Just How Many People Can You Fit On A Bus

Saturday 23 December

Another rainy night and overcast morning, so we decided to catch the bus to town again. There is a large market on Fridays and Saturdays, selling local fruits and vegetables, as well as the usual range of market stalls, selling locally made clothes, jewellery and paintings. We made our way back to the post office and checked our emails – and found that I had mis-addressed the one I sent to Nick the other day, only for another Nick Harris to return it to us – that was kind. So we re-sent the one to Nick – hopefully successful this time – and replied to a couple of others. Everyone at home is getting ready for Christmas – big time – we heard that Heathrow Airport has been closed for four days due to fog – hopefully the “oldies” got home from Juz’s without too many delays.

We wandered around Avarua again. It was busy with local people buying their last minute Christmas food and presents – we found a few more supermarkets this time – but many of the other shops were closed – including all but one of the cafės, which was heaving with customers, so we had to resort to a bar for a beer. We did manage to buy some phone cards for the international pay phones here in town, but not sure when we will be able to use them over the holiday period, as the buses are very few or non-existent to get to town. The weather was still overcast and trying to rain all the time – that fine rain in the breeze. We decided not to stay too long in town, as the buses anticlockwise finish at 12.00 noon and there are only hourly buses after that. But we just missed the 13.00 – saw it turning the corner at the other end of the street. We sat in the colonnade and soon others joined us. A couple of young people - who had just met that morning at the airport and were staying at the Youth Hostel on the island – came from England – he from Crystal Palace and she from Hertfordshire. They had both been traveling for some months – drifting from place to place as the whim took them – they had both been to India, Nepal and Tibet, places on our next hit list – they told us to avoid May. They had been shopping for supplies – including sausages for their Christmas Day barbeque!

By the time the bus arrived – they are very old clackety single deckers, holding about 40+ people sitting on seats where the padding is almost non-existent – there were loads of people waiting – we all started piling on the bus and the seats were full in no time, and the thin corridor down the centre was soon also full of people jammed together, as at least another forty people piled on – they were even standing on the bottom step into the bus, hanging on to the handrail – health and safety doesn’t seem to enter anyone’s mind over here (no one wears a crash helmet on the hundreds of mopeds that speed around and we haven’t seen a seat belt yet). I think the driver managed to get everyone waiting on board. The bus cruised slowly along – clockwise – the longest route home for us – and it was some time before someone shouted “stop” and most of the standing passengers had to get off, to let those at the back out. Everyone piled back in again, and this continued all the way to the hotel almost an hour later – lots of people got off at our hotel, so there would have been room for everyone to sit down after that. It was all very friendly, and people loaded with shopping bags, and the elderly, were all helped off the bus.

For the rest of the afternoon, I watched a film on the television, while Colin tried to download more photos to disk, to clear some more space on the Thai Shite – but I don’t think this was entirely successful. So soon after 17.00 we made our way to the bar for “Happy Hour”, where drinks were not “two for the price of one” as is usual, but cocktails were a little cheaper. I think quite a few new people arrived today, as the bar area was nearly full. We were given a banana cocktail and a chocolate cocktail to try – both too sweet for me – the chocolate one was like drinking alcoholic chocolate ice cream, but the banana one was very creamy and too bananaery. We had another couple of drinks each – including for me a “Bloody Mary’ – which has to be the spiciest and hottest version I have ever had – just how much Tabasco did the barman put in it – but it was delicious.

For dinner tonight, grilled Pacific lobster was on the menu – I have a bit of a pash for lobster so it was my automatic choice – although it was served with a wild rice and red lentil mix (which didn’t work), a paw paw salsa and bok choi. But the lobster was huge – falling off the plate at both ends, even though the tail was curled underneath. The flesh though was delicious, creamy and moist. Colin chose classic fish and chips – which came with tartare sauce and a green salad – the fish was that meaty game fish he had the other night, but the chips were standard potato chips and not the island mix. He really enjoyed his meal too. But we still couldn’t face a dessert, even though we had not eaten anything since breakfast today – just a beer.

Back to the room and Colin tried once more to download, while I watched “Green Card”. We must do more exercise tomorrow.