Five Go Mad

Day3

Up with the light and a walk to clear the head and reset the body followed by coffee and a pastry while Robyn sleeps. Wifi. I think I’ve got a routine. It’s nice.

Robyn and I hike to Baie d’Upi, an hour through the forest to the head of a deep bay on another part of the island.  The island is actually called Kunie by the way.  The name Isle of Pines came from Capt Cook who sailed merrily past but didn’t land.  He saw smoke though, so the island was inhabited at the time by the Kunie people as it happens. The next Europeans who came along brought the unimaginative pine themed name with them and told the Kunies that’s what their home was called. Boy I bet they were relieved after wondering all this time! 

Narrow knobbly track over roots, corally lumps , sand and volcanic soil. A few tomos here and there like hungry open gullets. Lots of holes in the softer ground near the palms as homes for crabs.  Some quite big by the size of the holes.  Met lots of tourist people going the other way so intrigued by what was at the end of the track.  Turns out there was nothing, just a shallow sandy bay with no sign of people or people things apart from white tissues scattered in the bush and sand by the track at the edges of the beach and the pong which explained their presence. People can be such dicks.  The poopy tourists must have been dropped off by boat.

The rain starts while we sat on a log.  Being clever kiwis we brought a brolly so huddled beneath it until the squall passed.  Since reading about sailing in the Pacific I’ve started to use words like squall. Walked the hour back again through dripping forest. Rained much of the way but out of the wind so not really a hardship.  No more tourist traffic but saw a crab under a tree root. Well, it’s claw anyway. It was a hefty claw so decided not to bother it. Home and shower. ‘Home’, hah, funny how the structures you carry around with you settle a few days after you do.

Much of the afternoon was spent sitting in the lounge looking at the rain, reading etc. I got bored and creaky so took a bike out for a ride.

Keep right

No helmets

Lots of hills

Breathe

Keep right

Not much traffic

Breathe

No lines on the road

Keep right

Everybody waves

Horses and cows

Tethered by the road

A young Japanese couple zooming down the hill I’m climbing

Their clear plastic rain ponchos billowing behind like parachutes

Giant cartoon grins.

Think about danger

Breathe

No helmet, keep right

Remembered I’m in the tropics so even though it’s cloudy and windy, jeans and a jersey aren’t good clothing choices. Kept right so survived but pretty knackered after all of 40 minutes.

Dinner: Burgers. Expensive but good. Great pomme frites here.  Bed at eight to read about sailing the Pacific. Made it through till 10!