Day 3

Feb 21 Tuesday

 Sunrise on Muri beach.

What a great day!  We caught the local bus ($4 pp one way) to the road that leads you to the track to The Needle. 

We stopped to buy water from a shop and they sold meat.  I thought this was funny:  Here is your piggie alive and in a farm.  Then on the way to get butchered.  Next up is dead,  Then skinned.  Tasty.  Your choice of pig in the freezer below.

I bought a pastry that had egg, ham, and cheese.  Yum!

On the right is a typical way they bury their loved ones, usually in their own yard.

 Ginger

Justin ate a bite of this "banana" actually I plantain, I believe.  He got super sticky fingers for hours.  Hehe.

 This pig looked like he was going to charge us.

One of the saddest houses we saw, not that any of them were much better.

Justin by a taro plant.

Map of The Needle trail.

 Took us about an hour just to get to the trailhead, but along the way, I found a mango on the ground and ate it, and I liked it!  She likes it! She likes it!  The trail started off at a slight incline, but soon was so steep I struggled and needed to rest about every 10 feet.  By now, we were dripping sweat and our clothes were drenched, climbing up ladders of exposed roots.  Being in a thick rainforest is one of my favorite places to be.  This one is perfect because there are no poisonous animals or bugs.  But I must say that I was so physically miserable, it was hard to enjoy the beauty around me. 

 Finally we made it to the top. 

 There was a flash of a colorful bird...it was a rooster we nicknamed Charlie.  He followed us to the Needle and quite a bit thereafter.  

So The Needle is spectacular.  The view was as well.  On the left side was a chain to help those hikers with demented brains to scramble around the other side for another view.  Justin wanted to do this.  Really badly.  He went up a bit then came back.  I know it was killing him to not adventure the whole way, but I wasn't excited about the thought that if he fell, it would be a straight fall to his death. 

 See the chain?

 Gorgeous bird that flies around The Needle.

 

 Whoa steep.

 Lizard.  Mostly they were all bronze.

 Yes I made it up this root ladder.  But barely.

Wild cherry guava.  It had a tasty flavor!

  Finally a pool big enough to dunk in arrived.  Cold, but ahhhhh, so refreshing.  I even gladly put my head under.  It seemed like steam was coming off me.  Putting wet clothes back on wasn't sounding fun, so I hiked in my swim suit with shirt, socks, and shoes, looking ridiculous.  Most of the time it was great except when the trail was overgrown.  

 I'm glad Justin had us bring so much water.  I was sweating so much that I never needed to pee, and for me that is a miracle.  Going down was much better. Still steep parts, but much more level.  We followed a creek, crossing it over slippery rocks every so often. 

  Made it to Wigmore Falls!  Fantastic!  Swimming was a true joy.  It was such a romantic place, except for the many mosquitoes.  

On our way down to the road, Justin noticed an abandoned building with graffiti all over it.  We went to explore.  It seemed to have been a massive resort in the making that never got finished, we deduced maybe 10 years ago.  All rooms had large jacuzzi tubs.  It looked like a movie set for maybe Jurassic Park.  Awesome to explore, but sad for whoever lost his shirt.   (Found out later that the islanders believe the land is cursed.) 

 

Nice island mom feeding her infant a chocolate ice cream. He was a happy fat baby!

 Made it to the other side!  Too bad we forgot bandaides!  Yeouch!   Two blisters acoming.   We bought cold drinks at Wigmores then fish n chips.  I had to buy a pineapple.  $5/kilogram.  Came to about $3, not too bad.  

 

Even though we were full, I insisted we buy an ice cream cone to share.  We bought passion fruit.  I have never had any ice cream better in my life.  Ever.  I swear.  Neither had Justin.  It must have passion fruit syrup in it because there were even seeds.  To die for.

  While eating our chips, we saw the bus go by.  Bad news.  It only comes once an hour.  Justin surveyed the map and deciphered it was a three mile walk.  And it would cost us an additional $8, so we hoofed it back to Tiana's Beach Bungalows.  Justin thought it would take an hour.  It took two.  We were already dying from the hike, so this was a tough walk.  Made it back at dinner time.  We ate Ramen, but was different and SOO good.  It had a little seasoned oil packet, the regular spices, and Chili powder.  I cut up the pineapple and was disappointed.  It wasn't even nearly as good as the ones we get in the States.  Boo.  We also ate a starfruit we bought at a roadside stand for about 35US cents.  I have two nice sized blisters on my fourth toes.  Yeouchy.  Went to bed about 9.