But there is always a BUT, but...maybe

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Mon 4 Nov 2013 00:41
OK, so you make it to the Pacific, the dream come through...
Where are these islands of Paradise?
Where is that perfect spot?
 
So you find that beautyful island with palm trees BUT it has no beach, only stone and coral
So you find that perfect island witha sandy beach BUT the waves come roaring in making it impossible to swim
You find that perfect beach in a lagoon, no waves, beautyful water BUT it is a private resort
You find that perfect island with nobody on, all by yourselfe and you take off your clothes BUT you will soon be bitten by Nonoflies
You find that perfect island, with reefs, no flies, BUT a Tiger shark has taken over the water
You find that perfect island at the end of an archipellago, all by itsélf, no flies, no sharks BUT a pile of plastic trash that has floated ashore
 
And so it goes and finally you give up, you realize that your dream is an impossible dream. You accepts that the mosquitos have taken over the place and you should be happy to live on a boat a bit out where the wind keeps them ashore.
 
So what happens when you make it to the island of your dreams? Take a guess...
 
You are so profoundly critical and expect the "BUT" to show up all the time.
Like the famous experiment where you put flees in a can and close the lid. After a while you open the lid and the flees have learned that they should not jump higher than where the lid was. So even when the lid is off they will continue to jump "their limit".
 
This happened to us here in Tonga in Hapa'ai. Anders, took his finger and pointed out a remote island full of reefs, and a pilot description told us how to make our way into the labyrint.
As we get closer the island look great, astonishing, full of birds that fly up from the interior, white sand, but I know we will be disappointed...
We make it all the way in and when the anchor is in the white sand I dive in to check it.
The first coral patch I see is unbelieavable! It is fully alive! Lots of fish.
We take the dinghy ashore, armed with insects repellent. No flies, you sort of look around and listen, watch your body... no flies? NO FLIES?   N O  F L I E S????  No Flees? Sand flees? No? Whats wrong? OK lets go into the forest and find some mosquito...  No MOSQUITO?
Erika starts the whole work on making a BBQ, and our experience is that at night Mosquitos take over the place, we say no.
We put our toes in the water, wonderful water, white smooth sand. Some sharp coral should be around, NO SHARP CORAL? Just wonderful water?
What is wrong with this place? Shells, tons of beautyful shells! Mango in the trees, coconuts to pck if you want. Lets take a stroll around the island we have to find something wrong with it! Where is the BUT?  There is always a BUT!!!!
No just beauty! Relax, man, take some food ashore and give the BBQ a try.
So we start a fire and make a pile of coal.And grill with no Mosquitos. N O M O S Q U I T O S!
We snorkel and find reefs upon reefs with no visible damage.  I go kayaking and it hurts, it hurts to be in such a tranquill place on earth.
BUT there is a snake in paradise, the very venomous coral snake comes swimming along the kayak and scares me.
I paddle like crazy and he/she swims along curious on this strange creature. So finally there was a BUT.
Thank god, now we can continue our search for the perfect place....