Tabal - Aur

Not sure if I can adequately describe what an amazing time we had at
Tabal-Aur. This is a small island on the north east corner of Aur Atoll. If
you are looking at Google Earth, you can enter our coordinates: 08 18N, 171
09E

We stayed a week, and we have plans to return. In our short week, we've met
many of the locals and the children have taken to following us around on our
"jambos" (walks). I spent a day in Kendra's classroom, teaching the older
kids about Canada and discussing our trip, and reading Dr. Suess to the
younger kids. It was a hoot. We left all the kids with Canada pencils to
remember us by!

We had Kendra out to the boat to share a meal of pork chops, a rarity around
here, and she took advantage of the opportunity to send an email to her
family. Normally, the mail system is unpredictable, and letters can take
months to reach her.

The kids are very interested in the boat, and some were brave enough to ask
that they see the boat. We were unsure how to answer. How can we make it
fair? How do we get the kids to the boat? What about their parents? Is it
safe? In the end, they solved our dilemma for us. The braver kids swam out
to Renova! First, four of the older girls came out on a foam raft with
Kendra. We gave them a tour and some fruit slices.

Then four boys swam out...all clutching to an old deflated fishing float. They made it, and were
treated to some cold juice and apple slices.

 

As always, we must move on. Upon leaving, we were gifted with some wonderful handicrafts made by our new friends. We look forward to returning here next month for their Liberation Day celebrations.

An Eight Coconut Day

Upon our arrival James, the local medical officer here at Tabal, asked John
to look at his outboard engine. No one works on a Sunday, so on Monday John
spent the day with James to troubleshoot the Honda 15hp. John's fiddled with
lots of outboards, and he kept our little Johnston running well past it's
prime. He replaced the carb in our Yamaha, adjusted the points, and now it
runs beautifully, even for me. He's got a gift.

It took all day, but he managed to get that honda running. It had not run in
2 years. James thought it was just a broken impeller, and he had a spare, so
we thought it would be a quick job. But it turned out to need its carb
cleaned, throttle rebuilt, sparks cleaned, coils cleaned, and so on. The new
spark plugs and impeller he had were not suited to the engine. So, even
though it ran, it still needs a new impeller.

He was thanked with a gift of 8 drinking coconuts. YUM. There are two in the
fridge as I write.

Spelling Bee at Aur Atoll

We're out of Majuro and exploring Aur, an atoll about 70 miles north of
Majuro. We're back in South Pacific paradise. Beautiful islets of coconut
trees, sandy beaches, and friendly people.

 

We stopped at the main island of Aur, and paid our respects to the mayor and
did a short 'jambo' (walk-about). When the wind came up, we decided to seek
a calmer anchorage, and meandered north to a small uninhabited islet, where
we stopped for a couple days. We walked the island (no glass balls yet), and
read our books.

We then moved north to the islet of Tabal - where James called us on the vhf
to welcome us to Tabal, and invite us to his home at the local clinic. His
outboard needs some work, so John will give him a hand with repairs on
Monday (Sunday is a rest day). We also met the local World Teach volunteer,
Kendra. She has introduced us to many people here, and invited us to watch
the Spelling Bee, a big local event in celebration of Education Week.

Earlier in the day the school enjoyed a sports day, complete with weaving
competitions. The community was in attendance, and we were treated to a
shared meal of delicious fish and rice after the children had demonstrated
their exceptional spelling skills!

An aggressive game of musical chairs was part of the pre-bee activities

We were invited to share in a feast of fish and rice. John and I were honored to be served the heads. Notice also the awesome plates woven from coconut fronds.

Today is Sunday, so we're heading to church, and we expect a leisurely day
ahead of us.