Four pages of writing about the adventurous cycle ride I took with Jean,
the gathering and making of the amazing mobile that now adorns my other residence,
Christmas eve at Tipaniers, even Christmas dinner with guests, lies abandoned within the bowels of my PC. They may one day grace the pages of my Blog but today is not their day!
I shall give a brief (well it started as brief) summery of the events leading up to this momentous and potentially life changing event before I embark of the great move itself.
Two days before Christmas I sat down with Papes dear friend Jan, devouring a bowl of Chocolate Glace, having just spent an hour on her computer as we had no internet in the house again. Conversations wandered as they do and then she asks me if I was coming back in September.
I told her truthfully, probably not.
I explain that living with Pape and his rules was not as I had expected, I found the life wonderful but living in the same house with Pape was just to much for me, even though we had separate flats. She suggested that I get my own place, totally separate from him, I said that this would cost money and if I have to return to proper work then I could work in the UK without having to learn French and I would probably earn more money! The conversation changed, I finished my bowl of Glace and refreshed and up to date with my correspondence, I cycled back over the hill to my flat.
A week later, Vava and I were joined by Cher for our weekly cycle ride. The wind was once more against us on the return journey and we arrived back in Vavas totally out of breath and in need of refreshment. We sat around and chatted, as girls are want to do and the conversation turned to how I was enjoying Island life. I repeated the same thing that I had told Jan, that although I was loving the heat and the sun and the sea, as well as the singing and the catching up with my Father, I found the house isolated and I lacked things to do.
We then discussed New Year plans and discovered that none of us were going out so Kerriann promptly arranged a party, at Vava's house!! Poor Vava just kept nodding as I made all sorts of arrangements. I wanted to learn how to make the flower crowns and said we should all wear on for New Year. I added that I would make pasta and rice and bring a big bowl of salad from the garden and a jar of dried bananas and pineapples! Pape and I were singing in the Kaveka that evening so it was decided that Vava and Cher would treat themselves to an evening out and that she would make a flower crown for me to wear especially for the event!
Ric joined us along with his guitar and as I sat with the audience while he did his bit, Vava turned to me and said that Pape should join us on new years Eve. Ten minutes later she added that of course Jan should come too to the New Year gathering. I smiled and thanked her. It then occurred to me that Ric would be alone for New Year and asked if he could come too. Of course said Vava and as Ric finished his slot I asked if he would like to join us. He had a friend arriving on the Tursday and would it be OK to bring her he enquired! Why of-course smiled Vava now totally overwhelmed by the growing number of people to arrive at her house, most of which she did not know!!
New Years Eve was bright and sunny, as are most days in Moorea. I dropped food down to Vavas, I dropped bags of flowers down to Vavas, I asked if I could help and gave her a hug when she looked totally overcome with all the things happening around her!
I returned to the house to find that Leon had invited all his special friends for a lunch time drink and nibbles!
Honoured to be included in the special friends guest list I quickly changed into a dress and with my chauffeur, Pape, we arrived in Le Sud to find a full table of goodies and a huge bowl of punch waiting.
The other guests arrived, chit chat was had, contacts were made and the right things were said to the right people!
I returned to Vava's mid afternoon, to find her still cooking and looking stressed!! I gave more hugs, reassured her that everything was going to be wonderful and apologising for getting her into all this!! I delivered the last of the food I had made, asked again if there was anything I could do and said I would be back in an hour to help make the crowns.
I arrived an hour later to find a totally relaxed Vava!! The large glass of Champagne that Cher had plied her with was working a treat and she was totally at ease and smiling like the Vava I know and love so much! Then Cher gave me my New Year Present.
Would I be able to house sit for a few months she asked. She remembered our conversation from after the cycle ride and wondered if I would be available. Sure I replied why not!! Where and when? Pape was just arriving with Jan, Ric and Pam so conversation stopped briefly.
