- Date: May 9, 1987
- Location: Sawasawaga Village, Sariba Island, PNG
- Subject: Batfish and Trading with Sarah
Dear WaterFairy:
This is our 3nd day anchored off Sawasawaga village. It is so peaceful and quiet. I can hear the people who live in the village talking and going about their daily business. I don’t think we are as interesting to the villagers as we were a few days ago, but every now and again, a few kids will come paddle out in their dugout canoes and just look at Sacha-B and stare up at the mast. Capt said that is probably because they don’t see things that tall very often. I always say hi to them and they say hi back. I ask about their fishing and stuff, but not much else to talk about. Sometimes, I catch a glimpse of a few kids heading up the mountain side, with their machetes, to the clearings which is their vegetable garden. It looks like a grand garden to me. Capt says that the soil is very rich here, and made from volcanoes and the plants love it and grow big and fast.
Today was a school day. I got my math done in the workbook, Mom checked it over. We also did some math related to how much a meal costs to make. We made a list of all the ingredients of last night’s spaghetti and put the price next to it, double checked so we didn’t forget anything, added it all up and divided it by 6, because we got six meals all together. Total was 96 cents a meal. Not bad, Mom said, the reward of bargain hunting and good meal planning right there! Mom keeps all these math assignments in her notebook, so she has it for her records. She says it helps keep her on budget and so we get the most out of our money, that way we can cruise for longer, before we have to go “back to work.” Also, Mom says doing this is kind of fun for her and a hobby that is productive.
I was on a roll today to learn some more about a few of the fish I have seen around the boat and reefs. They are batfish and parrot fish.
Animals of the Week
| Batfish-I always see this fish when I go snorkeling here and in Australia, and I always think they are funny. There is usually 2 together, sometimes more, and they seem to be interested in us snorkelers, not afraid or aggressive. Today, when I was throwing the vegetable scraps overboard, two of these guys came rushing over from the anchor chain. They looked about 12-14 inches round, and are kind of flat like a dinner plate, with some grey and black stripes and really pretty yellow fins and tail. I am not sure if they ate the scraps, but every time I threw a handful overboard, they came rushing over, and made big splashes. Parrot Fish – We see these fish all over the reef. They are very brightly colored , and go about their business eating the algae off the coral reef. But we also hear them while we are underwater snorkeling, crunching loudly as they tear off chunks of the dead coral. They have a “beak” which looks more like a buckteeth to me. They grind up the coral they eat, then poop it out as sand! Really nasty if you ask me. Capt always gets a charge when we walk on a coral beach, he has to mention we are strolling along ‘Parrot Fish Poo” beach. |
While I was doing my school work, a girl about my age paddled out to see us so quietly that I did not even notice she was there until she called out “Good day , Missy, Missy!” “Hallo, Hallo!” Of course, I said “Hallo” back. She looked like she was with her little sister. They came alongside Sacha-B, and stood up in their narrow canoe and held on to Sacha-B’s gunnels. I could not believe that they did not tip their canoe over and end up in the drink (water). The canoe didn’t even tip or rock. That’s some good balance. The older girl’s name is Sarah and she spoke English so it was easy for us to talk. She brought some things from her garden. She pointed to the clearing on the steep hill that I noticed and said that it was her family’s garden. Sure enough, when I looked, I could see some people working in the garden, maybe weeding or picking veggies.
Mom took over the trading with some fish hooks, elastic bands, pencils and needles. Sarah wanted different colored elastic bands, to wear as bracelets! I never would have thought of that! I noticed Sarah had a flip top-the kind you get from a store bought can of soda, in her ear as an earring! I asked her about it and she told me when her father went to town on business selling copra the family had produced, he brought back each of his kids a can of Coke! Sarah said it was a huge treat because they don’t often get a chance to have store bought food or drink. She said when they were finished drinking the soda, they took apart the can and made shiny decorations for their houses, canoes and flip top jewelry. Later, Mom told me, when you live simply off the land, with no access to stores, any man-made item is probably a real gift. What we throw away as trash can be reused as a treasure. I think I will start using “throw away” items for trading items, like plastic bottles and tin cans. Capt said that is the true definition of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Anyway, Mom got plenty of tomatoes, green beans and bananas. She also got some greens, which I cooked up for dinner. I just don’t like the taste of the greens, so I ate around them, and fed the batfish.
I made the happy hour cracker plate with hard cheese and pickles and some of the fresh tomatoes cut up. They were the BEST tomatoes I ever had. After dinner I played 6 games of backgammon with Capt. We each won three, so Capt is only a few games ahead of me. Pretty good day all around.
