Sunday we had the day to enjoy and do as we wish. Dan, Daren, Greg, Ben, Kristen and I decided to head to Mile 17. Mile 17 is near Ajeltake where I will be teaching. It is called Mile 17 because it is 17 miles from somewhere. I have no idea where the starting point is, but that's how it got the name. Greg really wanted to play on a rope swing and insisted that we go to Mile 17, because somewhere he heard they had one.
At about 10am we had all gathered our PB and Js, filled out water bottles, collected our snorkel gear, and were ready to go. Hitchhiking is the best way to get to any distance on the island. A cab would cost up to $50 to get the 20 or so miles to the other end of the island. We started walking hopeing to quickly be picked up. Dan, as you can see in the picture, made a sign to let drivers know our destination. (Jouj means please) We walked for at least an hour before finally the man in the picture pulled over. As you can see in the picture he had a very small car and we had a lot of people with a lot of things. He was okay with it, so we made it work. Greg had to ride the 30 minute drive with his head out the window, but it was worth the pain. We found out once we were in the car that this was no ordinary man, but a respected Senator for over 20 years. He told us that he was not going to take us to Mile 17, because it was not as beautiful as Laura. (If you look at the map you can see that Laura the very end of the island.) He took us on a mini tour of the island which included showing me my school and where my host family lives. When we arrived in Laura we were amazed. The beaches were amazing and we were the only people there. The family that owns the beach charges a dollar a person, but the Senator explained that we were his personal friends and we were let in for free. When we arrived the Senator then called the local police to come see where we were (he made them drive there to talk to him in person) and instructed them to pick us up at four and take us back to Rairok where we are saying! Can you believe that?!
The day was wonderful. We played in the water, took pictures, listened to music, and drank water from coconuts that Ben collected. It was heaven!
The way home is not as good of a story. The police never showed up and we were left to walk the 20 miles home. A long story short... we all made it home.
Dan and the Senator! Thanks to him we had a great day!
Kristen and Daren in the hammock reading and talking.
The greatest place on earth! I sat at the end of this sandbar forever reading and listening music!
6 comments:
Great story and pictures, keep them coming.
katie, the beach is great, looks like someplace you dad would love to be...
Kate, Just got back from KY/OH looking at houses for work, this weekend Mel and I are going to KY to a wedding...The dogs are doing good, abby has almost doubled in size...We are just waiting for the weather to cool down so we can start playing outside more. I hope things are going well on your end we miss you very much, but know you are having a great time and we are very proud of you!
-Matt, Mel, Jake and Abby
katie,
have you gotten any weather from flossie? a hurricane, not something you would experience in illinois. cool
katie I think you forgot to write a story. Good thing I'm here to remind you..
oops. previous comment was from libby
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