September 28, 2008

Picnic at Tempo's Island
Our picnic was an outstanding success. Yesterday afternoon we loaded up Irish Melody and Sequester with Tempo's family and sailed a short way up the atoll to his Island. Some of the local canoes sailed up also. We had a crowd of about 30 people. We hauled everyone ashore and the women immediately started preparing food for dinner. Linda and I made food on our yachts and brought it ashore to share. I brought in light sticks to entertain the kids and it kept them occupied until dinner was ready. Ted and Dave played the guitar and fiddle. I had my drum from Rarotonga. We also brought in our ukulele from Aitutaki; in 7 years we hadn't learned to play it, so we picked out a talented young girl who showed an interest and gave it to her. She was very grateful and entertained us with some songs. The tide was very low at the end of the evening, so the local guys helped Ted and Dave carry the dinghies out to the water.
We slept well in the quiet anchorage and this morning went in for breakfast. I made tortillas with butter, honey and cinnamon, and the Marshallese women had made fresh bread and coffee. We were anxious to get a ride on one of the canoes, so Paulme and his crew took us out for an exhilarating sail on his refurbished canoe with his new red sail, made from the tarp that we donated. What a great ride! Some of the local guys were interested in how a yacht sails, so Dave and Ted took them out for a short sail on Irish Melody.
Meantime the women were busy preparing today's meal. They let me help them weave plates and baskets from coconut fronds. It's all biodegradable, so no clean-up! They don't use utensils; they just eat with their fingers. And we discovered that they use a local plant stem that is hollow as a straw for their drinking coconuts. They laid down coconut fronds as mats for us to sit on, and they use the dried coconut husks as fuel for their cooking fires. It was great to be a part of their everyday life and see how they use the natural resources.
After a great meal of fish, chicken, rice, breadfruit, papaya, cucumbers and Linda's great carrot cake, we were all stuffed and ready to call it a day. We sailed the short distance back to the village and everyone went home tired but happy. Karen