Forbidden Fruit

It's a story reminiscent of the children's fairy tale of the witch offering the young beauty a poison apple... too fantastical to believe!  However if you munch on this acidic snack in the Galapagos, unless you're a giant tortoise endemic to the isles, the outcome is not that you'll fall into a long languid beauty sleep until prince charming comes to your rescue with a life-giving kiss, but more likely that, unless you get immediate medical attention including a stomach pump, you may die within 24 hours!

A Brazilian surfer friend of ours found out this harsh reality two days ago, and luckily is still here to regale everyone with his tale... (We don't know about the three young British vixens that offered him the forbidden fruit, saying they had been eating the fruits all morning - they boarded a plane the same day and we don't know if they ever realized that the 'plums' they thought had been crunching on all morning, were in fact, death apples!?)

There is a tree here in Galapagos called "Manzanillo" (literally translated from Spanish, the meaning is 'little apple' - in English it is called the Manchineel tree).  Hippomane mancinella is one of the most poisonous trees on the planet, and the only poisonous plant native to the Galapagos islands.  It's forbidden fruits resemble Granny Smith apples, in miniature, and certainly look juicy and tempting to any dehydrated hiker in the arid, scrub-brush, cactus landscape and rocky coastline of the islands.  The rounded leaves, grey bark and general tree-shape also look a bit like an innocuous apple tree, but alas, the giant tortoises native to the islands are the only species that can feed on the plant and not succumb to a bitter end.  In fact, this trees leaves and fruits make up a main part of the diet of the indigenous land-tortoises.  Some joke that perhaps this is why they are so wrinkled and gnarled.

Humans should not ingest the appealing, yet highly-venomous fruits - there are signs everywhere telling you so.  Many trees are even marked with a red X, and in many cases, especially in urban areas, the entire trunk that is within reach of human hands is painted over to avoid an inadvertent encounter.  If you obey the general rule on the islands of not approaching or touching any of the plants or wildlife, this tree  shouldn't be a problem.  But if you're curious, hungry/thirsty, or have a death-wish to tempt fate, and decide to take a bite, our friend tells us you can expect the following:  An extremely acidic, uncomfortable feeling in your throat, which them virtually swells shut. Stomach cramps and aches.  And, upon visiting the hospital and telling them your woes, immediate hospitalization, stomach pumping, enema, intravenous re-hydration and feeding through a tube, and 24-hours of uncomfortable surveillance waiting to see if the grim reaper is coming for you or not.

In fact, not just the fruits, but the bark and leaves (or the milky-white sticky sap it produces, actually) are also poisonous and causes an allergic reaction if you inadvertently rub up against it... It is said that even standing under one of these trees in the rain is enough to cause the skin to break-out in a violent red rash with blisters and boils!

San Cristobal, Galapagos

San Cristobal (or, more specifically, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno) is the capital of the Galapagos Islands Province of Ecuador.  I just had the pleasure of a visit from family (Bruce & Bobbi Currie and their friends' son, Roger) - We had a great time, and enjoyed the island - I think they were impressed with most things, except the sea lion stench that pervades the downtown area!

Dubbed "The Capital of Paradise", San Cristobal is a happy middle ground between the overly quiet, tranquil Isabela Island and the overly touristed, commercial Santa Cruz.  I think it qualifies for the adjective 'quaint', if such a thing exists in South America!

And not only quaint, but unique!  I'm sure there is no other place on earth where sea lions share the streets, marine iguanas lounge on the jetty and boobies dive-bomb the shores as freely and easily as they do here.

Only a short boat ride away are some of the most incredible encounters you can imagine...  talcum-powder soft white sand beaches abutting jet-black lava rock, swimming with schools of sharks, frolicking with baby sealions and floating in sea-turtle soup.

The natural surroundings are incredible... and the town itself is pretty nice too.  All that's missing is an ice cream shop, like seriously real, homemade italian gelatto type ice cream... hmmm....

Spring Cleaning...

Hello all!