(Side Note - Ric and I went Kayaking that morning while Pam was diving and got caught in a huge squall with 15 foot waves and killer whales!!(Ric said I had to write that bit) Luckily we were passing the Hilton at the time and we were forced to take cover under one of the water beach houses while the wind and the waves blasted their way across the ocean. For a long half hour we sheepishly sat beneath the high class water bungalow hoping that no one would come out and ask us to move on before the seas calmed. Once the squall had passed, the sun returned and we paddled away from our hiding place and back to our cove! Ric sure knows how to add some excitement to ones life!!)
Once everyone was introduced I repeated the offer that Cher had made to Pape, totally full of the idea and overwhelming him with my enthusiasm. He asked where the house was, I asked Cher.
The house belongs to Michele Darr, her father owned Caroline Island where Pape lived 'Together Alone' for all those years. ( For those of you who don't know my Father lived on an uninhabited Island with my two youngest siblings and his wife at the time Anne. He later wrote a book about the adventure called 'Together Alone' which is still available from Amazon!!) Omar has since passed away, his wife lives with Michele in Hawaii and the house, after some disastrous long term rentals that even involved a court case, is now being rented out in short term rents.
Empty properties however attract robberies and the rental business is pretty poor at the moment, so a while ago, after yet another break in, Michele offered the house to a lady to look after in-between bookings. This lady got sick and had to leave, (all the beds are North Facing, very bad Vastu Positioning so I have changed mine to East already!!)
During one of Michele's visits, she discovered a tiny puppy half dead on the side of the road which she rescued and now adores. She now not only had a house in need of watching, but also an adorable puppy to be cared for!!
Next came a French guy, who had been at the house for about 2 months I think, but his daughter got sick in France and he left 2 days before New Years Eve. The house had been empty for 2 days, with people going in to feed the dog, but Michele needed someone to move in ASAP!!
Pape remarked on what an amazing house it was. He had often been there during his dealings with Omar and said it was a wonderful opportunity.
The evening progressed delightfully,
Tom and Vava being the perfect hosts
and their daughter Temi entertaining us with exquisite examples of deportment!
As Cher said goodnight later that evening, she said she would let Michele know I was up for the job and that Michele herself would probably get in touch with me to arrange a moving in day.
New Years Day as we drove past the house that was to be my new residence, my mobile rang. Could I move in today Cher asked!!
Hows that for a Prosperous New Year Present!!
I packed a few basics into a bag, said goodbye to Papes dogs, promising to be back the next day for their walk and cycled to Vavas to meet Cher.
At the house Cher quickly showed me around, gave me the basic house rules, no smoking, no wild parties, look after the dog and leftn
I gazed around my new surroundings in awe!!
The house itself is all wood, the main structure being made of teak. The floor is wood, the decking surrounding the house is wood, even the roof is wooden shingles.
Under the enormous roof the area is divided into three with departmental walls that don't go up to the high roof giving the place an even bigger feel. The kitchen has a lower dividing wall from the main living space.
The two bedrooms run down the North side of the house and the bathroom is wonderfully located at the end of the corridor dividing the bedrooms.
The place was spotless but the wood was so dry the place had an air of dustiness to it. I opened the large patio doors at the end of the lounge, dropped my bag onto a chair and went to meet my new friend Rascals.
I am not sure of her exact age but after two days of sporadic visits, she was bouncing up and down for attention.
I released her from her running wire and together we strolled the gardens discovering what was around each corner.
A second dog joined us, obviously a regular visitor as both dogs chased each other from one end of the garden to the other repeatedly!
Totally exhausted from her playful runs I returned Rascals to her chain and set about unpacking. The first thing that needed doing was the relocation of the main table and the sofa bed. As I said North facing sleeping is a recipe for disaster. With the furniture moved to suit my needs I addressed the wooden floor.
White scuff marks scarred the surface, where the varnish was missing dry dusty powder lay on the wood. I grabbed a bottle of coconut oil with Tiare and set to work. Two hours later my bottle was empty and I had the sweetest smelling shiniest floor.
Just as I finished I heard a voice at the door. “Hello” said the lady, “who are you??” “Hello,” I said back, “I'm Kerriann, Who are you??”
