out on the lagoon

The last post was the long post about the work I did while on Pohnpei.  This post?  The down time, the relaxing time.

I've done other accreditation trips before:  Santa Monica, Barstow, Visalia.  None of those featured the setting that this one did, nor did they feature the culture of hospitality that we experienced.  I told the teammates who were on their first accreditation team that no, they'll never have another accreditation team visit like this one.

On the Tuesday morning, after breakfast at the hotel,

the team went out on the college boat with the college president. 

Now then, I say college boat, and people think of a yacht or sailboat.  No such luxury, and that was fine.  In fact, the college uses the boat for its marine careers program.  It makes sense for a college on a small island to have a boat!

So off we set from Mangrove Bay.  I may have posted one or two of these photos before, but so be it.  Out past Sokehs Rock, and then eastward. 

And there they handed out hand line fishing spools and rods. 

Yes, fishing.  Something I haven't done in ages, not since going angling for Salmon with Kevin Kelly in the Skeena River in the 90s.

Alas, luck was not with us.  Brian caught the first fish, which was too small to keep. 

Then Gary, and the same thing. 

Not pictured?  The branch of coral I caught.  The president's teenage granddaughter was the only one among us to catch something big enough to keep.  No matter - it was a terrific morning.  Warm sun, fresh coconuts, fishing, chatting.  A very hospitable start to the visit.

Thursday presented the other opportunity.  We finished the report late in the afternoon, but well in time to enjoy the offer of going back out on the boat to see the sunset.  Out through Mangrove Bay again,

and then a little west, out to near where the large vessels pick up the local tuna and take it out of the country. 

Which meant sharks in the area, according to our hosts, enjoying anything offloaded from the boats into the water.  No swimming!  And no fishing.  Instead, there was a cooler filled with wine

and beer and water and coconuts. 

A table was unfolded, and we had a casual dinner of fish that had been caught the night before along with cheese and crackers. 

The sun went down, and we marveled at the sight.

Are you all beginning to understand why I would be happy to go visit the college again?

coconuts

Another silly little post....

I like coconut as a flavour.  I know it has its detractors, and perhaps being exposed only to desiccated coconut in desserts or sickly sweet coconut syrups has led to that.  Perhaps.  Even then, I've been fond of it.  Heck, bring on a huge wedge of the coconut cake at Jake's, please!

You know what might convert people?  Having fresh coconut, harvested from local trees.  Having someone hack into it for you so that you can enjoy the water, cold, directly from the coconut.  Having someone then machete it open so that you can enjoy the meat.  Oh, the meat.  Again, my experience is of coconut meat that is dry even if taken directly from the whole fruit (they are a fruit).

My time in Micronesia changed all that.  On the boat,

at the college,

even at dinner one night,

there were coconuts on offer.  We all happily enjoyed them.  The meat ranged in texture depending on the age of the coconut, but it was often slippery and sweet (but perhaps astringent if too young, or so I thought).  It was like eating a pomegranate, in a way - it took some work, but the reward was definite.

I joke about my time with coconuts while on Pohnpei, but you know, I would happily go back and have some more.  That and another helping of fried parrot fish, please!

so much for willpower

At some point the photography becomes a compulsion, doesn't it? Oh, it has its uses. Securing permanent residency for Conrad was aided immeasurably by the photographic record of our relationship, both in and of the photos themselves, and for how the way we file them by date helped us reconstruct our relationship story. And then there are the simpler pleasures of the two of us reminiscing over older photos, or sharing them with friends and family who may actually want to see some of them.

But it's a bit much, and it's something I've given a lot of thought to lately. Inundating people with information. Oversharing. The blog and Flickr - can't I sometimes live life without having to document it endlessly?

Apparently not. Ah well.

I had intended last night to enjoy being treated to dinner at Topolobampo by our friend Howard, in town from San Francisco for the weekend with his friend Dennis. No photos. A late dinner, drinks, conversation. And for a while, I was managing to do just that. All was tasty, and the evening slipped along terrifically well.

And then Howard's beef tartare (yes, at Topolobampo) came out. So exquisitely composed, like a Japanese meal, it seemed. Marvelous. I slipped. I asked if I could have a photo. Howard acquiesced.

One course later (we were having three different tasting menus, so Howard was the only one with his particular dishes), out came Howard's spot prawns. Oh my word. I was gushing (without even realizing that Rick Bayless was sitting at the table over my shoulder, dining with his wife in their own restaurant). Bugger. Good effort at not taking photos there, Peter.

I actually held off on any more until dessert. I loved my dessert muchly - multiple coconut confections in the dish. One more photo.

In for a penny, in for a pound. Photos, and since I had them, a blog post to go with.

Forgive the oversharing. And brace yourselves. Tonight's dinner of braised chicken thighs is almost ready to be served, and that may mean still more photos ahead.