Well, It's been a while since I updated my blog, and I have a pile of drafts that need to get posted or chucked... so forgive the seeming lack of chronological or geographical order to the next batch of blogs (well, actually, they'll appear to be the most recent batch - between the end of November and January)...  As you can see from the map on the right, I'm working on this house-cleaning project from Galapagos, recently recovered from a bout with dengue which was not so fun and very lonely (especially after unexpectedly having to spend two lonely and frustrating weeks in Guayaquil immediately prior, which, as it turns out, was the cause of the dengue in the first place (there are no nasty dengue-carrying mosquitoes in the islands!)

Fishing with Kaca Molo in Rauki

Rauki village has a pretty decent house reef.  After the snorkeling activity with the students, they were taken home for lunch, and I decided to stay in the water for a bit and swim back to the ship later.  I met up with this youngster looking for fish with his traditional 'kaca molo' (dive glasses)...

These 'coke-bottle' glasses have frames carved from wood, with coke bottle bottoms set in... They leak like crazy and are not very comfortable, but they seem to work for the locals!

Training wheels?

This little gal seemed oblivious to the fact that her wagon was a little worse for wear!?

Pretty leaf?

Found this stowaway aboard the ship... And would have passed it by allowing it to remain an inconspicuous leaf, had it not been for the strange attitude it maintained (hanging upside-down from the roof)...  I had to really take an angle on it to get a shot to show the head and legs!  Nature is amazing at mimicry!

You can check out his ginormous cousin and some of the other related critters I've put on my blog before as well!

Daisey Chains

Although there are many differences in the lives that these kids in the remote areas of Raja Ampat live compared with Canadian kids, in fact, up until a certain age, where social and technological influence becomes a mitigating factor, there are so many similarities as well...

... Like daisy chains...

I don't know how many hours I spent sitting or roving through a field weaving daisy chains to make myself into a princess... 

Since is a princess, too.

Your going to feed your... ghosts!?!

One of the stories people get the biggest kick out of from my repertoire of funny language learning stories, is the mixup with the ghosts... In fact, on a recent trip back to Bunaken last month, I found out that the family that this occurred with still recounts the tale to all family and friends as well as any travelers passing through!

It was one of our first visits to Bunaken Island and the village of Alung Banua, where we would come to feel like family in short order...  And needless to say, we were still very much in the steep part of the learning curve of the Indonesian language.  Every day, early morning, Vera's father, a lovely man and respected leader in the community, would head off to the kebun (the farm/garden).  When we would all meet up in the afternoon after our days' activities, we would sit and relax in the cool shade of their luscious green garden and try to converse.  Vera's father, although not fluent, certainly had a decent English vocabulary, and was very patient and kind in aiding our attempts at learning Indonesian, so we stumbled along through stories and conversations, not getting much past the contents of our days...  When I was asking about what he did when he went to the farm, he would tell me about the crops, and the animals... And he said he would "kasih makan kambing"... 'kasih makan' I knew (he would 'feed')... but kambing was a completely new word for me... we played a little charades, and I still didn't get it... couldn't figure out which farm animal he might be referring to... then he said, in his timid English... 'ghosts'...   

Ummmm.... OK?

So, I tried not to blanche visibly... and carried on the conversation... asking him if he visited the ghosts every day... what did they 'eat' (since he had ostensibly been feeding them)... could anyone visit them, or was it only him that could see them... had they been there forever....  

I was getting more and more confused... and thinking that either this senior was not as on-the-ball as I had taken him to be originally or, he had some mystical connection to the next world... (you never know really - I wasn't willing to make any assumptions... what with the language and cultural barrier and all)...

When Vera came out with some fresh young coconut to quench our thirst, I couldn't stand it any more... I thought I must be going nuts, sitting having a conversation about this man and his ghosts that he visited daily, like there was nothing more normal in the world... I mean, if it were ghosts, you would think he would recognize the rarity in the situation, right!?!  So I asked her if she happened to know the English word for kambing... 

She said "Of course, you know, GOATS"!

