Tomb Jaunt
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Tue 18 Jun 2013 22:47
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King Maputeoa’s Tomb Jaunt – Too
Far To Be Called A Bimble
Bear wanted to walk up the hill to
see the kings tomb, don’t ask, I didn’t. First he wanted to go to the Post
Office to change dollars to local money to pay for diesel. He wants to fill the
jerry cans, cash ready, for when the supply boat comes in. No sooner than we
left the post office than the usual gang of boys welcomed us with a good wash
and much tail wagging. Light brown boy doesn’t come with us, shy boy drops out
as soon as he sees another dog but the other two stalwarts led the way, off I
went but looked back to see Bear. Scratching his head and walking very slowly,
it was clear the captain was troubled. I got a thousand
Francs to the dollar this time, I only got eight hundred the first
time. Quick thinking put him right – “that’s an average of nine
hundred, just like the internet quotes.” Oh
OK. Smiles, a pat for the boys and a quicker step.
I took the low road, optimistic me,
passing one of the schools but came to a dead end, no pun intended. This tiny chapel – not in use, small
cemetery and grotto, is that it, no the proper
cemetery is up there, he said pointing to the clouds, silly me,
couldn’t have been that lucky. Oh well, smile cheerfully, act as if this is the
most important thing in life to achieve and put the best foot forward.
These teeny
plant had found root in a crack in the cement. A one
careful owner, still had lovely flowers out
the front.
The boys led the
way up the hill. Bear stopped to admire a
dongle in a hedge made up of yucca with the
odd banana plant.
Plenty of flowers
and well kept
gardens with views along the way.
As we got higher we could see the anchorage, boats gathering in readiness for the supply
boat.
The
cemetery, is that it can we go back now. No, I
want to go further to see if we can see the next island. OK I
managed feebly.
At the top we saw the island opposite, is that it. No
if we go further we should see the big island. OK. The building is one of several belonging to France Meteo.
There was a funny, stumpy thing that we recognised as a tsunami warning monitor,
we had seen one before on Anegada in the BVI’s.
The road became
track, then we entered woodland, not something
I had ever expected on a South Pacific Island. Mmmm. Lots of new sniffing and
hunting for the boys though.
Pretty little
well-kept houses up here, exquisite flowers
and a delightful garden feature.
A house with solar
panels, a view of Mount Duff and a house not quite finished yet.
A couple of one careful
owners.
We walked until things
got muddy and very wooded, I found myself saying we hadn’t come across the
King’s tomb yet. Oh he’s in the cemetery we passed ages
ago. See Pepe snarl out of sight of the skipper, manage a smile and
suggested we perhaps go and see it. OK said
all too brightly. We can’t go too much further as the
track comes to a dead end on the map. Hurrah for maps. When we do the near full circuit of the island we go over the hill
from the bakery to the other side and toddle back round the top end, takes all
day and we can take a picnic. Waiting with short pants and baited
breath.........cannot wait, my right heel is throbbing now. I smile and suggest
we could perhaps do that when we come back after exploring the other two islands
we are going to visit on Beez. Praise the Lord when I hear, that’s a good idea.
Further laughter from himself when he
sees a chicken picking over a chicken bone and the
boys scare another into a
tree. I didn’t know chickens can fly.
No dear, pigs can swim we’ve seen that and we’ve seen goats in trees too. Time
to find the king. Before Bear could utter the words best
not let the boys into the cemetery than they were through the gate
and sniffing the bushes right at the far end.
The
tomb of King Maputeoa, Gregoire after his Catholic conversion.
After a good look round, Bear stood by a tiny grave. I whistled for the boys who came at top
speed. They have no idea what I’m saying when we meet other dogs and I tell them
to play nicely, or come, but they manage to know what I want from them. It’s
nice to have them temporarily but with our lifestyle it’s clear we couldn’t do
this full time.
On our way back we stopped to admire
the cathedral and one of the schools, this one is for
seniors. Beyond we could see the remains of one of the disused pearl farms.
The boys waited quietly on the road
as we sat and had an ice cream, then came with us to the dock. Bear climbed into
Baby Beez. The boys settled tight up to me as I sat down to get into launching
position. On our previous bimble they had left us in town, here I was sat with
two eager chaps ready to go. I leapt in and pushed off, they
ran up and down the jetty crying, very distressing to see. Off we went,
they galloped round to the slope, ran in the water and began to swim after us. Oh dear. They soon gave up but later as we
had a game of backgammon we could hear them howling on the quayside. Perhaps if
we do the cliff walk we better sneak in and not take them with
us.............
Looking from
Beez, our jaunt took us behind the cathedral, up the road past the higher
level houses, to the top of the road which was about half way. A good few
hours.........
ALL IN ALL A GOOD TIME OTHER
THAN THE BOYS GETTING UPSET
LOVELY WANDER INTO THE
COUNTRYSIDE |