Day three part II:
OK so I started the day sending those other emails and trying to contact people here, as well as doing some online research on both the Jester and Minerva. It turns out that the statue thing I saws on the first day WAS the thing donated to the country by the Jester before he became Persona non Grata. I have pictures, but I can't find my cable to connect my camera to my computer. The sculpture's marble facing is falling off. The concrete understructure is exposed at the top. I don't know if any of that was deliberate or just from the hurricanes blowing through. I really don't feel comfortable asking anyone here about the whole episode. I might ask the ex pat from NZ if I can ever get a hold of her. I then went to the Tourist office and tried to find a way to get to Minerva. It seems that the only way there is by boat, but it is I believe about 200 miles away, so I don't know if that is feasible. It sounds like it would cost a pretty penny, and I have no idea how long it would take to get there. How fast does a boat go? In any case I felt like I should start calling people, but I wanted to go to the far beach instead. Try to get my physical bearings by riding my bike across the island. Well I got a little lost, but figured it out quickly, then went into the bush to the edge of the island. There isn't much sand here, mostly coral reef, but there was this tiny soft beach in-between two large coral formations. Big enough for a person. Only one there for a good hour. Water was a baby blue color and just perfect temperature. Along the coral were these strange creatures, must have been in an early stage of development. They had long bodies and two arms, and they would jump by flicking themselves with their tails and catching on with their hands. Couldn't get close enough for a good picture. In any case a fellow walked by. I kept swimming, or well, dunking, as I was a little concerned about going out into the water with waves crashing against the coral. SO after a bit I start to leave, and the guy comes back. He greets me and tells me he is fishing, though he has no pole. Instead he shows me a hand made bomb in a jar, full of pink stuff and a wick sticking out the top. I ask him if I could watch him fish, and he smiles and says yes. We walk along the coral for about a quarter mile, but he is not seeing any fish. He asks if I am thirsty, and I say yes, so he shimmies up a palm tree, knocks down the coconuts, and proceeds to bust them open. I try to do the same but don't have his strength. The milk and meat is delicious so fresh, and then he suggests I come over for dinner. So we start to walk back- we catch a ride for a little while in the back of a truck, then later his sister drives by. We get into her van, and David the fisherman holds my bike outside the window as we drive along. The kids in the van are laughing. We go to his house where his wife serves me taro, sweet potato (purple in color) and some small fish. It is all delilcious, though all the tubors is a bit dry. His brother Seisei (don't know how to write it in Tongan) knows a bit more english, so we talk a bit, He tells me their story, how they got this little patch of land on the harbor, etc. They have a funeral tonight for a cousin's son, so I headed home, but I am going to meet them tomorrow at 10 to go out on their boat and fish, then we will cook up the fish and have it for dinner. David actually offered to let me stay with them instead of in the hotel for free, but that feels like being a burden to me. Lyndsey offered that to me too. Weird.
OK I will let you know more tomorrow. Have a good yesterday. ( I am right next to the international dateline right now).
Love Joe
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