Thursday – 8.9.11
The sea woke me this morning. The top of a king tide had waves crashing high on the shore outside our unit window. The sun is out, the massive sea birds are on the wing, & souring like Hang-gliders that we used to watch at Mt Tamborine. They call them Frigates, and they are like seagulls on steroids, calling to one another in a never ending quest to spot fresh fish in the pristine clear waters of Masig. The breeze blows through coconut, and almond trees, and whistles a song of optimism that the long “cold” winter in the Torres is coming to an end, and soon, the wind will die off, the sea will become dead calm, and the humidity will rise to sauna like peaks as the mercury rises.
The king tide and the late winds, have the locals on edge. Moods change, and behaviours are affected by the tides and the wind in these communities, in much the same way as our culture has a quasi-belief structure around the effects of a full moon on mental illness. This clinic with it’s usually dynamic and enthusiastic team of health workers seems over the last few days to have lost it’s plot. No one for some reason) is firing on all their cylinders. I couldn’t get on top of my game this morning at work. I missed veins when taking blood, I forgot simple procedures, couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag, until and elder came in and sat calmly in the waiting room. I went out to sit with Aunty and with telepathic simplicity, she took my arm firmly in the grip of her boney witch like fingers and said “take off your shoes boy, and feel the sand in dhem feet blo yu”. “it will ‘elp you tink straight.” And I did. And it did!
There is something deeply spiritual about the people here and the way that they connect to this place. The love God, but they have an awesome awareness of the environment, and the way that they are connected to it. It is super natural, and hyperintuitive.
I love to sit and talk to the Aunties and Uncles here. They share a wisdom, that, if you give them time allows you in to another level of insight in to the way of the islands. The elders are so keen to teach me language, and to observe the natural world around me. The way a bird flies, or the way a wind blows, or the signals in the plant life, all holds great significance. One Auntie today was talking about boils. At this time of year people get boils, and the elders treat these skin afflictions with their own island medicine.
“Pass yu putem coconut oil on the boila, den yu cover em por chilli leaf, por pull out buggar” (First you put coconut oil on the Boil, then you cover it with a Chilli Leaf to draw out the pus).
I humoured the old lady as I dressed her ‘unripe boil’ with a magnaplasm poultice, and mused that medicine really hasn’t come all that far. In 2 -3 days it will be ripe for lancing, and she will not doubt remind me that if we did things her way it would have only taken 1 day!
It was a slow day at the clinic, but one that allowed me to sort out my Ferret computer issues that I blogged about, and really get to sit and talk to people, about the “old days”. The old people call it “before time”, and are so proud of their heritage.
The walk after work was along an endless white beach with my bride. Masig is shaped like a tear drop, and the pointy end.
There is reported to be some great swimming, and fishing. We headed off down the beach to the tip, and just took in the solace. Ben fished, Amy swam, in a coral sheltered lagoon and Jo and I sat on the beach and just breathed. It was one of the most special times on our journey. Towards the dusk, two brothers brought their nets to catch sea mullet, and bagged a mighty haul of some 40 or so mullet measuring 50-60 cm. They kindly gave us 4 fish, which was as fresh as it gets.
Mmm. Fresh mullet for breakfast, fresh prawn salad for lunch, and fresh crayfish for dinner tomorrow. Thyroidectomy on Saturday morning, pending fresh coral trout for lunch.
It is a good thing we had chicken for tea tonight!!
Time to go to bed. Until TGIF (thank God its Fish) , Yawo!!
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