day 155- swim to the light
Naomi here, we are running low on provisions and fresh water but we are still finding more reasons to stay in Waya, we have moved across the bay to the little sand spit anchorage with our friends Pania and Magnus. Today we did sevu sevu and got the requisite tour of the school and rugby pitch which the horses kept trimmed to a perfect length, then met Pania on the beach and rustled up a guy to take us out to a reef just south and east of us, on a VERY bouncy panga ride full of spinal compression, I’m not sure my butt will ever be the same after that ride. The reef was very cool with all sorts of caverns and tunnels to swim through, I experimented with swimming through all sorts of semi dodgy tunnels squeezing through crevices to surface on the reef. Some cool nemos and the weird white graspy anenome/soft coral (??) and only one white tipped reef shark which I hung out with in a cave for a while. The ride home was a lot smoother with the waves, very exciting to go so fast I don’t remember a time where I have gone so fast. While making dinner jamie peeked out and we saw the most unusual sight, half a blue 50 gallon drum drifting past with a torch in it to light it up. As the blue glowing craft drifted past I jumped in the kayak to rescue it and found it was complete with jandals as well as the torch. Magnus and I used his semi inflated dinghy complete with working outboard (!!) to tear into shore and return the ufo (unidentified floating object) to which Weiss (??) was very grateful as they are spearfishing (??) in shore there. Our good deed done for the day.
Jamie here: today Mim dressed my ankle wound and I resolved to keep it dry and safe. So I sat on the beach with skye and Abel from Pania boat and ate ice cream. I then went to their boat and lay in the hammock on the bow while Abel kindly made sure my eyes and ears were covered so I could sleep. He did this using a massive fender over my eyes backed up by a pillow for any other sunlight sneaking through the cylindrical fender. Then he accessoried my ears with a bucket on one and a lunch box over the other. Then I could lay back in the breeze and relax… while balancing a fender, pillow, bucket and lunch box on my face using my shoulders and hands to balance… aaahhh. Nice. Wod: stew. Stew - a meaty and hearty meal consisting of root vegetables and meat in a delicious gravy stock situation (I miss eating stew) Used in a senny: it take stew to tango.
Matt: grey hour of the morning and a local skiff is not about to let small details like a sandbar at low tide dissuade them from a solid shortcut. The engine revs hard, bow goes up and the rest bounds over - must have been somewhat touch and go as they raise a little cheer. Then it’s more revving and they’re gone
Miriam: I joined Naomi and the Pania crew for the reef snorkelling mission and very exciting boat ride. That might have been the fastest I’ve moved in months, the powerful engine roaring as we caught air on swells only to slap back down with bone rattling impact. Surprisingly fun considering how jarring it was. The tunnels and crevasses were alluring but intimidating so I followed Naomi through a long one and realised I have the breath hold capacity and courage enough now to explore the depths which felt very satisfying. I traversed a couple on my own, finding a huge grouper in one. I was surprised how shy the White Tipped Reef Sharks were despite my best efforts to make friends. The cuttlefish were particularly cool, little fluttering torpedos giving me the side eye. The trip back was much more sedate as the driver was trolling and then came lounging around on Pania’s much larger foredeck, snugs with Abel in the hammock, and wheedling Matt into paddling me home in the kayak as I lounged some more. Inspired and really in the lounging groove I pulled a cushion out on our foredeck and continued my afternoon of leisure to the incredible sunset conclusion, a glorious wash of rose expanding upwards above tangerine and golden limned clouds looming on the horizon. A delicious dinner with our friend Magnus and an early bed wraps yet another decadent, delightful day in paradise…