I cracked up laughing and proceeded to try to explain to them the misunderstanding... and once we finally found the Indonesian word for ghost (hantu), we were all practically rolling around on the floor, tears streaming down our faces in laughter trying to imagine the two completely different conversations that were happening at the same time about the ghosts/goats!!!

Hercules Moth

I have seen these ginormous moths on each of my trips to larger islands of Raja Ampat, especially Waigeo and Misool.  Believe it or not, these are not even the largest ones we've had onboard!?

They are attracted to the flying insects which are attracted to the bright lights of the ship in the artificial lightless nights in the field, and often call the ship home for several days at a time while hunting and feasting away, giving them a leg-up on foraging and survival for the coming times once the boat moves on.  Last week a pair of these guys hung out and even asked us if we would mind posing for pictures with them.

They are hercules moths, one of the largest species of moths on the planet (apparently females can reach up to 27cm), and have long 'tails' on their wings.  Somehow 'moth' has always been a bit of a bummer of a word for me... I much prefer the Indonesian term kupu-kupu malam, literally translated it's night-time butterfly.  Of course, be careful how/where you use that term... it has another less literal meaning as well ;)

Chillaxin'

This photo actually makes this look a lot cooler than it was - I wish I had the photo from 20 seconds before as I tried to scramble up the tree trunk to show you!  haha!

... not to mention the worrying CAUSE of these coconut trees in this state - coastal erosion due to sea-level rise resulting from climate change can be my only guess...

Sagu for sale

Sagu, the traditional staple in Papua, was not in short supply in Kabare village, North Waigeo back in the month of September.

I really appreciate the way they package the sagu for sale... all natural wrappers of banana leaves and rattan here!

Giant Pineapples!

Maybe this is not abnormal, but I had never SEEN a pineapple this big before!

It was delicious and sweet too!

Natural Products

The gifts from the forest aren't always in the form of food... Here in Papua, the forest provides everything... from food, to the containers in which to cook and keep it, to homes, etc!  Pandan is one particular tree from which each part of the plant is used - coconut as well!

When we were in the village of Beneraf the ladies there showed me how to make "tali hutan" (forest string), which is made from the fibres of the forest as well!

Clothing is traditionally made from bark cloth... straight from the tree, it's much softer than woven fabrics from tali hutan.

Food, clothing, furniture, homes, art, decorations... everything in Papua comes straight from the source:  nature!

Changi

Changi is the name of the Singapore international airport (there is no domestic airport in Singapore, as it's a city state, so no where else in this 'country' to fly...).

I find it a very appropriate name, just with reference to the Indonesian language, where 'changi' actually means ultra-modern, super-fancy, chic... and that's certainly a great description of the Singapore airport, and most of Singapore for that matter!  It was officially classified as a 5-star airport, and also unofficially on sites like sleepinginairports.com has been recognized as a fabulous place to be stuck in transit (if one has to be stuck in transit).

So that's what I am... and that's why you're hearing about this airport (from an ultra high-speed free internet connection in a swank free lounge/relaxation oasis)...

From Wikipedia:
There are many versions for the etymological roots of the name Changi. One source says that it comes from a climbing shrub, the changi ular(Apama corymbosa), which grew in the area. Another claims that it gets its name from a tall tree, the chengai (Balanscarpus heimii), which abounded in the area in the early nineteenth century. Changi could also be a variation of the local timber named chengai. This heavy local timber is commonly used for buildings and furniture, and is valued for its strength and renowned for its deep rich colour.

Magic Cream

Since I was little and visiting our family cabin in BC in the summers, I have known this little tube as "Magic Cream", as do all the neighbours!  Cetavlon is a french antiseptic cream that we can't get in Canada, but without fail, my Aunt would bring several tubes to re-stock every summer.

It's magic I guess comes from the only listed active ingredient, Cetrimide, a mere .5g...   I was happy I carry some with me, as I'm employing it as a remedy for my rotten road rash.  I hope it does its thing!

Road Rash

Yikes - I am thankful that I'm here to write this post to you all... I took a little spill off my motorbike yesterday for the first time... and hopefully last.