Turia is in charge of the house and had just spent two days scrubbing it from top to bottom after the last person had unexpectedly left. She was aware that Michele and Cher were looking for someone to live in but no one had told her I had got the job!! I apologised on Cher's behalf and once calm and assured that I was not a robber, Turia showed me around the house more fully.
We connected the gas up for the stove and the hot water system,
we checked all the plates and pots and pans,
we re-met Rascals and were told the things she did and did not do, I was given the basic house rules, No Smoking, No wild Parties and look after the Dog!!
With the promise to look after everything to the best of my ability and to invite Turia back for a beer on the decking one evening, I returned to my house and my charge.
Later that afternoon, once the sun had passed its zenith, I released Rascals from her running wire and we once again wandered the grounds.
Leaves littered the grass, orange and red in stark contrast to the greenery.
Tuper (pronounced Two-per) holes decimated the areas beneath the trees and around the bushes, fallen coconuts lay strewn here and there,
a BBQ area was more holes than ground,
the shore line of the beach was covered with accumulated debris washed up by the gentle tides, the beach itself was lost beneath sprouting greenery.
I returned Rascals to her area noting that here too the Tuper holes out numbered the ground space! Tomorrow I decided, we would begin to work!!
January the 2nd 2011. I have things to do!! Oh the joy of a project!
Having wandered the garden with Rascals close on my heels (also around my ankles and slamming into my shins as she careered around the place with Pepsi from next door) I decided my first mission was leaf collection.
The dogs settled down as I began to rake the thick layer of crisp leaves. The bushes all have a low wall of wood surrounding them, these lent themselves brilliantly to leaf holders!
The leaves soon made a thick mulch of bright orange around each bush, a mulch that will eventually rot down to add valuable nutrients to the bushes but in the mean time keep the weeds from growing and make the place colourful.
Next came the first attack of the Tuper holes. Tupers are like ants in the UK, they like undisturbed ground and bury their way into the hard baked earth setting up a warren like system of tunnels. Large mounds of earth are moved by these beasts as they dig and clear out their tunnels leaving the area looking war torn and cratered.
A lot of these holes are abandoned, the Tuper themselves are virtually bomb proof so armed with a rake, I filled all the holes in and levelled the area around the main bush. The BBQ area was going to take a good day to do and I had already spent 3 hours picking up leaves!
Pape had assured me that the Tupers that I had buried would simply dig their way out that night and I returned to the main house at 1pm happy with the resulting flatness.
I then cycled to Papes house, walked my girls and Nessie, checked my e-mails, answering the one from Michele asking me to move in and saw to the garden, before cycling back to my new house having updated the favoured few with my new status!!
As late afternoon approached I again released Rascals from her wire and together we attacked the beach.
Huge piles of seaweed, sticks, seed pods and other flotsam were gathered into plies and loaded into the wheelbarrow to be trundled away.
Rascals checked every piece to see if she needed it as I cleared the area and found the sand. I hung the hammock and appraised our days work.
It was nearly dark when I popped her back on her chain and brought her to sit on the decking with me as we ate our supper. I told her how helpful she had been as she looked quizically at me and wondered if she was going to recieve any more of my sandwich.
I slept on the bed settee in the main room again that evening as I still had no idea where the bedroom keys were but I was so tired I would have slept on the decking if you had asked!!
True to Papes word, the Tupers had dug their way out during the night but over half of the holes must have been empty as the ground still looked remarkably flat. I re filled the holes, raked the area again and spent and hour picking up leaves as Rascals and Pepsi careered around the garden.
A voice called from the gate and I turned to see Marimari waving from the road. I invited her in and introductions were made. She enquired about Rascals, I said she was running down the far end of the garden with Pepsi so we went to call them.
We called, we looked, we walked to entire length of the garden but neither dog appeared!! I checked next door at Pepsi's house, I called again but still neither dog came bounding up the garden as they had done all the times before.
Marimari grabbed a lead and went looking along the road as I searched the garden one more time. Totally sure that they were no longer on the grounds I grabbed my bike and began cycling up and down the road calling as I went.
