The Crab Whisperer

So, it turns out I have a new talent that the folks on Palmerston taught me. I can get hermit crabs to come out of their shells by gently whistling to them. It’s hilarious. You pick one up and he (it?) tucks into its shell. Then I start gently whistling and out it comes, eyes wide open looking around for the pied piper. Just another of many of my newly acquired talents.

But, lest you think this is totally unique, I will concede that Lisa from Orcinius can also do this by singing. Since she can’t whistle but wanted to try to lure the little critter out, she decided to sing. Unfortunately she chose a Tony Orlando and Dawn song (“Knock Three Times…”). It’s a wonder, but the crab came out. Probably wondering who in the hell would sing such a song in the middle of the South Pacific in the year 2012, but who knows. Maybe they crabs are older than we think?

Other than crab whispering, it was a pretty laid back day. Well, actually the morning started pretty busy. One of the boats who was leaving today realized last night he couldn’t get his anchor up. Stuck in the coral. He asked John if he would SCUBA down and untangle it, which John-generous with his time and effort as he is-promptly agreed to help. I was the snorkel relay. John dove the 40 feet to the anchor. I floated on the surface relaying the; “up”, “down”, “stop” etc signals for those on the boat. Turned out it wasn’t the anchor that was stuck, but a bunch of chain that had coiled around some coral. It was sorted out in about five minutes and then we all got back to our coffee and morning whale watching.

Afternoon brought some snorkeling inside the lagoon. It has been windy the past two days, so the lagoon was a little stirred up and not as clear as it could be. Last night also included a huge rain storm. We were praying it would end while the folks on the island were reveling in the increasing levels of their water tanks. There are always two perspectives. Nice to have a swim though.

A walk around town, dinner with “our” family and a lovely time having dessert at Tere (sounds like Terry) Marsters home where we queried him on admin and political issues surrounding Palmerston as it relates to the Cook Islands and New Zealand. Tere represents Palmerston in the Cook Islands Parliament and is very well versed on the political issues they face getting funding given that they are such a tiny settlement on a small island.

All in all a fun but quiet day. Tomorrow; Church. It will be fun to hear the singing (in Maori). Ann and Lisa have been told they must wear dresses, cover their shoulders and wear “hats”. We think the hats are special woven ones, but are not sure. In any case, our hosts are going to provide them. Also, the islanders are very devout Christians, so no work whatsoever is allowed, so we’re planning to bring books and spend most of the day after church enjoying the sunshine, the beach and a good book.

Lastly, I should mention-several chickens have been captured and are in cages in preparation for tomorrow afternoon’s feast. That’s life on the island.