It has been two great years living in a no “stranger danger” place called Christmas Island. Erik and I will be leaving CI in 2 days and we will be taking with us a new love. It came from us, came from this exotic tropical island, and came from the place where we were from – Hobart, Tasmania.
For a perfect professional ending, we had a great end of school year party with the kids – I had too much jumbo honey combo and watched Step Up 2 twice with the cunning little fellows; we received some of the most precious gifts from the kids – I loved the craft book Jaye and Georgie made for me and I would always remember those sweet bits and pieces until I get Alzheimer’s. There were a farewell party in staffroom and a drink party at the Francis’. I couldn’t take it and I didn’t make it. But I was happy to get the wineglasses wrapped in red and green cellophanes and the leaving photo signed by every single person, well, almost. Erik and I were happy, even if the photo was all about the swell season of 2008 on Christmas Island and titled with NO SHIP TODAY!!! We knew exactly what a Christmas Island thing was. It was neither a circus thing nor an ant thing in the Bug’s Life. It was a Christmas Island thing.
We figured things out.
Friday, the very first day of the 8-week triple paid holiday. We welcomed the house inspector to witness our burden of “2 people living in a 4-bedroom house”. He was delighted, us too. We then hopped into the car and oriented to the Noodle House for our favorite Penang Style Laksa. Coming out of CLA, we had a long drive along the eastern coast – the golf course was all green; flocks of frigate birds hovered above the coconut palms, just as usual; crabs were all hiding from the heat; the imperial pigeons still loved to stand in the middle of the road, never bothered to watch out the traffic.
It was another good day, nice and clear, with huge fairy floss in the pure blue sky. We didn’t make a circle around the roundabout but we drove to the cove initially just for having a look. The water was full, crystal clear and unspoiled. Erik put on his mask and reef shoes, jumped into the water and had a good snorkel. He wanted to stay in the water untill his fingers got wrinkled. The coral was brilliant too. Greens and purples and pinks, offset by flashes of yellow and electric blue and green of the myriad of fish that swam at the Flying Fish Cove. It was a great day in the ocean.
I only allowed my ankles touched into the water – the flippers shipped away and I couldn’t snorkel properly without my fins. So I just sat on the sandy beach, listened to the Two Years in April from my brand new blue iPod Nano. I thought it was my first time taking it with me down to the Cove. I laid down on the beach mat, staring into the deep blue sky, daydreaming. There were bosuns, boobies and frigate birds that flew over the sky. I saw for the first time the male frigate birds with their big red gullets out. Mating season was arriving if it had not arrived. They were truly magnificent birds and there was one frigate bird that acknowledged us. It came over to the beach and hovered at an arm’s length above us. We had never seen them so close. Ever. We could even feel it disturbing the air. He/she was saluting us.
Pre-Christmas dinner (w/out cheese) was in Rumah Tinggi. We were told the cheese was still on Cocos. I loved the coconut palms there as I always did, but I hated one particular person right in that house, for real. Back home in Taman Sweetland, the geckos were still out there air kissing. I loved it.
During our 2 years staying here, we didn’t jetty jump even once, it wasn’t all because it was a hell of a jump down into the water, but once in our lives we were still happy to be called Christmas Islanders, and we had the mark of CI on us. We wouldn’t jetty jump for a second time even if we did the first, but we will still come back and revisit the island. One day.
We figured things out, just by the simplicity of this Christmas Island and the famous “is that possible” question. We remember the days snokelling at the Cove, going down the caves, standing on the cliff’s edge, fishing amongst the blowholes, staring eye-to-eye with the huge endemic birds, avoiding the crabs on the road. We remember all the creatures, big and small, on the land and in the sea. We remember all the nature. We find the truth. We are going back to our Hobart home.
Christmas and New Year gifts couldn’t come any better.