Marimari returned from her search and we started up the mountain. This was not a good start to my new job!! Half an hour passed as we looked and called. Marimari said she would check further up by her place and we swapped phone numbers.
I was now desperate. The fact that both dogs were missing confused me, had they been taken? Why didn't they come when I called, until now they had both been so obedient! I continued to cycle up and down the road asking in broken French anyone and everyone if they had seen deux petit Chien, un blanc with a black eye!! Everyone smiles sympathetically and shook their heads. I returned to the house and to Krsna now installed on the counter.
Last Christmas I had made a deal to stop drinking if he brought Lotty, Lisa's old deaf and bandy cat back to me after she got out of Peters house. Once I moved here and Lotty was safe with Lisa I figured the deal was off and I had been having the odd glass of cider or can of beer. The day before, Kings Day as Jan had described it, I had consumed nearly an entire bottle of cider to myself as we dined on rich cake and searched for little figures hidden in the filling.
I knelt in front of the deities and reaffirmed my vow, telling him that using animals to get me to do things was really below the belt but if that was what it took to make me a better devotee then so be it. I promised once again to abstain from all alcoholic beverages in exchange for the safe return of my new charge and her friend. I chanted a round and went back to my search.
Within a minute of calling their names, two totally exhausted and excited dogs pelted under the road through the storm drain and came bounding up to me so happy and oblivious to the trauma they had both put me through or of the cost their escapades had inflicted onto my life!!
I re-attached Rascals to her chain and positioned her beside me as I retired to the securely strung hammock on the beach with my laptop and phone in hand and called Marimari. I then wrote a full apology to Michele and asked what I should do about Rascals escapades. I have never chained a dog, not even on a running wire and the whole thing seemed strange to me. I knew I could train Rascals to stay within the garden but that would take time and possible a few more escapes.
As Rascals is Michele's dog the final decision was hers, both dogs slept beside me as the day passed, their wonderful adventure being replayed as they slept and twitched in their sleep.
When they eventually awoke we once again patrolled the garden, this time with me keeping a close eye on both dogs, I spotted three points in the fence where the bottom wire had rolled up allowing dog size holes to appear.
I quickly blocked them with coconuts and returned to the house with both dogs following obediently and rewarded them both for their faithfulness with a handful of biscuits.
That evening the phone rang as Michele read my e-mail. She was very understanding and totally sympathetic to my plight of the day but asked that Rascals be kept on her chain. Once she had been neutered and was a bit older things would be different but for now she was too excitable and the road had take too many of her parents animals for her to risk Rascals life. I promised to keep her with me at all times and to chain her when I couldn't give her my undivided attention. I was also told where the twin bedroom key was and so that night, once I had moved the bed from its North Facing position, I slept the sleep of the Puppies returned from their adventures!!
Tuesday Pape got sick and all things took on a double intensity. I worked 6am until 9 in the garden here, then I cycled to Papes to see him before cycling back to do another few hours work here. The BBQ area was levelled and the Tuper holes filled in before I cycled back to Papes, to load the van and to see if he was able to work that night. One look told me he would not be leaving the house!
I have driven Papes van once when I first arrived on the Island. I had driven slowly along a back road with no other traffic and his constant advice on where I should be on the road, it is the other side drive over here and someone moved the gear stick too!!
Tonight I had to drive to Ares, pick up Ric and Pam, persuade Ric to sing for the evening as we had guests coming especially for live music and then set up in Kaveka with out the aid of my Fathers knowledge re the amplifier and speakers!! No problem!! I was a nervous wreck as Ric and I tried to work out chords for the few songs of mine that he knew!
Pam was a great support and together we sat and applauded Ric as he sang the evening away. I sang my few songs, messed up the last one and sat down totally embarrassed!!
The O'Donalds from the Hilton came over to chat saying how much they had enjoyed the show, the four great people staying next door to my new house came over and said that they had had a great evening. We packed up at 9.30, collected the cheque and went home, via Ric and Pams place halfway up the mountain!!
