January 3, 2008

  • Roycie and I woke up
    the next morning to the sound of the rain still falling and the sight of the
    clouds still obscuring our view of the ocean. We lounged around in our pajamas,
    making bracelets and gabbing. Eventually, Connie came bearing coconut biscuits
    and instant coffee mix, saving us from our starvation. The three of us and May
    stretched out in the wood paneled- living room. Hemmed in by the rain, we
    indulged in the luxury of zero agenda.

    Just when we were
    getting restless, the rain let up a bit, and we decided to lunch at Fat Boys, a
    resort on a neighboring island only accessible by boat. We traipsed down the
    hill, sliding and slipping on the saturated ground, and had a local hotel radio
    the Fat Boy’s boat to take us on the 8-minute ride.

    I was really beginning
    to enjoy the feeling of zipping around on motorboats. The slight ocean spray
    and the cool breeze alleviated the humidity for a moment, and one could concentrate
    on the rippling blues in the ocean and the islands slowly passing by in the
    distance. Even on a day like that with the murky sky turning the ocean dark it
    was still really pretty.

    Connie and May with Fatboys in the background.

    To the left Connie
    pointed out a mountain ridge on one of the larger mountains that was shaped
    just like a woman lying down with her hands folded in her lap. She also told me
    her name and her story, but I forgot.

    The lady in the mountains, and a school of fish in the foreground.


    Great weather.

    When
    our boat reached the restaurant, we were greeted by a grinning Australian in
    earrings who knew Connie and had heard of Roycie as we clambered out of the
    boat and onto fatboys restaurant, which stood on wooden stilts in the middle of
    the ocean on the end of a pier. We sat down to a great lunch and then just relaxed in the otherwise empty restaurant, chatting and spotting fish in the shallow water.


    Relaxing Roycie

    These little guys are everywhere.

             

     
    See, its funny because she's not.


    Damn Rain

    We wrapped up our (super busy) day at the Gizo Hotel to eat dinner and watch some entertainment. There aren't really that many restaurants in the Solomons since everyone pretty much cooks their own food. You might be able to get some fish and chips, or some market food guaranteed to make you sick, but other than that the only places to get a meal as a visitor are the hotels or other pricey, tourist-catering locales. In Gizo basically you have the Gizo hotel, PT109, or Fatboys to chose from. That's about it.

    Anyway, Roycie was excited about the entertainment; a dance troope of mostly Gilbertese youths.

    Costumes looking a little familiar? Apparently about 50 years ago some Hawaiian Red Cross workers came to the Islands and taught some of the natives how to hula. They've certainly put their own twists on it over the years but the basic idea is still the same. I have no idea where they got the music though. It sounds like hula techno, and they play it really loud through bad speakers. Somehow it works though. We had fun watching the dancers, especially the boys, since they move around a bit more and yell things to stay motivated while the girls just sort of... gyrate.
    We also had fun watching their Gilbertese uncles and cousins cheer and get drunk. A couple of them went on stage and started dancing and putting money in the girl's skirts and hair wreaths. At one point one of them shocked us by putting money in the youngest girl's top, something that made her cry and run to the back of the room. She wasn't quite old enough for anyone to be really concerned about what was going on in her top, but she was clearly embarassed and a bit disturbed. We later found out that the dude wasn't even one of her uncles. Creepy.