We've been on Suwarrow (also spelled Suvarov) Atoll for five days now. This
place is pretty incredible. Only two caretakers, James and John, both from
Roratonga, live here. These guys are so welcoming, taking time to teach us
about the island and how they live. on our second day on the island, John
took us fishing, catching three good-sized coral trout (like a grouper) and
a nice jack in less than an hour. Then he showed me how to husk, open and
grate coconuts. Martin and I did this, and then squeezed the grated coconut
to make fresh coconut milk. This, a bit of yellow curry powder and some
coral trout came together into a very simple and delicious curry. The atoll
is also home to many sharks, mostly black-tips and greys. The black-tips are
curious, but generally not too aggressive. They have however learned to
associate the sound of a speargun with injured fish, so Tom had to get back
in the dinghy in a hurry when a few black-tips started getting a bit too
friendly. One beach on the island is used to dispose of fish scraps (no
swimming allowed), so every sunset you can find at least twenty sharks
waiting in the shallows. as soon as you toss a bucket of guts and carcasses,
they condense into a writhing mass, with more swimming in to join the
frenzy. It is very cool watching upwards of thirty sharks, some as big as
six feet long, thrashing about in the shallows just a your feet.
