The boat is back in the water and we're
now home-sweet-home again. We spent a couple of days getting
everything tidy, and the boat's livable again now, but final repairs
are still going on outside of it (I'll bet you're sick of hearing
about the repairs. Trust me, so am I. But no worries, once the boat
is all souped up, it'll be about another 5 years before we have to
get stuck with maintenance again! Besides, it's aaaall a part
of the boat life; love it or leave it).
I had planned to finally get back to
work on my writing today, as I do have a deadline for my work, even
if it's not a 9-5 job. But I woke up today to the usual scratching
and hammering, which goes on from sunup to sundown these days. The
construction noise was more than my ears could take after a couple of
days of it, and especially after waking up from a nightmare I had
about monsters invading my house - I wasn't in the best mood.
I had just finished reading a novel
about a man who journeyed on foot across the U.S. after losing
everything in his life; his business, his home, and his wife. Then,
browsing through the Internet for awhile, I stumbled on an article
about the numerous benefits of walking for 40 minutes a day or so;
and then after some more browsing, found a sort of Astrological
predictions video on this month apparently being a phase of the year
where our need for physical activity is high and will gain us
much-needed energy if we “heed the call”. So I took all these as
signs that the Universe wanted me to get walking today. Ali thought
it a welcome idea too.
When we were looking for a temporary
apartment in Carmen a couple of months back, we accidentally stumbled
onto some mountain trails and had planned on hiking them one day; so
today, we decided to head back to that place.
Maybe it was because Survival Camp had
trained our muscles and mentality for arduous trekking, but our hike
up the mountains was a very pleasurable one, with just a few beads of
sweat running down our backs from the heat, and a few pants now and
then. Along the way, we were met by a variety of views: a hundred or
so rubber trees scattered for miles; a bright, open field under the
midday sun, filled with vegetation; and a cool, shady trail of forest
dotted with ferns (which ferns we of course picked for food, just to
re-live our glorious Survival Camp days).
Halfway up, we decided to stop and
admire the view, which was now an expanse of mountains, fields, sea,
and sky. We relished the silence for awhile under the shade of a big
tree. Then looking up at the tree, I was pleasantly surprised to see
that it was the kind that bore little tropical “berries” called
Aratelis! Childhood memories suddenly flooded through me of jumping
over a fence into someone's backyard with my brothers and friends,
and quietly picking those sweet, succulent little fruits, while
stuffing them into our folded shirts to collect. We would pick the
fruits until the owner shouted at us to get off his property, and we
would scramble away with our prized goodies; and then come back again
the next day. I had been dreaming to taste these berries again ever
since I'd gotten back from Canada...which was more than 15 years ago!
So now I picked and picked, and ate and ate, to my heart's content.
Ali looked at the berries skeptically at first, while I squeezed them
and delightedly sucked their insides into my mouth. Then, after a
taste, he decided that they were “Really quite good and very
sweet.”
After our berry-fest, we continued our
hike up the mountain, and were rewarded with a view that got even
more breathtaking. There's something about being on top of a mountain
that can instantly wash away all the day's worries. I suspect it's
because when you're at that height, looking far down below at the
crowd of houses and buildings gathered in the towns, you become
literally, and then figuratively, above it all. And when everything
below looks so small, you feel like your daily worries, which you had
left down there in the city, are that small too. Miniscule, compared
to the grandeur of the Universe. So we stood contentedly in the
vastness.
It was late afternoon by the time we
decided to call it a day. Walking back down, we did one more stop off
the trail, at a grassy meadow, to take in the view, the peaceful
silence, and the cooling breeze one last time, and I got to pick some
more berries for a last fill of juicy sweetness.
On the way home, we passed by a sign
that said “Mud Crabs for Sale” and another great idea struck us,
so we motored back to the road where the sign had pointed to. We had
been back on our vegetable diet for a few days now, so we figured it
was time to get a good boost of protein again. We were able to
purchase some large crabs at a local fishery, and finally went on
home, eager for our special seafood dinner.
There was some rice left over from
lunch, so I simply cooked some more, just to make sure we'd have
enough to go with our crabs. Unfortunately, I burnt the rice because
I got so engrossed with writing this blog; so I put some potatoes to
bake in the oven instead, as an easy alternative.
I have to admit, I don't like putting
live crabs into boiling water, especially while they fight for their
life; I feel almost inhumane doing it. But I believe in the saying,
“If you can't kill it, don't eat it.” So I stroked the crabs'
heads to put them to sleep, and then with my eyes half-closed, popped
them into the boiling water. A little mishap went on, as the legs of
the largest and feistiest crab suddenly clung onto the side of the
pot in an attempt to escape. I let out a little squeal as it
frantically tried to get out, and I frantically tried to push it back
in. Thankfully, the boiling water killed it in a matter of seconds.
Well...cheers to supper! (And my deep apologies to the last crab.
Next time, I'll be very sure to make it a quicker death for you
guys.)
So my day didn't start off on the right
foot; but I was able to end it with a big smile on my face and a
satisfied tummy. My work awaits me tomorrow. I'll probably have to
put in some extra time to make up for the lost one today. But
sometimes, I guess you just have to put off your plans for the day,
so the Universe could give you a better one.
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