Pitufa.at

After our successful fruit and veggie raid in Hapatoni, we now have to use up all the all too quickly ripening fruit to stay ahead of rot and decay. Yesterday we had banana-mango-salad for lunch, a banana smoothie in the afternoon, breadfruit curry for dinner and banana daiquiris as a dessert Today the Aranui (a combined caro-passenger vessel) stopped in Vaitahu–the whole village prepares for this big event that takes place every three weeks. From dusk on barges transport goods to the quay–unloading the barrels and grates’s quite an adventurous undertaking with high swell lifting the barge and breaking on the quay. At 7.30 the tourists were shipped ashore where they (and we trailing along) were welcomed with flowers. They then attended a special sung mass and strolled through the stands with local handicraft and some snacks. Around noon the Aranui leaves and the village drops back into its usual, sleepy state.