October 13th, 2008

Tavanipupu Island Resort has now a new website. Check www.tavanipupu.com

Day one. Everyone left this morning at day break in the boat, I was now alone. I had absolutely no way to get anywhere. I was officially marooned on an island deep in the heart of the wildest part of the South Pacific. How delicious! How exquisite! Surely I was in heaven! Hmmm, as I write these words I can’t help but wonder if this is the honeymoon stage and I might be eating these words in the not too distant future. No matter, this morning with the sea surrounding me and the sounds of rooster crowing and birds singing and flies buzzing, it all seems delightful. I couldn’t remember a morning in the recent past where I had woken up without an agenda.
I decided to go snorkeling. First I went in near the dock closest to Dennis’s house, it was lovely but the current was quite strong so after a few minutes I decided to walk to the other side. John had told me when the current was running fast to go in there and it would bring me quite easily back to the dock. Chancy was quite happy to see me come out of the water as she had been anxiously watching me. She now jumped about in a little dance of ecstasy, so uncharacteristic of her, I had to laugh. She was like a completely different dog.
Just as I got to the point it started to pour rain, one of those tropical burst that is almost painful in intensity if you are standing unprotected in it. I ducked onto the porch of the house we would be refurbishing for Dennis. There I stood for a few lovely minutes watching the rain, Chancy standing and watching beside me. Dennis is the older man who has lived on this island for the last 20 years and who with a partner, Keith, had built it into resorts present form. Part of my agreement in the purchase was to care for him for the rest of his life. I was increasingly aware that it would be anything but a burden, it would be a privilege. Dennis is witty and genteel. It wasn’t just the artistic beauty of what he and Keith had built or the physical beauty of the island and the sound that had given it world famous appeal, it was their personalities. They were fun! Dennis, nearing 80, was still fun! Oh to be like him, I could only aspire.
Looking around I saw all of the things that needed to be accomplished, from the transformation of the little bungalow whose porch I was sheltering under to the house next door that would become the idyllic home of my sister and I. My sister had made this dream come true in more ways than one. Not the least of which was handing over a large sum of money. I will say more about her later as she deserves a very large explanation. She was with me in spirit this morning as were so many people.
I sat in the sand and put on the fins and adjusted the snorkel. The world that existed under the surface was beyond my expectations by a very large margin. The clear water was teeming with fish of all colors and patterns. The coral was interesting and profuse. I looked down to see the most exquisite creature God ever created. A lion fish with perfect blue taffeta like fins flowing in all directions, pale blue and studded with iridescent stars. A Fairy Godmother couldn’t possibly have been in finer attire. Next, a started young sea turtle raced so close to me I could have touched it, but I must admit for a moment I wasn’t certain what it was and I was equally started. Soon I was smiling so much it was hard to keep the snorkel firmly in my mouth. I loved it! I thought of my son and knew that someday I would be able to share this with him. Todd is the best underwater person I had ever known. He sees everything under the water and always knows so much about things. I enjoyed thinking about him seeing this underwater paradise for the first time.
I took a nap, woke with a start from a nightmare, it seemed so real, it took a moment to adjust myself. I have not been relaxed for such a long time that I thought perhaps it was part of the unwinding process.
Later, over a cup of tea with Dennis, we talked of many things, not the least of which was Chancy. Dennis had fallen madly in love with her. There was nothing to do but to hand her over with great happiness that she was meant for him. Dennis had always had and loved dogs, he had buried the third of his beloved dogs on the island five long, lonely years ago. Dennis had suffered greatly as a child of 7 or 8 during the war in England. He had suffered his entire life from the experience and the comfort of a little dog by his side could not be overestimated. So, I chased little Chancy away from me, and with his lovely ministrations and many loving pats Dennis quickly won Chancy’s little heart.
Dennis and I walked together over to the large building whose leaf roof we were having redone. The first expenditure I was making on the island. It was a thing of beauty to watch around 20 local men using a wonderful process of putting on the new leaf. Nothing but local materials where being used from the scaffolding to the bush strings they were using to tie things together. It was fascinating to watch. The men spoke in a language incomprehensible to me but their lovely laughter was easy to understand, they worked with seeming joy and mirth. It was simply mesmerizing and enjoyable to watch.
Wonderful dinner with Dennis and his dog and then an early night.