By 10.30pm the van was unloaded, Pape had been checked upon and I drove home to my awaiting baby totally exhausted yet again!
Wednesday Pam and Ric came for afternoon tea! I spent the morning redistributing the ground around the Tuper holes noting that there were definitely less dig outs that the day before, were they moving out I asked myself or was I killing the poor things?? I collected another three buckets of leaves and cleared another 20m of garden f fallen branches and bits. I drove to Pape's and made sure he was OK, I checked and send my e-mails. I then stopped briefly at Ares to pick up fresh bread as the heavens opened and a torrent of water fell from the sky!! I looked horrified at the sheet of water cascading like a waterfall outside. Ric and Pam were walking down their mountain side in this!!!
I moved toward the front of the shop unsure whether to try a rescue mission or just to just hope that they had found shelter, when in they walked dry as a bone! Luckily they had found themselves a lift to Ares just before the rain started!! My side of the Island was dry I assured them and we spent a very pleasant afternoon snorkelling, chatting and eating Home-made Subji and rice!!
Ric and Pam were returned up to their mountain hide away later in the day and I went to check on Pape again. I had been telling Pam the wonderful story of the day Lisa lost her wing mirror only to find someone had popped it onto her roof for safe keeping. This she discovered AFTER she had driven the three miles to work. We had laughed and she had congratulated me on my successful navigation of the mountain adding that I was doing very well.
I was still feeling rather proud of my new found ability to drive on the other side of the road with the misplaced gear stick when I sliced the passenger mirror off Pape's van as I passed the tall concrete post at the top of the drive!!
I was gutted!! I picked up the pieces and handed them to my father who, to be fair said not a word. He just kissed me and said hello! I asked him how he was, apologised again and again about the mirror and then assured that he would live to see another day, I very carefully drove the van back to my place!!
A tropical depression arrived that night, in sympathy to my mood I wonder, and the rain began to fall. By morning it was still raining and the garden was looking wet and soggy. In-between the huge outbursts, the dog and I filled the Tuper holes now sure that there were only the die-hards left, I abandoned leaf collection as the wind built up again signalling that another onslaught was about to hit.
The rain was torrential.
The wind unbelievable.
I looked out of the bathroom window to check my poor baby was safe in her kennel. She wasn't!! Instead she was huddled in the rain beside the house. I grabbed a cup full of her biscuits to encourage her into the kennel and made a dash across the grass.
The floor of her kennel was flooded! That was why she didn't want to go in it. I ran back as the rain lashed down and slipped on the slick concrete floor outside the house going down hard and banging my head with a sickening thud. My thumb was split from tip to first joint as the cup broke with my fall and blood was pouring everywhere. Slightly unsteadily I got myself up and dealt with my thumb grateful that although deep it was a clean gash and vaguely aware that I had no feeling in it!! I found black duct tape in the draw and bound it tightly before removing my dripping clothes and this time in just my bikini I venturing back out into the storm.
I unchained Rascals with difficulty as my thumb wouldn't work and brought her onto the back step, this time being careful of the slippery surface. I towelled her dry and gave her some biscuits to calm her. She shook from top to bottom and I sat with her on my lap as the rain beat down and the wind rushed past. She was scared, I felt giddy and so we lay down together a huddled ball of bodies wrapped in towels and simply comforted each other on the back step as the storm raged on.
At some point I must have slept for I awoke to find myself being washed with a very warm tongue!! The rain had stopped for a moment and the wind had passed. Together we repositioned her kennel beneath the eve of the house on the coral covered ground where the drainage was better. I fed her and checked that her chain could reach right to the very back should the rains begin again. I called Pape to make sure he was OK saying nothing of the drama that had happened down here. Reassured that he was feeling stronger I said that I would not come up today but would return the van tomorrow. We said goodbye and I returned to my giddy sleep to await the passing of my concussion!!
'I HAVE MOVED' part 2 coming soon!!!
PS this was the message i recieved from the great web site Gratitude Rocks on New Years Day....... How True!!!!
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