Island Walkabout
by Christine Kling
Today, I decided to do something different with my blog. I’ve been feeling a bit boat bound out here at Eneko in the Marshall Islands, doing too much sitting at my computer and not enough walking. I didn’t want to add blog writing time to it all today, so I decided to swim ashore with my camera, dress and shoes on our boogie board and then circumnavigate the island on foot to see what sort of interesting sights I could find.
Just climbing down the ladder, I enter the water with my first critters, the little guys who live under our boat and the big guys who come to eat at the Learnativity café.
Once I got ashore, I stashed my board in the trees, put on my shoes and dress and ducked under this tree to turn the corner from the lagoon side of Eneko to the the ocean.
White terns fussed at me most of the day. They lay their eggs on open branches without any nests to protect them. They didn’t like me on their island.
I admit I got a bit obsessed with the funny black eyes of the hermit crabs.
There was lots of flotsam, most of which I couldn’t figure out what purpose it had originally served.
And more hermit crabs.
In a few places the walking got easier as there was a bit of sand over top of the coral.
It’s easy to see how these islands got the many coconut palms growing right at the high water line.
Most of the coral flats that dry at low water are this brown dead coral, but in the tide pools there was loads of life from little fish to crabs to various sea snails.
And more hermit crabs.
When I reached the other end of the island, I stopped for a while to watch the fast flowing current. As an atoll, Majuro is like a necklace of small islands many of which have breaks between them. The tide races through these gaps.
As I came around the corner, I saw Learnativity moored down off the other end where I’d started. Now I’d walk the length of the lagoon side.
There are several families that live on the island as caretakers. Their houses are one room buildings.
They have a nice boat for traveling the 5-6 miles back to town for shopping or for fishing.
And comfortable sleeping arrangements.
They have a garden.
And a power source for lights at night.
And a renewable food source (note the baby chicks around mama).
Back down the beach, just before getting into the water, I noticed some lovely tiny flowers that look like little orchids.
But there is someone else hiding in the bushes trying to look like an innocent orchid, too.
Time to grab my board, swim back to the boat and post my blog.
Fair winds!
Christine
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