Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I returned to my bunk and got ready to sleep. I waited for about ten minutes and then sat up
and reached through the porthole for the line on the winch. I briskly began jerking it back
and forth. The metallic noise rang loudly through the black night as I jiggled the line.
“Hey, I've got something!” yelled Gavin in delight, diving up into the cockpit.
“Yeah, it sure sounds like it,” I said innocently, grinning broadly from the safety of my cab-
in as I pulled the line again a couple of times for good measure.
“Ganders!” he yelled when he discovered my trick, half-annoyed and half-amused.
“What? Are there any little crabs down there?” I laughed up at him.
“Yes yes, very amusing!” he said sardonically, “Don't worry, I'll get even.”
I was glad we both had a good sense of humor; it helped alleviate some of the tediousness.
We spent the following day diving up a wonderful collection of shells off the floor of the
ocean in six feet of warm, clear water. I discovered a good way to find these large cowries
was to search at the base of the coral heads. If one dived down and searched with his hand
underneath the ledges, he invariably found a tiger or white cowrie as I did! I also found a
nasty, black, spiny anemone, which broke off in my thumb, and crumbled upon trying to
pull it out. I had to go back on-board and use a needle and tweezers to get most of it out. It
hurt like hell! There were several large abandoned conches, and Gavin found another huge
trumpet shell. I was extremely envious until I discovered a large one feeding on a sea cu-
cumber. I am ashamed to admit that I added it to my collection. In defense of my irrational
action twenty some years ago, I would now just leave it be. Such are some of the benefits
of growing up!
In the afternoon we walked about the island through its interior and found it was indeed
deserted. There were no signs of any freshwater, though we did find a couple of huge
mango trees with ripe mangoes dropping onto the soil below. There were clouds of mos-
quitoes buzzing around them and, after gathering a few handfuls, we beat a hasty retreat.
It was interesting to see that the whole island wasn't just coral but had the soil to support
tropical fruit trees. I imagine there was a colony of fruit bats that fed on these mangoes as
well. We dived again later in the afternoon and shot a few Travelly fish which formed the
basis of a nice fish dish that evening, complete with onions, potato slices, and garlic, all
cooked in tin foil, butter, and a glass of precious white wine. It was scrumptious.
We missed the social life of the lagoon, and the following morning saw us weighing anchor
and setting sail back towards Neiafu. We struck a storm on the way back and had an icy
shower in the abundant rain that followed. Would you believe that our spot was still there,
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