It is early sunday morning. the sun is comming through the palm, almond and mango trees with a golden filtered light that is not unlike the illumination you would see on a city of gold. It is as though you could see God smiling on this place. It has been a quiet 24 hours, as the foot ball grand final for the islands has taken the boyz south to play and cheer for their mob.
The bay at the front of the clinic is still. Huge schools of baitfish (sardines) have arrived which signals the enslaught of gread heards of trevally, snapper and baracuda. The locals are excited, the freezers willl be filled with fish in the next few weeks, and no one will go hungry. some local boys told me that when the trevally come in thick, you only need to fish with a hook on your line. Throw out the hook and "zig" the hook through a school to foul hook your dinner. The fishing yesterday was great, so I can only imagine what it might be like in a few weeks.
Our day started as any usual Saturday, lazy roll over in bed to check the time, lazy coffee on the front deck watching the ocean. White birds flock in significant numbers sporadically dive bombing into the bait ball and scoring their own breakfast. This morning is the same, and I marvel at the efficiency of their hunt.
A huge bunch of green bananas Ben cut down last week has been rippened in late afternoon sun, and I enjoy one with my breakfast. It has become a rare treat to enjoy the freshest mashed banana on crunchy toast, but when the barge failed to deliver any bread on the island last monday, we have used wraps (flat breads) which a nice, but not the same.
After breakfast, our first call back patient arrived. Part of the model of care here mandates that if you see a patient for an acute problem (tonsilitis, infection, wound, blood tests anything acute) , we review in 24-48 hours. This occasionally falls on the weekend, and so, whilst technically off duty, we are always oncall, so attend to these follow ups. A small lad with tonsilitis was treated by Jo on Friday night, so she needed to "finish him" Saturday morning. I love watching her with patients. She tells me that acute assessment and management scares her (a comfort zone thing), but she is so calm and deliberate and methodical when she is with a patient. I am amazed at how quick she has adjusted to sole practice as a RAN.
I took off fishing after the call back. Go decided to tidy up the gardens. She transplanted herbs, and chilli, and other green things with roots. The prevous Nurse and her Hubby left white boxes of potting mix and so Jo turned this into the soil at the front door and created a really tidy and functional garden. Some one told us that Darnley is known for oversized things. " everything is bigger over that side" a western islander warned us when talking about sharks one day. Well he must have been talking about centipedes too!!! this monster (bigger than a ruler) came charging out of the potting mix with fangs ready to destroy all and sundry. I have never seen a centipede this big...it looked prehistoric. If you get a bite from one of these guys, you are in real trouble. So...mental note to be careful.
Amy spent the day with another little girl , swimming playing, exploring, and just generally mooching around. Ben was picked up by an Uncle to go for a day on the reef, exploring, and catching fish with spears. At 4pm when finishing another call out with the ambulance, Jo drove the ambulance to the secluded beach where Ben was kicking back under the palms with a family that hosted him. He looked exhausted, but self actualised. This is the life for a boy like our Ben. The family were roasting fresh caught fish over an open fire burning coconut husks and palm. They had a huge bounty of fish of all shapes and sizes, island scones (which are like bread rolls cooked in palm oil), and fresh locally found fruit (pawpaw, coconut, banana, mangos) which all just grow wild.
The evening had us swimming and snorkeling at sunset, and while Amy, Ben and I swam, Jo through the fishing line in the water and landed a nice snapper. This place is so far removed from our "normal" life. It is not that we miss traffic, pollution, noise, and shops...well maybe shops, but things are simple here and not ruled by a clock. this place is ruled by the tide, and the sunlight.
Powdered milk, and long life products, and fish with every meal, seems somehow easy, and so much less stressful than home. Perhaps my glass is just half full this weekend, but the reality where i sit, is that is is only Sunday morning. In 30 mins I will put the phone through to the manager, and then Jo and I are free agents for 24 hours, and this is reason for optimism, with 5 new beaches to explore, and, no doubt, many more fish to catch.
Slip slop slap and...SPLASH!!
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