Day Two. Slept deeper and better than I have in years! Woke to find my face and eyes swollen from sleep. Couldn’t remember the last time I experienced that. I have not slept deeply or well since coming to Honiara.
Chancy was gone when I woke, though I felt a small stab at her abandonment, it was quickly overcome with the knowledge that she made Dennis’s life so much better. It was pleasant to see them walking together across the lovely coconut studded grounds, a thing that made me smile and warmed my hear.
Some Yacht owners came to visit. Lovely people, and I enjoyed getting to know them a great deal. It was a taste of the future. I loved hearing their stories of diving with whales and dugongs and the acres of dolphin they had seen. They are a different sort of people, those nomads of the sea, who have chosen the life of adventurer and hardship over a comfy life on land. I admired them greatly and hoped many more would come. Two different sets, one was Sean and his wife, he was an Australian, hard working, a tiler! Boy, did I have some questions for him. He was very good at what he did, I could tell, and he took it seriously. I tried to hire him to teach my boys when they came exactly how to do the floors. The other couple was Canadian. He had been an attorney but was far too smart to continue in such a soul sucking occupation and took up the nomadic life on the sea instead. He had observed his friends growing old before their time. I thought of John and his wonderful law firm. I worried for them all. I had seen John working way to hard, working until it shown on his face and in the sag of his whole being. I wished there was another way but that firm were so imperative to my life and to so many others, it was a catch 22 sort of wish

