Many people have asked me why we traipse thousands of miles across oceans in (relatively speaking) a small vessel, not without some risk and at some (not inconsiderable) cost. Our activity today provides at least one answer.

We arrived yesterday and anchored off the village of Hila on Pulau Romang. We planned on going in to the village by dinghy...but after the overnight sail we got a little busy cleaning up and then we got a little lazy. Besides, Captain Ken had invited the crew from all four rally boats (8 guests) over to Moonbeam for hors d'oeuvres and dinner, so we needed the time to get ready. I made my friend Evelyn's hummus recipe and also baked sandwich wraps to toast them up and make pita chips. (Can't drive over to the A & P for supplies.) Thanks, Ev. They were a crowd-pleaser. The Captain made a superb shrimp and scallop scampi dish. No one went back to their boats hungry.

Today, we did go in and we had one of those experiences you just can't get any other way. The children were on their school lunch break and ran down to greet us and help us drag our dinghy up to the beach. I had forgotten to bring my stash of candies and stickers with us...and while I initially regretted it, it was fortuitous because we couldn't possibly have had enough for all of the children who appeared. As we walked through the village, we met Jossie, a young man who spoke English and was happy to be our guide. He walked us up the (one) road of town, up...up...up...and pointed out all of the sights and celebs: the 'hospital' where a doctor comes occasionally, the school, the library, the church (Protestant), his home, his mom, the 'governor's' home (of course, the nicest, by far), the ladies laying out their cloves on tarps to dry, his elementary school teacher, and...his English teacher (also with one of the nicer homes) who inspired him to go to univerity next year i n West Timor to study to become an English teacher. Jossie had a friend climb way, way up into the trees and throw down two kinds of oranges for us to try and buy. Ann (a Yogi Berra protegee) caught them all and is in her glory since she finished her last mandarin orange yesterday. Accompanying us on our walk were pigs...of all sizes and colors, looking for lunch. (It was noon!)

Whether the people of Hila know it or not, this is a very, very poor island, at least by most people's standards. There are some homes which are slightly more substantial than others, but not by much. However, several homes do have satellite dishes for TV and most have electricity, since much of the town was illuminated last night. There is also a pipe which runs down the island and provides water. If we stay over into tomorrow, Jossie wants to show us the coconut farm (which we had spotted from the water.) Their economy exists on the trading of copra from coconuts, cloves, and of course, fishing.

No...you don't get to experience this on a Carnival cruise.