Three lobsters for about 50 liters of water

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Thu 2 Oct 2014 18:01
I have no idea how the stockmarket is performing at Nasdaq or OMX but I know the market price  here far from any kind of stock or supermarket or even a well of water.
As I told you before, even if the island is uninhabited there is no lack of activity. Actually there can be problems some times as different islands clame it to be theirs. There is one gang here that asked for water the first night and tried to pay us with a newly boiled fish, as we just had dinner we thanked them and said no. I also told them that IF they caught another fish we could cook it ourselves... (well guess why).
Yesterday night they showed up after we already prepared our meal and gave us three big lobsters, big creatures that together gave us minimum one kilo of meat. They asked if they could have more water for that.Well sure....
Tonight Ellinor and I had a dinner that goes beyond most fantasies, pasta with three lobsters, onion, some cream and parmesan, with red wine.
We actually tried to invite One White Tree, Ross and Diane but Ross simply does not like them and Diane is alergic.
Our bilges start to look empty for the first time since Las Palmas. Now we are using everything that is canned. We had no luck fishing on the way over here, one fish simply snapped the line and two others gor off the hook.
The guys have been on the island working like mad, you might have the picture of a gang of men with chainsaws just making a masacre in the woods. The real picture is that they cut down one tree and that keeps them busy for days. The only machine is a chainsaw the rest is done by hand.
What they do i that they work out pieces that are just about what they can carry and then they hack out big chunks and that leaves a basic form of what is going to be.Most of the bigger chunks are going to be kava bowls, they are lovely pieces of art that have been the same design for generations.
The forest that they work in is
 
I just have to make a interruption, Ellinor is putting the kids to bed and Andreas just asks from his bed:  "Isn't it about time that we make some money?"
Ellinor asks back "well yes but why are you asking?"
He answered "we must be poor by now, nobody has worked here!"
Ok I will not tell you anymore...
The only thing I can say, we spent 4 dollars for the first time in one month when we bought 4 kg of onion on the island. We had to pay with money because it is imported from Suva. Otherwise we trade everything, nobody is interested in cash as they cannot spend it anywhere.
OK let´s continue with the guys in the woods:
 
The forest they work in is very strange, try to imagine a forest with no dirt, just lavastone that is sharp and full of holes. In that hard rock the trees have somehow managed to root themselves. A tree that these guys cut down is the size of 60 cm in diameter and is probably 50 years old. The wood is red to orange, amazing color.
Every piece of wood they have worked on has a name on it, the men working here divide the catch according to different investments; time, time and provide chainsaw, time and fuel, knowledge and age etc. Some pieces of wood has Salsa written on them as we have provided transport. Everything is regulated and they would be offended if we tried to stand back. They will make us a kava bowl and some other things as a payment for the transport.
Well Ellinor actually helped one guy with a wound he got falling on the ground, you can cut yourselfe badly on this lava, some of it has knife sharp edges.
Now we have Salsa fully loaded and One White Tree looks like a low rider car (they have a catamaran), the guys are sleeping their last night here and tomorrow morning we will take off (WP) and sail back to Fulaga.
Mission completed.