News that the nation of Nauru is facing imminent bankruptcy (see for example http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040418/bs_afp/nauru_economy_040418060056) reminds me that it is surprising that it hasn't as yet featured in the Fortean Traveller section.
I visited Nauru nearly ten years ago & it was a decidedly odd experience then. There were only two roads in the country - one that did a loop of the island and another that went to the phosphate mines. Part of the road around the coast also doubled as the airport, so boom gates were used to stop cars from getting in the way of jets arriving or departing.
Additionally, the interior of the island had been mined of its phosphate (birdshit to you and me) so it looked like a moonscape and so very eerie. One of the world's shortest railways runs from the mine to the port. It also has no capital city and the country's biggest export is birdshit.
Considering the small population and its remoteness from the rest of the world, one may have thought the citizens would have felt safe but oddly, the locals owned big, fierce guard dogs that would charge out of gardens, barking savagely at innocent passersby.
Add to that the fact that due to its size, it's perhaps the only country on earth you can comfortable walk entirely around in an hour so, means you have a country somewhat left of centre.
I've heard it has become difficult for peoople to get visas to Nauru these days as it now basically functions as a detention centre for refugees seeking asylum in Australia but it would be great to read a report of Nauru as I can't imagine the country would have be any less odd than when I visited it (if at the least to see whether the odd local foklore beliefs - such as the men who sing to dolphins - have been collected).
Zane
I visited Nauru nearly ten years ago & it was a decidedly odd experience then. There were only two roads in the country - one that did a loop of the island and another that went to the phosphate mines. Part of the road around the coast also doubled as the airport, so boom gates were used to stop cars from getting in the way of jets arriving or departing.
Additionally, the interior of the island had been mined of its phosphate (birdshit to you and me) so it looked like a moonscape and so very eerie. One of the world's shortest railways runs from the mine to the port. It also has no capital city and the country's biggest export is birdshit.
Considering the small population and its remoteness from the rest of the world, one may have thought the citizens would have felt safe but oddly, the locals owned big, fierce guard dogs that would charge out of gardens, barking savagely at innocent passersby.
Add to that the fact that due to its size, it's perhaps the only country on earth you can comfortable walk entirely around in an hour so, means you have a country somewhat left of centre.
I've heard it has become difficult for peoople to get visas to Nauru these days as it now basically functions as a detention centre for refugees seeking asylum in Australia but it would be great to read a report of Nauru as I can't imagine the country would have be any less odd than when I visited it (if at the least to see whether the odd local foklore beliefs - such as the men who sing to dolphins - have been collected).
Zane