwanese provide the seeds, tools, and soil.  The locals built an area above the coral, covered it, added enriched soil, and started planting. 

They have dozens of enormous rain water tanks to keep things hydrated..

The locals use pig and chicken manure to enrich the soil. 

It also gives them an opportunity to sell the eggs and pigs for additional income.

The result is a rich, thriving garden. 

They sell tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, bananas, lettuce, bok choi, squash and more.

To purchase items from the garden you arrive at 6:00am on Tuesday or Saturday. There is no shopping cart or bag.  A list is passed around that you write your order on. Then you wait for your name to be called to collect your bag.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.

Did you read about Tuvalu’s status as the 2nd smallest country in the world in our last blog post?