Thanks everyone! I'm glad you all took the time to read that long post. Markospoon, if you are seriously interested in joining Blue Blase, feel free to send an email to the Captain and he will explain the process to you. Its a hell of an adventure and it looks like I'll be on Blue Base next season as well. Tired of living on a yacht already, the beach is more my speed. The internet is beyond horrible here but I will try to keep in touch. I'd love to post some of the great new pics I have but that's hopeless with this connection. Here's a little recent story though.
The other day I was hitching back to the boat when two guys picked me up. One of them turned out to be an important man in the community and was in charge of the large church conference in town. People come from all over the world just to attend. Most of the royal family is also present. He invited my friend and I to be his guests at the feast. This is the most lavish feast I've ever seen, they feed over 2k people, twice a day for a week. There was music, colorful traditional outfits and performances by various local tribes as they presented their gifts to the royal family.
We were sat at a table with incredibly friendly and welcoming people who were very curious about who we were and what we were doing on the island. The hospitality of this country continues to amaze me but it was the food that truly blew me away. A whole roast young pig, I got an ear 5 massive crayfish (lobster) cooked various styles including the best thermadore I've ever tasted. Grilled, baked and raw fish, also Ota Ika which is Polynesian style ceviche made with fresh coconut cream. 2 different kinds of shrimp, various mollusks cooked in their shells. The most tender octopus I could imagine cooked in its own ink. Fried and ceviche squid, mussels, and clams. Deboned fried and stuffed chicken wings, more pork and lamb curry. They also had a very unique dish that I can only describe as sweet fat. Basically it was cooked soft pork fat that had been caramelized, interesting play on flavors and not too bad. For dessert we had bread pudding and ice cream sundaes. Everything was as fresh as can be and cooked to absolute perfection by mothers and grandmothers who've been cooking seafood their entire lives. It was truly a feast of epic proportions and one of my most memorable meals to date. At the end of the meal I was introduced to the Queen and Queen Mother, both were very happy to have me in the country and love the work we are doing here. Ive gone back for round 2 and 3 since the first day, each time sitting with different families. Always a great time!