Day 9: (22 May 2011):
- Wake up. Have breakfast at hotel place.
- Juice, hot drinks & crisp toast bread & jams. Green papaya, honey & unknown (banana?).
- Go back & ready for hike, but "friends" ditched us!
- We walk, eventually catch up. Two dogs there. Resevoir. Guava & noni trees. Niaouli.
- Hill with nice view of islands. Salt drying area. No salt due to rains.
- Wild horses (lots of droppings). Dogs chase away. One horse did a semi kick at dog.
- Hill with white opaque quartz with pink veins of rock.
- We go with friends to Boat Pass. 6 in car. Sarah later tell me her friends hesitant to ask driver, so she had to ask, even they only met last night. Talk about French/white culture. Closed.
- Boat Pass northernmost point of main island. Had to get out a few times due to overload & bumps.
- Very blue water, but cold. Reddish island across.
- Look for snorkelling: walked all around a large sandy shallow area.
- Someone says there should be a dugong here.
- Try go find sharks, as is shark congregation season. Abort: water murkey. Surprising, as water looked clear from outside. Murkey: sharks may mistakenly attack. Supposedly in the deeper channel, and of very big size.
- Rest on beach a while. I air dry. some sunbathe.
- Walk along beach & mangroves. Beach end, me & Sarah continue, they return.
- Wait in a curve of road as Sarah realise forgot a bag.
- Walk a while, a car drove up & offered us a ride, so we take. He's up from Noumea with family, knows Sophie & family. Polynesian (?).
- Grab a piece of bread, decide do other walk. Turns out it just loops up to the telephone hill at start of 1st walk. Went until the muddy section & returned. Difference: eucalyptus forest, a few dozen species, imported from Australia.
- Back ~ 1:30. Going to cook, but Sarah fell asleep. I read then also nap.
- Walk on beach. Try to walk to where waves break, looks possible to walk to nearby island, but gave up mid way. Crabs, sea cucumbers, sea stars. Green coast, used a patch of coconut trees as guidance. Going to sit on beach to write, but decide too sunny.
- Sit at Sophie's house, they chat with father.
- Sophie's house open. Attached series of rooms, open to covered outdoor area. Sophie's room is separate shack. Boris build his room with dad. Mystery shooting.
- Shower, write. 7:15pm go to dinner, since we've reserved two spots.
- Cocktail. Mother recommend hitchhiking & ask about tribe. No tribal contact from her.
- Pig roasting over fire: slowly turning spit. Sit at the big table, meet people from Wallis & Futuna, other vacationers, chat. They say Samoa, Savaii is very good. Bus & guesthouse available.
- Fish cerveche, roast wild pig with shredded & spiced green papaya, poupier sea vegetable, sauce with garden herbs. Guava torte with fruit coulis. Lemongrass infusion. Very good. Bordeaux merlot.
- Sit on grass, show southern cross. They chat, I pictures of stars.
- Settle money: "give what you want" "African way."
Photos available at: http://mandarinmanmarktravelbriefs.blogspot.com/
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