Day….93?
Megan here. We seem to have lost track of what day it actually is.
Yesterday, yet again, I bravely plunged into the water on my own and swam to shore. On a boogie board and with fins of course, I don’t have a total death wish. Jamie thought it very funny to see me off by telling me he’d seen two tiger sharks swimming around the boat. Har har Jamie. I swam as furiously onward as I could without losing my composure, as I still worry that any thrashing about will make me a target. As much for ridicule from my peers as for shark attacks.
I had a delightful day doing what I most love - fossicking about in tide pools. There are some particularly zesty eels on this island. And! I found a wee octopus which was a real thrill. A little orange fellow with white spots. I have been not so patiently thinking about seeing an octopus and had been mentioning it aloud almost every time we’re in and around shallow water or pools. “Maybe we’ll see an octopus!” And finally I did.
I had a second trip ashore with Jamie in the kayak later in the afternoon, and we delivered some anzac biscuits freshly baked by our captain to Nico, the sole occupant of this island. We had a garbled conversation and he was very accomodating of our terrible French. He showed us the 8 tonnes of copra (coconut) he had harvested over the last 2 months. He also asked us if we were here for the langosa (lobster), telling us we could indeed find the so far elusive creatures on this reef at night. Then, after Jamie and I circumnavigated the island on our walk, we returned to an entire sack of the the biggest, freshest looking coconuts I’ve seen so far, sitting by our kayak. Merci beaucoup, Nico.
Ellen: Kayak toodle down the way, past skinny curving spits of coral sand, white fern fronds unfurling into the turquoise lagoon. Ever-smaller motus trot off towards the mirror edge. The light is bleached gold, refracting around palm leaves to draw reverse shadows - the central ribs bright streaks in the sand. A long walk on glued sandals over jagged coral under full moon - no glowing eyes, nor one azure claw, but small white fish with long whiskers, striped pincushion urchins, albino ells, one shark. The soft rustle of palms.
Naomi here heehee, yesterday I did not get off the boat I made two batches of bikkies and also shot a grouper, finally a good shot throug the top of one eyeball and out the gills on the other side, it dropped dead immediately and not a single shark appeared? Wonderful. Then I watched my phone die and also watched Harry Potter 5. Bluebird out