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Another Monty Pythons day
We stopped at Hapatoni bay for a night yesterday
and bought the fruit below for $4 US from some fishermen passing by. I didn't
have change so gave them a $10 bill and said I would get the change tomorrow
from their bay which was Vaitahu. So next day we up anchor and go to Vaitahu
which is the only bay on the island with a shop. We are also on the way to meet
up with Qwyver and Nae Hassle at a bay further up. Anyway we get to the bay,
anchor down and off to find the shop and the vegetable selling fisherman.
Fisherman found, he mentions he has some lobster. So instead of getting our
money back we are again forking out $'s. They yet again can't meet change so Noi
says we will take fruit in exchange for the money. Off we go to the shop while
the fishermen head off to pick some fruit.
When we get to the shop the shop
owners niece takes one look at Noi and heads off to tell the village child
population that the circus is in town. Noi strikes up a conversation with them
in what must be the most bizarre broken pigeon English, Thai, Polynesian.
Someone must have understood something because after picking up our fruit from
the fishermen and heading back to the dinghy we hear someone shouting Noi from
what seems to be the top of a tree. Turns out the multitude of kids are hiding
in the tree and have remembered Noi's name. After a pleasant half hour of
everyone not understanding everyone else we head for the dinghy.
The dock is
cement with a large swell passing through and not really suited to dinghy's and
that means having to put out a stern anchor. We get to the dock and I meet up
with a single hander who has a trimiran sailboat with no engine and is going
round the Pacific for about the 4th time. Strange dude and as with all single
hander’s is desperate to talk to someone. With me being detained by the strange
sailing dude Noi decides to put the fruit and shop purchases in the dinghy but
also decides to put the bag of lobster in a puddle on the lower dock to keep it
fresh. There are no breaking waves so the swell is deceptive. When I eventually
extricate myself from the monolog with the dude and go to get in the dinghy we
find there is no longer a lobster bag in the puddle. I am convinced the swell
has taken it away, Noi thinks the workers have half hitched it and this seems to
be confirmed by the kids who are all miming putting something under their shirt
and running away.
An executive decision is made and we get into
the dinghy to head home. The stern anchor is stuck and while I am trying to
extricate it from the rocks I see the bag of lobster on the bottom. I manage to
get across that I would like a mask if anyone has one. Off go half a dozen kids
at a hundred miles an hour. They all come back with two masks between them. The
biggest one puts on a great show of preparing himself and ducking down about 3
feet several times. The second mask is on the next biggest and is upside down.
He doesn't seem to mind even when the mask fills up with water and he flops
around for a few minutes. The 7 year old kid in the next picture is a late
arrival and comes haring down the dock and flies off into the water, with no
mask, picks up the lobster bag and brings it to me. Pat on the head from me and
I show him my anchor is still stuck. Off he goes again and comes back with the
anchor in his hand while the other two big guys are still flopping around. I
immediately offer him a job or a bag of sweets. He astutely decides on the bag
of sweets so off we go to Rogue to get the sweets with the boat down to the
gunnels loaded with kids. One box of Skittles later and probably the entire
child population of the village with future dental problems we head back to drop
them off and continue the life according Brian.
 
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