August 25, 2010

Mister Monkey

It is 4 am in the morning and here I lay in the dark unable to sleep. We have had two of the best days and tomorrow promises to be another. I lay here re-living and processing different moments.

We went off for our intro hike up a small hill the other day. We thought we should stretch our legs and try and iron out any kinks before we hit Mount Pahia. We drove our lil' Salty Ginger dinghy....the family car....around the corner to a bay and hoisted her up on shore and locked her to a coconut tree. We then walked the island of Bora Bora. We found a hill that had a new dirt road up the side of it and it looked perfect for a great view of the bay. When we got to the top we had a fabulous view of this amazing place we are in. Bora Bora is the most beautiful from way up. You can make out all the variations of color in the water. As we were taking in the view Amelia spotted some dangling Mangoes in a tree on the steep side of the brush covered hill. She pointed them out to Graham and then.....there was no stopping him.

It is moments like these that the kids won't soon forget. For them the view was nice but it was just another bay....but hey...Dad and them trying to figure a way to get all those mangoes way up in the tree together.....now this IS FUN. First thing they did was go off and find a huge long bamboo shoot. Once Graham had this in hand they bush whacked down the side of the hill into the dirt beneath the tree on the side of the hill. Grahams shoes came off and he climbed the tree just like a monkey. I was a bit in shock....afterwards I said to Alex, 'Can you believe how high Dad got in that tree?' and he says, "I once saw him climb a huge tree in Bennington Heights, so I knew he had it in him!" ha.

Once Graham was up the tree with Bamboo shoot in hand and Alex was positioned down below where he would try to catch the mangoes before they roll all the way down the steep embankment....Graham began to beat at the hanging bunches. As it begins to rain mangoes I can't help but feel a bit sorry for Alex down below.....try to catch but also trying not to be hit! They were both so excited though by all the gold they were getting. You might ask where I was for all of the fun......safely back at the top of the hill watching the antics and taking pictures. It is moments like these that I am so happy to have Graham for a partner...for the kids to have a Dad who will get dirty and take on a challenge....do something a little unexpected. Eventually Amelia couldn't resist the fun and the promise of yummy mangoes. She plowed off through the brush with a big bag and began to collect the bounty.

Finally as I looked up and watched Graham getting higher and higher in the tree, up to the small little branches and his feet are balanced between 'Y' joints and both hands are on the bamboo shoot to get more leverage as he knocked at the mangoes....I yelled over to him, "I think you are high enough and we have more mangoes than we can eat...time to come down."

I had to laugh as we emerged from the bush and hiked back down to the lookout and we see some beautiful honeymooners on a paid tour with their guide taking pictures. They all turn around to watch as the Perry Clan emerges from above all covered in dirt and sweat and the guide says in shock...."Where did you guys come from?" since there wasn't any other trails up there....We said that we had just went for a little walk and carried our overflowing bag of mangoes behind us. :-)

The remainder of the day we spent on what is said to be the nicest beach on Bora Bora. Another family joined us and we all enjoyed cheese, baguette and fun in the sun.

We have revised our schedule since we just can't seem to tear ourselves away from this island and now weather permitting we will be leaving on Saturday. Yesterday we climbed Mount Pahia....but I think this story deserves a blog all its own....crazy crazy day....I will get writing.

Missing you guys in Bora Bora

Julie

4 comments:

  1. what a great adventure, I love mangos now especially in sushi. Enjoy the fruits of Graham's & Alex's labour. Great story. Bora Bora sounds amazing.

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  2. Nice blog. I can totally picture the mango fun!!

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  3. Gkad ti hear your loving the mangos and the fact that they were free is an added bonue. You guys are just like survivor....which is starting up again next month. Good thing Graham isnt afraid of heights it came in handy. Bora Bora sounds wonderful.

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