Monday 15 September 2008

Honiara - Round Three!

Walking down to the fruit & vegetable market trying to avoid the splodges of red spit. Smiling & saying good morning to everyone that walks by. The people are so friendly, young girls look at me & smile, small children are looking back whilst being pulled in the opposite direction by their mothers & even the scariest looking gangs of men all smile & say hello. What is it that makes them look? I try to dress modestly (although in this heat I really don't want to be wearing clothes that cover my thighs, chest, shoulders, so I hope they don't mind if I manage 2 out of three!) I think it’s as simple as a white person walking down the street. White people aren't uncommon here but they tend to stick to their air conditioned 4x4's.


I love walking around the large bustling market with all its noises & smells (some unpleasant!). The stalls piled high with fresh fruits & vegetables. Everything already put into bundles, green beans & watercress wrapped & tied with a banana leaf. No plastic bags are handed out. Customers bring along their woven baskets & bags. Coconuts are deshelled except for a small section that is then used as a handle. We really could learnt a thing or two about bio food wrapping from these people, admittedly we don't have too many bananas leafs growing in the UK! The whole market is probably the size of a large supermarket back home. Tables of goods everywhere & those that can't get a table lay their wears out on the ground outside. You can also pick up locally made jewellery, fish, crabs (you buy the legs & body separately!) & much more. Towards the rear of the market hot food is sold & there is even an aisle of ladies selling their cakes & cookies from huge plastic storage containers. If only they provided trolleys! I even saw a trader watering her goods with a home made watering can – a water bottle with holes pierced into the lid. She knew that the goods would look better & juicer if they glistened.


A fight broke out in the middle of the market this morning. Everyone ran towards it crowding around & laughing. I have never before been caught up in a fight that felt friendly! The warring parties had obviously just had too much sun for the day & after a 10 minutes or so shook hands & all was peaceful again. This place is just fantastic! Walking out with my bags piled high of purchases I saw some vegetables for a $1 less than I had paid. For a second I was a little cross with myself for not looking around properly before I bought but I quickly told myself it was equal to 1 pence & I certainly don't begrudge giving these people money for their fantastic crops especially when its so cheap!


Work on the windlass continues. I stay off the boat as much as possible to avoid the fibreglass dust from the grinding (huge thanks to Shaun & Angela for giving me a night on land in their lovely house). Bobby appears to be winning. I have learnt its better not to ask questions! He now has Clement, a local guy, onboard working with him in the anchor locker grinding & laying fibreglass. They wear matching overalls & headlamps, stopping at 6pm for their allotted dinner break. They look like miners! Clement tells us stories of his island & how he can talk to the crocodiles. Under normal circumstances I would have cause to section him under the mental health act but he is deadly serious & totally sane! Trust me its hard to keep a straight face when he explains how the crocodiles stand in the water & rock their arms in front of them apparently telling Clement that they have their baby close by!

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