Azure Coconut

Rachel and I walking home from school. This was when she still lived in Tukao. Now she is back in Tauhunu with her mum and dad and brothers.   In Rarotonga I spent a lot of time at Island Bubz daycare. I liked it a lot. There were the aunties Lerma, Leba and Nancy. And there were my friends. Keanui, Kiva & Noah, but also Maine (all the boys always wanted to give her a cuddle), Elliott, Paea, Annie-Jade, Narita and all the others. I was one of the big ones, not like baby Evie. She was so small that she couldn't walk yet. This was my first day at school. All my friends came with me: Isaac, Rachel, Helina and Frederick. Now I am in Manihiki and my friends all go to school. They are all big. And I am small like baby Evie now! In the morning they wear their uniforms and they have their hair neat. They walk to my house and tell me they go to school. I ask: "Maman, I go école with Helina"!  And Maman says to wait until I have my uniform on to...

Nimata - Freshly harvested and resting on Black Pearl oysters   Life in Manihiki is well paced. Steady but there is always something to do. When you walk through the village and stop to have a little chat you here this one quite a lot: how are you? Oh, busy. Thanks! With no supermarkets (two small corner shops), restaurants (a snack bar open 2 nights every fortnight) or other food suppliers (except for the community sharing their catch), providing the everyday meals becomes a never ending task. Life follows the cycle of going fishing, catching, cleaning and enjoying the fish for dinner! There are other tasks like sweeping the floors with Kikau brooms, the best and most efficient broom I have ever used! But this task also takes a lot of time and has to be done daily if you don't want to have half the beach in your bedroom at night. And so the weeks in Manihiki unfold in the same beautiful rhythm week in, week out. My favorite task is preparing the drin...

Helina & I ready for church with our matching outfits I like Manihiki. Maman is not running around anymore doing errands and Papa doesn't work on the weekend or at night. My brother Yann is at home a lot as school is only until 11. He's a bit rough but he loves me. And I love him. He always wants to squash me and I think it's funny! But I spend a lot of time alone with Maman because Yann plays outside with his friends. I also like it here because it is warm so I only need my nappy! And sometimes a nice dress to look like a girl.  In Manihiki there are also all my aunties. They always take me for a cuddle, especially at church. My favorite aunty is Winnie. She lives not far from us and is Yann's school teacher. I often go for a visit. Her daughter Helina and son Frederick also look after me. Helina always carries me to school in the morning. She makes sure the sun is not in my face. Frederick always, always wants to kiss me and hold me. But...

What a spot for drying in the sun! When visiting Manihiki, you don't need much. And that's lucky because with 10kg baggage allowance on Air Rarotonga one can not bring much personal belongings. Well, when we planned the trip, which was actually a last minute decision - not even 3 weeks before departure - there was one item that we couldn't come without. Its name is Cofly. Not sure whether it's a he or she, so we'll leave it as It. Cofly weighs probably 20kg for a volume of half a cubic meter. Poor thing didn't fit on the plane of course, so we needed to put it on Lady Moana to sail from Rarotonga to Manihiki. This is Cofly, Heavy Duty Washing Machine Model XPB130-2011S. Meet Cofly! The Washing Machine, not the baby! Cofly has been part of the family for now 9 weeks and we couldn't do without it. It truly is working magic to get rid of all the Vene Vene from Yann's clothes, keep Charlie's reusable nappies super wh...

Arrival to Manihiki Tuesdays are exciting days for Manihiki. Well, to be precise, every second Tuesday! That's when the flight from Rarotonga arrives. That means entertainment, new people on the island but also mail, papa'a bread (white bread that the "tourists" eat!) and much needed supplies from the capital. People make their way to MHX Airport mainly by bike, but some also walk or catch a ride on the quad bike's trailer. Located in the northern village of Tukao, passengers and crowd also come on the boat from the western village of Tauhunu. We usually start walking in the morning sun (plane arrives around 10.30am) and end up catching a ride with the quad. People sit on banks made of coconut tree trunks, being aware of course not to be under a bunch of coconuts that might fall (more people die of coconut falls than of shark attacks!). People catch up, talk about everything and nothing. They carry beautifully colourful head and neck eis (flower c...