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| 01/23/2001 |
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| Tangkong'island
- INDO. |
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| S
08°43 E 116°01 |
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| +43 |
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After the
storm, the island is quiet again.
Our little hut resisted quite well and our
electronic devices seem to work. We set a line
on the beach on which hang our few clothes,
completely wet ! Marco's black underpants are
hanging not far from us, like a pirate flag.
Living on an island is like being on a
boat, the human behaviors change after a
little while. There is not much to do except
fishing, swimming and pick some coconuts. Then
begin some games : funny or more serious, then
'question and answer'... at the end, everybody
goes to meditate in a part of the island.
Three clans seem to be formed on the atoll:
Vale, Maya, Marco and Moon (relaxed and
serene), Theo, Aleko and Aria (restless and on
the alert), and at last the 8 fishermen
(curious but shy).
Suddenly, a huge motorboat appears: white
people... 6 strangers ... they seem to speak
Dutch. Both sides are very surprised to see
white people, and we salute each other with a
tensed smile. After the event, we wait only
for one thing: that they go away of 'our'
island. The fishermen tell us there is an
island called Gili Nanggu in front, where a
small hotel organizes visits of the
archipelago.
For lunch, coconut, and for dinner...
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That's
strange: seen with a mask and a
tuba, the sea is full of fishes of
all forms and dimensions; seen
from the top of a rock with a
fishing rod, it seems completely
deserted! We fish two skinny
fishes, enough for one 'child's
menu' ! The Team is close from
depression !
But tonight is special:
tomorrow, that will be ALEKO'S
BIRTHDAY... Let's party !
Maya and Vale (the island
sirens - 2 women for 13 men)
persuade the fishermen to organize
a party together. They give us
fish, we provide animation!
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We begin by exchanging
cigarettes (rough tobacco for
them, Marlboro lights for us),
then comes a game of dominos, and
at last the dinner: 15 beautiful
fishes, served with rice and
vegetables, dressed with a very
spicy sauce! What a luxury!
A the end of the dinner, Aleko
grabs his guitar... and the
silence ends.
He goes on playing a lot of
songs, from his own compositions
to the Rolling Stones, Bob
Dylan... and even improvising on
some Indonesian music! The notes
fade in the humid heat, as
everyone beats the rhythm on a
plate, an old can or a bottle.
On this lost island, our red
elephant celebrates his 29th
birthday! CHEERS!
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ALEKO...
Thoughts
"One of my dreams would be
to own an island, so I could
invite all my buddies for
holidays... Concert ! ... Open Bar
! ... Giant Jacuzzi ! ... Girls !
... Heliport ! ... Sting and Mick
Jagger singing together !"
"I regret I didn't bring a
hammock with me. That's so cool to
swing under coconuts, watching the
sky!"
"There is one island in
the world I really love:
Ithaca, Ulysses'
homeland."
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The only
book on the island is the Koran.
We improvise a little lesson of
theology:
90% of the Indonesians are
Muslims. The creator of Islam is
Mahomet, the prophet, born in
571 A.C. His Word began in
612. Mahomet was not pretending to
have a supernatural power, but
being the only Prophet of God.
Islam's fundamental dogma is
that there is no other God than
Allah. Islam means 'submission'
and its faith supposes to be
entirely turned to Allah's wisdom
and accepting the rules. Examples:
pray 5 times a day, respect the Ramadan's
fast, avoid to eat pork...
Muslims can marry several
wives. But, in Indonesia, the
husband must ask the permission to
his first wife.
At that point, all the
fishermen burst into laughs!
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Objects:
Axe, Guitar, Hut, Hook
Names: Sun, Coconut,
Mosquitoes, Rats
Verbs: Sleep, Fish, Swim...
Survive!
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| Guide our next
steps, insert contacts & info on |
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