I was pretty darn lucky!  The entire lane was full of oil and I don't think there was any avoiding what happened...  The bike lost all traction, and all I had time to think was "Oh shiitttt...", then my head bounced off the pavement and I proceeded to skid on my chin for about 50m along the road with an unsettling view of oncoming headlights. Before I had even skidded to a stop I jumped up and ran the 50 more metres that the bike slid, picked it up and got it off the road, and then I checked myself over for missing appendages etc.  I was fairly shocked to find I was pretty much in tact, minus some major road rash that hadn't started to sting yet (side note:  post-adrenaline let down they have proven insanely painful!)  Apparently I was the 4th bike to slide out on it - and after I made sure they covered it with dirt to soak up the oil and avoid anyone else going down!  But I drove myself home, cleaned out the wounds and am hoping for a quick healing process.

I am not big on taking a lot of hard-core chemical drugs in general... so I'm hoping the good ole magic cream will do the trick!

Raja Ampat Festival

Raja Ampat has been holding a Festival Bahari (Marine Festival) for several years now.  Usually it is in May, to coincide with the 'Birthday' of the Regency on May 9th, but this year it was postponed and happened in October.

Pantai WTC (Waisai TerCinta - Beloved Waisai Beach) with Kalabia at anchor in background

The postponement had to do with the worrying poor health of the head of the Regency back in May (fortunately he is in better health now, and when I met him at the Festival, he seemed fit-as-a-fiddle), but in fact, this is better timing from several other aspects.  It is much more favourable weather and sea-faring conditions, and the Liveaboards which operate in Raja Ampat have just about completed their 6-month Komodo season and are generally heading back up at this time of year, so there is potential to attract international guests and attention from here as well.

This year the festival was bigger than previously, and seemed much better organized.

There were several activities including a Photography Competition, Traditional Food Fair, where I taste-tested 'Grub Kebobs', there were traditional dance troops from the villages which gave periodic performances throughout the festival and there was a 'Travel Mart'.  A Symposium on Environmentally-Friendly Diving was held one day, although my major comments at that were that it seemed a little futile to be discussing diver impact when the scale of the environmental damage that can occur in that respect is miniscule compared to some of the major issues threatening the reefs and marine conservation, like rapid unsustainable coastal development.

We took the opportunity, at the invitation of the local government, to participate by maintaining a Kalabia stand at the fair, and hosting a drawing competition for Raja Ampat children.  The Kalabia team was very proud that their stand was by far the most popular one at the fair, both for kids and adults!  And of course, the drawing competition was a great success... the top 12 winning entries will become part of the Kalabia 2012 Calendar, but they were more excited to receive their prize of a snorkel set each!

And we hung out and enjoyed the bad food, interesting dances and festival atmosphere!

Ange & Yesaiah @ WTC - a friend who leads a traditional music and dance troop as well as conservation programs in Sawinggrai village

 So it seems like the Festival was a decent success from most points of view.... BUT... there are still a couple issues regarding planning, and the MAJOR issue of waste management that the government needs to improve upon for coming years.  The Festival dates were announced only about two weeks prior to the event - so it doesn't give either participants or guests much chance for preparation!  But the bigger issue in my eyes is the non-existent waste management.  Part of the message of this festival is about how fabulous Raja Ampat is as a fabulous holiday destination... BUT although they at least had someone cleaning the festival area daily, they still don't have a long-term viable solution in place for waste-management in Waisai.  They are still going with the typical 'treatment rather than prophylaxis' (ie. bandaid) approach.  Someone from the Kalabia team was in Waisai for 2 weeks prior to the event canvassing for the inclusion of waste bins around the entire festival area... BUT in the end, the waste bin at the Kalabia stand was the only one visible in the entire area!  And the area just behind the festival grounds looks like this:

Kalabia August September October

I've had a chance to be out in Raja Ampat aboard the Kalabia several times over the last couple months.  Each time I'm out, I fall more in love with the area, and I'm more impressed with the ability of the education team to overcome the limitations presented to them working in the villages here!  Here are just a few of my favourite random shots from the last couple months in the field in Raja Ampat... Enjoy!