Tuesday, December 16. Maripipi and Sambawan.
An early start to go ashore before 8.00 at Maripipi, a wet landing but not really wet and onto a rocky, stony beach. We walked up to the road and were allocated various forms of transport: including a police van, but ours was an open backed Jeep with room for four either side. We drove about 20 minutes anticlockwise to a beach where there were five weaving huts. Here we learnt how they harvested the shoots from the forest of a certain tree and then divide each stem into three, dry strips which they then softened and wove them into place mats and hats. There was also food available here and David really enjoyed himself eating the banana huge crisps with golden syrup on them: they were very yummy.
We then drove back in a clockwise direction to the other side of the landing place to a pottery village. Along the way school children and many others cheered us and wave flags and there were bands playing to. At the pottery village we saw how they collected the clay and processed it and then mowed it into pots on a wheel. Our friend, Gail, the proud owner of Elfie, had a good go at making a pot and we have a picture of this. Here too food was available and there were many coconuts to drink. We returned to the landing place by motor bike, David on the back of the bike and me in the back of the sidecar, having a very good view out of this, although feeling not too secure in my seat. The motorbike was very underpowered and we started off being pushed by two men up the hill to the main road but then proceeded under our own steam.
In the afternoon we visited a sister Island and David and I had one of the three kayaks for about 15 minutes, David doing all the work. Sam succeeded in getting me into the kayak and back out of it at the end. After the kayak, we walked the 160 odd steps up to a top of the hill with a good view over many little islands.
To get a larger photo, click on a thumbnail below
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We returned to the ship for an hour soon after15.00. We then went to the shore again for drinks and tapas on the island. During this time we enjoyed talking to the ship's second engineer who was from Sri Lanka. I really enjoyed the kangaroo meat croutons. Then dinner as usual out on the back deck, but without the noise of the engine and a short film on how the Polynesians used maps and stars to navigate the oceans.
To get a larger photo, click on a thumbnail below
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| Cheers | The boys want to be engineers when they grow up | ||
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| The "marker" to find our cabin |