Meeting Our Host Family
Wayward Adventure
Mon 10 Aug 2009 09:34
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We are here on our 3rd day
in Palmerston and we have been so busy that this is the first free time I have
had to write about our stay. To backtrack, we arrived on Friday the 7th of
August and were greeted by a local guide boat who helped with anchoring and told
us to wait onboard until the immigration officials could come out to the boat.
We were soon greeted by the head of our host family,Tere, who drove us in his
boat through the pass and into the lagoon. The rumored "fighting between
families for possession of cruisers" we had heard about through the sailing
grapevine proved to be untrue (further proof that you should never take a rumor
as fact!) and we were warmly welcomed by everyone on the island. Tere took us to
meet his daughter, Shekinah, and his wife, Yvonne, who had prepared a wonderful
lunch for us and we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with our new
friends as we toured the island.
The next morning
Tere came out with his fried Edward to check on the boat as the wind had shifted
and to also invite us to spend the day with them and their families on one of
the nearby motus (in this case, a small uninhabited island along the reef), for
a picnic lunch and snorkeling. The half hour boat ride out to the motu
was peaceful in the flat turquoise waters of the lagoon and the little
island turned out to be picture perfect with white sand beaches, coconut
palms, and gentle waves lapping at the shore. It was so fun to be able to
interact with the families in a common language, especially after being so
unfamiliar with French in the previous islands, and relax on the beach as the
food was prepared. We especially enjoyed watching as some of the men who
had set out to hunt for coconut crab returned with their catch while meanwhile
the kids were helping their dad clean the fish which they had just caught.
While this was going on the women had been preparing the underground oven
, called an "emu", so that the rocks which had been placed in the fire
were smoldering and ready for the food to be laid out. The fish were placed on a
piece of wire mesh resting on freshly cut pieces of wood ontop the
rocks, under which dried coconut husks served as the fuel for
the fire and over all of this, leaves from nearby bushes were
stacked to act as a lid and keep the heat in the oven. The process sounds
intimidating but was done so effortlessly by the 3 women that we hardly had time
to process it all before the fish were done and lunch was served! The meal was
delicious and as if the cooking on the island wasn't enough,
Yvonne had brought along one of her famous chocolate cakes complete with
chocolate frosting for dessert!....Needless to say, anyone with a modern kitchen
and accompanying appliances no longer had any right to complain about "how much
work it is" to prepare a meal...sorry ladies ;- )
Lunch was followed by a cooling dip in the water
before we began to clean up and pack for the trip back to the boat so that we
would not get stuck out in the lagoon after sunset. This already perfect day
ended with the sighting of 2 humpback whales outside of the reef as we slowly
motored back towards the main island. Yes, it was as unbelievable
as it sounds and it is a day I am sure will remain in our memories
forever.
I have much more to
write about what we did today, but it will have to wait for another day as I am
so tired and ready for bed....more to come soon I promise!
~LH
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