It's A Jungle, but to Her It's Paradise

10/24(ish)/08

I got lost in the jungle yesterday! It was a blast!

I tell ya what (Redneck, much?) those Peace Corps people are smarter than they let on! They best thing they did when placing me, was put me on an island that is 3,000 ft at it's longest point! I wonder if they knew I was a wanderer...

Anyways, it was amazing!

I started out yesterday with the desire to walk around the island. So I got on one of the trails that I knew would take me to the shore. Then I started walking to my left. After awhile things started to look familiar- I was headed right to the cemetery! The cemetery where I was suppose to be working with all the women! We have been cleaning it everyday this week for an upcoming festival. Here, cleaning basically means using a machete and your hands to pull all of the grass, weeds, and other random things off the graves and rocks surrounding them. Mind you, we are on the equator, and we do this during the day, and there isn't always shade. 

I just wanted a day to explore- not work. 

I'm probably going to be punished. Sad day. 

Anyway, I didn't want to walk past the cemetery, so I followed a new path, then a new one, then another one. I played the game right-left-right-left attempting to go in the direction of the loud roaring waves. 

It wasn't too long before the path disappeared. I marched on, climbing over and under trees and bushes, through spider webs and ant hills. I loved it, I felt like Mowgli. So I started singing "The bear necessities of life." Augusta would have been proud! It was so beautiful!

The trees, the plants, the flowers, the weird electric red little beetles! I was lost in paradise. Occasionally I would come across a weird collection of rocks. I didn't know if they were the remains of an abandoned house-or some type of tomb- I liked pretending it was an ancient ruin. I also came to the point I had to climb up and down some weird slopes. Upon further exploration, I was intrigued (our island is relatively flat) I discovered that they were more like giant holes or craters in the ground. These were craters left over from the bombings of World War II. 

Thank you America.

This island used to be a Japanese military base. Did I mention the whole island is covered by whole layer of concrete? Needless to say, growing food here is a little bit of a challenge. There are also other remains that decorate our shorelines- engines, vehicles, barrels, etc- giving our pristine beaches extra flare. It's sickening. 

I also find it weird none of the locals ever talk about how many of them died or were hurt during the bombings/ war. It's only "So many Japanese died- so many Americans died." It's not like the locals went anywhere- or had bomb shelters to hide in! Coconut trees are amazing, but I am doubtful they can serve as adequate protection in a time of war. 

All in all though, my exploration yesterday was amazing.