Makemo Day 2

Spindrift
David Hersey
Thu 3 Jul 2008 17:57

 

2/7/08 18:00

 

A whole day of sun! More snorkling.  The water is nice but the town is not very attractive. It looks like began as a military installation.  No character. But it has one restaurtant which we will try tonight.

 

Steve and Lee have been playing Scrabble.  Steve always wins.  Yesterday they played and Lee opened  with “zoology” for a score of 110 points.  Eventually Steve managed to claw back the lead by a couple of points and win.  This was true justice as it turns out Lee had palmed an “a” to be sure he started and already had palmed “zoology,”  thus setting a new record  for deviousness aboard.  All this from one Spurs supporter to another Spurs supporter….shocking.

 

3/7/08 13:00

 

Another sunny day in paradise after a very quiet night. 
Yesterday afternoon two fishermen came by and insisted in giving us a Bonito Tuna which I didn’t have the heart to refuse as we normally throw them back unless they are Yellow Fin or Blue Fin.

 

This morning I went to the Post Office to try to log on using one of their original iMacs.  You have to buy a phone card for £10.00 and the computer is enclosed in a housing which makes it impossible to insert a USB memory stick.  A man who turned out to be the Local Headmaster of a new school took pity on me and drove me to his school where I was able to download some EQUUS drawings.  He told me there are about 600 inhabitants of the village and during the school term 190 students 100 of which board from neighbouring islands and only go home twice a year.  He’s been here since the school opened four years ago and is retiring back to France on Sunday.

He tells me this has never been a military installation; I didn’t want to ask why everything was so ugly. I found fresh bread at the boulangerie straight from the oven and bought some tins of Hinano, the local beer for £1.67 each.  I also found another restaurant to try tonight which at least has some ambience. Last nights meal of streak and chips/grilled fish and chips/chow mein and Poisson cru was surprisingly good with huge portions and no ambience.

 

There are now 4 yachts here, the latest arrival is a yellow cat called “Banana Split”

owned and operated single handedly by an apparently famous French Singer who now spends his life sailing around the world making documentaries.  Steve first saw him 12 years ago in the Maldives.

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