Getting to a coconut 101

November 9, 2012

We love to wake up early here – except for this – when we turn out the lights to fall asleep, the geckos on our screens want to start talking – it kinda sounds like a frog/bird noise.  Then, if that isn’t enough to keep us from falling asleep, the neighbor dog – yappy kine – decides he wants to bark – constantly at the wind.  If that doesn’t keep us up – the chickens who obviously don’t know that they are supposed to WAKE us up – which they do anyway – decide to cackle cackle.  Once we get used to all that, and finally fall asleep – a torrential downpour flows onto our metal roof to awaken us… but if we don’t have that – it is so bloody hot that the sweat dripping down our faces disturbs our slumber.  As we fall back asleep, it is just in time for the roosters to wish us a good morning, which invites the entire rest of the island birds to call out the same lovely morning greeting.  I don’t feel bad anymore about taking a nap!! Anyways.. I am on vacation!  I can take a nap, right? J

When we got up today, we had some breakfast and then headed to the ocean with computer, guide books and a few other matters of business.  We were stopped by Rande, who asked if we wanted to shuck a coconut and make coconut milk.  Obviously, we said of course we would!  He taught us the step by step, including how to pick them off the tree, which ones to pick, which ones are best to drink the water from, which ones are best for milk and which are best for the soft meat as opposed to the hard meat that you press into coconut milk.  WE CAN SURVIVE on a deserted island with coconuts.  J  Below is the step by step portraits of our lessons.

This is Lisa first getting the stuff off the coconut

This is Randy helping her pull the stuff away from the coconut!  It was pretty funny

We skipped a step - the cracking of the coconut to get it in 2 halves.  You just hit it with the machete.  But this is her scraping the meat out of the coconut.

This is Lisa getting so excited to see the milk come from the shreds!!  Yeay.

This is a close up - I am squeezing the shreds through a cheesecloth.  I did all the steps that Lisa did - I just hogged the camera! :)

Yesterday, Natalie – Lisa caught her name today – was telling us that she feeds her Nemo everyday and that we need to go check it out.  I told her yesterday that I would do it with her today.  She pointed to an area on the reef where there is an anemone.  She’s been feeding this area (bread) for 6 years.  So we ventured out with her today.  I had already been snorkeling a bit, but walked out there with her and her husband.  Lisa was tentative as she gets sea sick and is just not used to snorkeling, but she did GREAT!  Natalie stuck the bread in the coral above the anemone and TONS of fish came to feast – like hundreds of different colors, sizes, shapes - SO SO beautiful.  We do not have an underwater camera, unfortunately, to share a picture of the beauty we go to see, but it was so fun!  DJ actually held his hand out and some of the fish came and bumped into it – searching for bread, I’m assuming.  It was pretty neat.

I was pretty excited that Lisa got out there.  I have been asked continuously to be patient with her while she becomes more comfortable.  Of course, I am.  Its just that I want to go see the fish and other sea life cuz its so so cool and want her to see it too – so today was awesome for her.  She got a taste of it and I helped her be more comfortable so I think we will have more excursions swimming with the tropical fish of Tahiti.  I have really enjoyed our little lagoon. 

J  We went into town this evening by bike.  It was much less crowded than when the canoe race was happening – by the way, EDT won the race – Shell has one for the last 7 years, but they implemented drug testing of the winning team this year and all of the sudden, Shell didn’t win!! Interesting, huh?  Anyway, the supermarket has these baguettes that are about as long as a yardstick and about 6 inches round for $0.53.  Lisa loves them so much.  I mean I like them, but Lisa thinks they are the best thing since peanut butter.  Its fun to tease her about her baguettes!  When we get a continental breakfast around here, it consists of an 8 inch baguette, a chocolate croissant and a mini box of American cereal.  It is quite interesting, but the European influence is clear here in French Polynesia.

Another beautiful sunset tonight.

Rande - our host - was getting ready for the big waves coming soon.. when they hit the north shore of hawaii, he said that 4 days later, they hit huahine.  He would paddle for about 20 minutes, do 3 laps around his property, 5-10 pullups and do it twice a day.  He is like 60.