Eyeballs (The Islands Cont'd)

Due to the fear of having our faces eaten off by the giant African rats of the Islands, we did not have much sleep on night #1. In fact, we had no sleep at all. Our dear friend Samuel Mukesa had said to us the night before, "Be careful of the rats--you know, THEY LOVE WHITE FACES!!!"

Unbelievable.

The first rat scare happened shortly after our arrival, when AmyRose, Stacie, Devon and Ivan all sat in the twins' mother's home, about to take tea. We all heard a scuffling noise throughout the house, and when movement was noticed at our feet, Devon, our supposed "protector" jumped up and ran quickly out of the house....only to learn seconds later it was, in fact, the house DUCK and not a rat that was seated at his feet.

So after a restless night, the day was spent roaming the sunny island. The beaches were absolutely beautiful!!! Like no beaches we have ever seen. Rather than sand or rock on the shore, there were soft, smooth, white stones, bigger than a fist, that covered the shore and lake entirely. The homes were hut-like dwellings that were all situated along the shore, and the rest of the island was covered in green and rocks and of course, ant hills :) We went on a short hike up the island and spotted a monkey--the first we have seen out in the wild.

Most of the day was spent hiking, playing pool (Stacie is sadly, not the best pool player--but she was a good sport), admiring the beautiful water, and getting to know the islanders. Lunch was quite delicious. The twins' mother grilled tilapia for us--and AmyRose and Devon partook of their very first fish eyeball.

Quote of the day by Devon:
"So, should I carve my way around it, or just kind of pop it out?" (speaking of the fish eye ball he was about to eat)

Hahahahaha :) Ohhhh the memories.

Because of AmyRose's major allergen attack, after the eyeball lunch, she and Stacie stepped outside to get out of the dusty home. While enjoying a cold Coca-Cola, Divan (Devon + Ivan) came outside to approach us and said, "So--who will it be? AmyRose, or Stacie? We have been negotiated with the head-boss of the island for your hand in marriage--it has come down to 6 cows and half the island." Stacie and AmyRose were NOT impressed, and kindly informed Divan that as our PROTECTORS marrying us off for a few cows and acreage was a good way to get themselves fired.

We ended up eating two dinners at night, as we had apparently made a good impression on one of the kind islander women, who cooked us a SECOND entire meal of food. We ate quite well, but taking long or short calls ( going #1 or #2) became quite interesting, as there were not even squattie-potties, but rather a field of small bushes, where Mukesa informed us, "ok, so--to the right for a short call, and for a long call to the left." Good times. The event of the evening was most definitely marshmellow roasting. Devon had purchased several bags of very tasty strawberry & grape-flavored marshmellows, which we decided to roast over some open coals we borrowed from an Islander woman whom was roasting corn. At first mallow-roasters consited only of Stacie, AmyRose, Devon and Ivan--but soon the entire Island was huddled around this pot o' coals, completely in awe of the marshmellow roasting activity and the deliciousness treat that resulted. Next time, we'll definitely bring more mallows :)

Tuesday night was yet another sleepless evening, as the huts are placed about 1.5ft. apart from one another, so the night air is filled with loud voices from neighbors, angry goats, and pet hens. We were wakened at 4:00AM by the boat driver, and proceeded to wait on the shores of the Island for our Captain to board--as we watched 6 islander men gather around a radio blaring American rap music, while they smoked the reefer. They offered us some, of course, to which Stacie replied, "Ummm no thanks. I don't smoke that stuff. It's bad for you, you know. It kills brain cells, so they say."

At around 4:45AM we finally took off--the boat was quite empty this time around--the 5 of us, plus the captain and about 3 others. It was quite the chilly morning, being out on the water, under the moonlight. We thought we were travelling home on an empty boat, which was nice--but we soon realized that the more stops we made on various island--the more people--and cargo, we acquired. Soon, there were OVER FIFTY people and several tons of dead fish in our boat. Un-be-lievable.

Stacie had the opportunity to sit next to a sick young child, who began puking everywhere, and apparantly the mother told the vomiting child to next time be sure to vomit on the Muzungu sitting next to her, rather than herself.

Thankfully, AmyRose did not develop motion sickness during the trip home, so that definitely made the trip more bearable--besides the 50 people and dead fish, that is. And also the fact that she discovered the boat had a leak, due to a soaked left leg. AmyRose quickly patched said leak with chewed gum and a small patch of paper, to which dearest Ivan was quite impressed and replied, "Ahhh Rosie!! You are becoming African!"

We arrived safely back to Hill Road by 11:30AM on Wednesday morning, thankful to be home, but already looking forward to our next island adventure!!!

While on the islands, we were able to meet Mama Vincet (mother of twins) who is the Nurse of the Island. She lives in a hut-type home as the rest of the islanders do, and her tin roof, which has held up for 8 yrs. now----has several leaks in it. We will be looking around town for prices for more tin and supplies to repair the roof, and would LOVE if any of you blog-followers would be interested in helping to fund this project.