The
Rokatenda mountain continues to smoke. Sometimes it looks as
though it's gone to sleep and then the next, poof, a huge cloud
appears. I took a photo from internet (left) to show what it looked like
from this anchorage when it first erupted – must have been quite an
amazing sight.
We
ventured into the village yesterday but it was really far too hot to
be wandering around at midday but we managed for about an hour. Paul has feet like leather but found
that his bare feet on the hot tar was not a fair challenge and
couldn't wait to sink them into the cooler sea. Not that that is
all that cool either, it's a bit like swimming in a super huge
bathtub.
One
interesting habit we've noticed in these parts is that homes have
tombs right outside their front doors. We first came across this
while in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands and thought it a strange
custom then but it's also very prolific here. I'm not so sure I'd
want to have my great, great grannie as a feature in my front garden; roses seem to
be a much better idea in my view. And what happens to grannie if you
move house? No thanks, roses for me please.
Paul had
arranged to fill a few jerry cans with diesel but, as there isn't a
petrol station here, we discovered that it's simply bucketed out of a
40-gallon drum. It seemed clean enough but he'll thoroughly filter
it just in case. Filling up with diesel in Indonesia has become a
bit problematic ever since the Bali bombings so this appears to be
the norm. As long as it's clean, it shouldn't be a problem.
I took
this photo of a peculiar fruit which I bought at the market and would
love to know what it is. It looks a bit like a sleeping baby
armadillo and has a similar hard scaly shell. Inside, it has two or
three segments of firm white substance with a large pip and the
closest fruit I can think to compare it to is a lichee but not quite
as juicy. Any ideas?
PHOTO ALBUM:
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| Satellite dishes were prevalent |
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| The school children rushed out to greet us |
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| A typical house with bamboo walls |
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| The anchorage with Rokatenda behind |
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| Fishing boats in the village |
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| Returning from an all-night fishing trip |
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