VOYAGE OF THE PEARL

Saturday was spent getting "The Pearl" ready for her maiden voyage. I had a few locals helping me to install the pontoons, since I had absolutely no clue how to tie them so they wouldn't fall off, and to help carry the boat to the beach.

Carmen and I ended up getting into the boat the hard way (by getting wet first), and then jumping in. I'm glad the camera didn't get wet because we did get some good pictures. Some local boys were being a royal nuisance by trying to sink us, splashing us with water, and being plain pests...such is life as a white person in Indonesia.

The good news is that the boat floats...although there isn't a whole lot of room between the ocean and the edge of the boat, I don't think it was built for big people. I also learned the hard way that it can hold a lot of water...yes, a bailing bucket is essential when going for a ride in "The Pearl". I don't know where the leak came from, but I definitely need to get it fixed (finding fibreglass might be a problem).

Also essential to have on board is an anchor...yes, I ended up a ways from shore in a leaky boat and it took me a while to paddle back in. I was prepared to fish for the day, but didn't get the chance since I was too busy bailing water...

Sunday was spent making repairs (I made an anchor out of a rock), and am looking to patch the boat by the guy that made it. It wasn't the most pleasant fishing trip I've ever had, but I'm sure that next time I go out will be an improvement. Don't worry, I won't go far from shore.

Ahoy me Mates!

THE BLUE PEARL

Well this isn't pirates of the Caribbean, but on Nias we have warm tropical water, palm trees, and a few nice sandy beaches. I can think of no better place to own a boat. Yes, it's true, I am now the proud owner of a brand new boat! "The Blue Pearl", is her name, and she now sits at the office in Gunung Sitoli awaiting the maiden voyage. The boat is really a dugout canoe that has been hand carved out of a single tree. I paid over 1,200,000 Rupiah for her, but she's worth it (About 120 US Bucks). I didn't have a lot of time to look for the boat, so a few guys from the office found it for me while it was still being made! It comes complete with three seats, some balancing pontoons, and a hand carved oar. It was difficult to pick the boat up with the Medair vehicle, since it's not really work related, so I paid a "becak" to deliver it to the office for 50,000 Rupiah (5 bucks).

The only downside about having a boat is that my fishing rod is completely destroyed. The end of the rod got caught in the motor of our hired fishing charter (which is a completely different story and was more of a glorified boat ride). Next weekend I need to buy some new fishing gear and take the "pearl" out to catch some tuna. Stay tuned!!!!

THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOTS

We haven't seen a lot of snakes in Indonesia with the exception of a few dead ones on the road. In Aceh I saw an honest 6' foot python road killed and a few smaller species; but this week we have had two encounters.

On Sunday night some of our local staff were sitting outside talking when suddenly a snake decided to interrupt their party and inspect our footwear. Hesti, one of the watsan staff, grabbed a shoe and swung at it...at this point the snake raised up and hissed at him, but he ended up killing it anyway. He told me it was a "cobra", but there is some debate about this since the locals say that there aren't any cobras on Nias Island. It wasn't very big, so he dug a hole and buried it before I had a chance to look at it.

Then, just yesterday, I went out near the tool shed and saw a small snake close to the house. I quickly grabbed a dustpan (with a long handle) and smashed it...the snake kind of ended up in two pieces. I'm not sure what kind of snake it was, but the locals were saying it was a poisonous one. It was brownish red with a black and white head and a yellow / orange belly. Usually when a snake has that many colours it's a warning for other things to "stay away" from it (poisonous). I'm trying to look up what species it is to make sure, but haven't found it yet. It's a good thing we sleep in a tent that zips up!

FISH MARKET

I haven't caught much lately. Mostly because I haven't had the chance, or the time to commit to getting out. Last weekend when I was in Aceh, I went fishing at "radio tower island", and I didn't catch a thing. I did, however, see a great big sea turtle, and a small reef shark (which was cruising around in knee deep water close by). This week the water was too dirty to go with the spear, and when I tried casting off the shore I only had little tiny ones stealing my bait. I will have to get out at the end of the week in a boat or something...maybe then I can get the big ones, but for now I've been buying them at the market (it's a lot easier).

PIGTALES & A LOBSTER

When I first came to Indonesia I thought I might get a chance to catch a pig...now I don't want to (although I have thought about killing the neighbors pigs because they wake me up in the morning). During the last two weeks in the village of Hiliotalua I have eaten enough pig for two lifetimes.

In Nias the pig is the livestock of choice: they slaughter pigs for parties, they trade pigs for dowry's at weddings, and they raise pigs to make money. In fact at the local restaurant in the village, although there are chickens running around everywhere, you cannot order chicken; only pig. This is because chickens are bred for cockfighting, and they gamble money on the winner, so why would you eat something that makes an income for you?

The pig itself is only served in a soup bowl, and it has chopped up pieces of everything in it (kind of like a hotdog but not ground up)! You have a choice of eating just the pigfat, the skin, the liver, the intestines, or ocasionally a real piece of meat...I have had to do some heavy duty picking at the soup just to get fed. So much for bacon... The pictures were taken when I was living in Aceh, wild porkers that fed near our house and scared the dickens out of us while walking home at night.

