Thursday 7/22

Today was frustrating. I spent hours swimming around with 50 lbs. of crap looking a specific type of coral, but I couldn’t find enough of it. I was exhausted, and nearly drown from the weight of all the tools and field supplies I was trying to carry. The only redeeming thing about this morning was my encounter with a giant puffer fish (called suki-suki in Fijian). It was the size of a football and watched me, curiously, with a large, charismatic eye. We stared at each other for several minutes before he swam away. I wonder what he thought of me?

Then, when I finally made it back to the lodge for lunch, I discovered that the villagers working in the yard ate most of our food and left an enormous floater in the toilet. Thanks guys.
Sam made up for it though by climbing a tree and getting me a coconut. The meat was the most succulent, delicious coconut I’ve ever had. The milk was even good! I’ve never liked coconut milk all that much. I guess I haven’t been getting it from the right place. He explained that there are different phases of coconut cuisine. Each of the five growth stages provides a different form of food or drink. The first stage is ideal for drinking, because as yet there’s no flesh inside. During the next stage, tasty jellied flesh appears inside. The best eating stage is the third, when the flesh inside is firm but thin and succulent (like what Sam brought me). After this, the flesh becomes thick and hard – ideal for drying into copra. This is apparently the only stage I’ve eaten in the past. At its fifth stage, the nut begins to shoot while the mild inside goes crispy; making what is known in Fiji as ‘coconut ice cream’.

At dusk, Zach and I went back out on the reef but to the deep channel where the coral is more abundant and healthy. We had to swim across the channel to get to the Tabu side. It was unnerving because it was deep, murky and there was nothing around (i.e. no coral stands or rock outcroppings), just blue ocean. We saw several large stingrays and a 5-foot white tip reef shark. The dive operator (Alex) told us that other, larger sharks (tigers etc) swim in and out of the channel too. Great. What’s that fin in the distance?

We tried to catch the firewalking ceremony, but were too late. We watched the Kava ceremony (for the umpteenth time) instead, and decided that most tourists are obnoxious. Then we took Dominiti and Daryl over to Hideaway for the Meke (traditional) dance show. Sam was in it and he had a grand time dancing and singing. I keep asking him when he’s going to perform in the drag show. I think he gets a kick out of me teasing him about it.

After the show, Sam pulled me aside and asked me if I told Bear that I would meet him later. I said, “No, why?” I can’t understand what the hell Bear is saying half the time. I thought he said “see you later” when he had actually said “CAN I see you later?” Oops. Sam told me he was waiting for me at the lodge. Great. This is the guy that keeps calling me a pretty coral reef fish. I keep my distance from him, but he catches me on the beach every once in a while when I’m alone… when all I want to do is get my work done. It’s annoying.