Day three. Now I knew for certain. All of the longing I had to live in the wilds again were not in vain, it was exactly what I wanted. Oh, it was bloody difficult not having my house set up and not being able to be comfortable, and to have a mountain of work ahead of me but the sea and quiet and beauty. Oh, my goodness. It was working miracles inside me. I was rapidly becoming my old self, I had long missed that calm and happy feeling I have had most of my life. Now I worried that I would become much too complacent and not complete the work fast enough! I had read half a novel already, something I haven’t done in years. I always read of course but books about the economy, nothing for pleasure for a long long time. Both couples from the boats were coming to dinner tonight so it would be the first dinner at the resort.
I finished my first improvement today and what a huge improvement it was! Dennis and I together had the boys chop out the undergrowth of the huge tree in front of the villa I was staying in. I now had a lovely view of the sea through the massive tree trunks, now visible where once there was an eye stopping wall of impenetrable green! It was wonderful. Tomorrow I start on the undergrowth in our new home.
Weeks later.
I have had no time to write for many days now. I’ve been going back and forth between the island and Honiara in the boat and working around 16 hours per day, seven days a week. This monumental effort is wearing thin. I am pushing myself to the limit. It has to be done, so many things simply have to be done but soon now I would slow the pace to a reasonable level and get some help. Surely I would do that soon, either that or my life expectancy is going to be greatly reduced.
I made a stupid decision a week ago, it wasn’t the worst decision I’ve ever made but the thing is, it could have been. The sea has been dead calm for many weeks now and I decided I wanted to see if I could drive the boat myself for the 65 miles through the sea to the island. Aggie, I was certain would not want to come with me, but I was wrong, she did. Thank God for that or I probably would not be here to write these words.
Aggie has been my most valuable employee for my personal comfort and happiness for nearly 5 years. She and her husband and three children were living in the small house on the property I bought in Honiara. We’ve laughed many times over the fact that I had given them ten days to move out after I bought the house. I kept threatening them, and it was part of the agreement that they move out but they had nowhere to go so they kept staying in the little house. One day I needed some help in the big house and got Aggie to come work for me. She was much faster and better than the other girls so I kept getting her to help me. It didn’t take long for Aggie to become someone very special to me. I love her dearly and she knows exactly how to take care of my household, perfectly. Somewhere in that five years I developed a love for Aggie that will surely last until I die. My greatest accomplishment in the Solomon Islands has been to see Aggie blossom into strong, healthy young woman. When I first met her she was literally starving, any food that she got her hands on she gave to her children. She always says that she prayed me into her life.
Anyway, I convinced Gary I could do the trip, so Aggie and I set off alone in the boat from Honiara. At first it was exhilarating. We saw a curtain of rain ahead and tried to go around it, when it became obvious that wasn’t going to work, we saw a hole in the curtain and dashed through it. Just a few moments of rain was all we got. It was shining brightly behind the curtain and we looked back over our shoulders to see the most beautiful rainbow imaginable. It was so bright it reflected another one. Aggie said there was one for each of us.
If the storm had come up suddenly we would have turned back but sea just kept getting worse and worse. By the time we were half way to Tavanipupu the waves were actually breaking and it was so rough sea water kept slapping us in the face like someone throwing a bucket of water. Aggie would yell here comes another one when they were really big and in the end she would be saying, and another one, and another one without a break. On Aggie’s advise I just kept her nose head in to the waves. It got quite scary. I must say, but to our credit, we never stopped laughing, every time we got hit in the face we would wipe the water off and then look at each other and laugh! It just seemed so outrageous that it was comical.
My biggest concern was for Aggie. I didn’t want to drag her out in this giant sea with an imbecile for a boat driver and drown her. Aggie had four children to take care of and a plethora of others depended on her. I certainly didn’t relish drowning myself either, mostly because I had made some rather serious commitments, and I did not want to let down Sharon, John, Gary, Todd, Todd’s daughters, Shannon, no I, couldn’t really afford to drown right now, it was simply not an option. We made it as far as Owla, a small community with a sheltered bay. We edged the boat on to their beach where we yelled for the young men we saw to ‘help us for God’s sake’. They did all help but I watched in horror as I saw one young man laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach! I’ve never seen that behavior among the local populace. For goodness sake could hardly believe we looked that funny!
Once on the shore, we washed ourselves in the local river; it was clear and cold and felt marvelous. At some point during out trip I asked Aggie if she brought the water and she said, I thought you brought it. We had both left the water in Honiara! We had so much salt in our faces and in our mouths that water was all we wanted. They brought a tea kettle full of rain water and it tasted very good indeed, difficult as it was to drink from the spout. Around 30 or 40 people of all ages gathered round us and were watching our every move. There was a sheltered poach on which they ushered us to rest on. The close scrutiny of all of these people made going to sleep very difficult but it wasn’t long before we both drifted into a shallow nap we were so tired from the early morning departure and the grueling ride. It was an odd thing but they we all talking and or singing and the collective sound was strangely soothing. Even though I defy anyone reading this to try to sleep while your every breath is being watched, still I can report, though difficult, it can be done.

We woke to see that someone had brought us fresh pineapple and papaya. When I asked where it came from they said the elders in the village sent it to us but did not come themselves because they were embarrassed that they did not speak English. After 4 or 5 hours and after making many friends we left the village. I promised to stop by again and bring them the thing they wanted most, a soccer ball. It would be fun to stop by with that ball and as soon as the road gets built to the village we could make a deal to just drive the boat to Owla and then take a car or van to Honiara. It was in the countries plans to build the road but it was hard to say when it would actually happen. It was a lovely, neat, clean village with it’s own island out in front and on a beautiful inlet with a sandy beach which produced a sheltered bay, the only one in sixty five miles where you could land a boat at least easily in wild seas.
The sea finally seemed to calm down and we decided to try to make it the rest of the way, a boy had been faithfully taking care of our boat the whole time we rested and slept, we had not even asked him to, he had just done it. They said his name of was Jonathon the boat boy, and they suggested he go with us to drive, we decided that was a wonderful idea and took him with us. He drove while Aggie and I sat on the back seat, grateful for the help. When we entered the sound he had to give me back the boat to drive as he did not know the way. It is a bit tricky and even though I’d done the trip several times I did not remember exactly how to go. Aggie knew exactly. How did she do that? She’d only made the trip once or twice before. I asked her how on earth she knew and she said simply, “I watched”. Oh, I thought I had too, but evidently not.