In other news, I finally caught a sizable lobster last weekend while snorkeling! I actually found a lobster hotspot, there were more where this one came from, but I ran out of time to get them. It was quite good with garlic butter...mmmmmmm lobster.

BIG & TASTY

Easter weekend was a great time for the Medair staff to chill out and bond. We spend our time on Pulau Asu, and it was one of the best islands I have ever been to. It had amazing clear water, good cheap food, and hardly any people or crazy tourists! There was a small church on the island and it seemed like everyone showed up on Sunday; what a cool witness. Carmen and I went snorkeling every day, and I went spear fishing in the cool deep water.

There were plenty of reef fish around to catch, but I've found that these are getting too easy and there isn't much meat on them. I was looking for the big ones: Tuna, Grouper, snapper, or maybe a barracuda. You see these kind of fish once in a while, but they are usually taking off very fast in the other direction, or are too deep to go after. I guess they don't get big for being stupid...when they see something that looks like trouble they get the heck out of there! After swimming along the shore for an hour or so, Carmen and I decided to head back to the bungalow and then it happened...

I happened to glance along the coral bottom and I noticed a pattern that was inconsistent with the rest of the bottom about 6 meters down. I went down for a closer look and realized that it was a huge fish trying to camouflage itself with the bottom! I came back to the surface and told Carmen that I was about to spear a huge fish (yeah I'm kind of cocky sometimes), and then I dove for the bottom. As I approached the fish I noticed that it was laying flat on its side, and I wondered to myself if it was dead...but then its eye moved to meet me and I knew it was now or never. I released the spear and nailed him right above his eye, a perfect shot, I didn't wreck any of the meat on him! The fish fought me all the way to the surface and I felt like I should get the fish out of the water right away since it was bleeding quite a bit (I'm not a fan of having a lot of blood in the water when I don't know what kind of sharks are around)! We swam towards the rocks and then a wave pushed us up faster than we wanted to go...we got banged up a little, but managed to get out of the water without too much problems.

That night we had a grouper BBQ. We managed to find a Weber charcoal BBQ on the island, and Carmen prepared the fish with lime, black pepper, and garlic...man was it good. It fed the five of us, and I managed to climb a palm tree and get a few green coconuts to drink to boot; it was a perfect day!

For those of you who are not aware Pulau Asu is a popular surf destination in Indonesia. Tim Sorensen eat your heart out! By the way Tim, I'm working with a guy named Joe Miskov, you knew him from Honduras when you were on Roatan!

TO FISH, OR NOT TO FISH?

Carmen and I are now living on Pulau Nias in a nice house that overlooks the ocean. It's a great view with clear water, and I can go fishing out the back door (the only downside is all the garbage the neighbor throws in the sea). We will be here for the next two months, or until a field base can be found.

Last week Carmen and I got back from Pulau Weh and I had a chance to do some more spear fishing. I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to do it because many people go there to check out the reef and do snorkeling and diving. I wanted to be sensitive about it so I asked one of the locals at the resort we were staying at, and one of the tourists. They both said it was "ok" for me to fish there, and they encouraged me to get a few fish for the BBQ that night! I was stoked to go because of the amazingly clear water, and the abundance of fish! I saw a nice parrot fish about 6 meters down, and I went around the back side of the coral bed to get behind him. I got the fish on the first try, brought it to shore, and was told by the cook to go get another one!

On the second trip out I saw a huge squid (cuttlefish), and took him with the spear. I then returned to the shore again, and the cook was really excited because it was so big! I put it in a bucket on shore and went out for another snorkel. When I returned two German tourists were on the beach...I hadn't even begun to take my mask off before the shouting began, but I took it from their comments that they weren't too happy about seeing the dead squid.

Now despite what some people may think, I am a conservationist at heart...I don't want to see all the fish or animals disappear because people are selfish and take more than what they can use. At the same time I have no problem with taking a fish or two, or shooting a deer to have meat for the year. I think God made fish for the specific purpose of BBQ (especially salmon...mmm). I got a strip torn off me about being a "cold blooded killer", and "how could I have killed this animal; it's so beautiful and it's my friend", and "squid are rare we don't see them often", etc... I was quite ticked off to say the least. Most of what was said was a load of bull (squid are not rare the locals eat them everyday); I guess they are not used to seeing their food before they eat it. I'm also pretty sure that they eat fish themselves, so they're being pretty hypocritical. Then the rumors started flying around the resort...the one German girl kept telling everyone she met that I had killed an Octopus and that I was a real bastard, and I ended up getting a few dirty looks from one or two tourists. I didn't invite them to the BBQ that's for sure!Other people didn't care in the least and told me not to worry about it... In fact, the cook only Barbecued the parrot fish, and the locals ate the squid themselves...I didn't really want to demand to have it since I had caused an uprising already so I didn't fight it. This episode hasn't dampened my spirits in the least; I'm going fishing tomorrow!