A
fter nearly 3 full days of
travel, the 737 finally touched
down on Christmas Island.
I was a bit shocked when we got
off the plane and walked towards
the international airport, which
was basically a small shed without
electricity or running water. After
purchasing our fishing license for
the week, we loaded gear into the
back of an old flatbed truck and
hopped in our taxi, which was also
a flatbed truck with wood benches
strapped to it. The steed wouldn’t
start on its own, luckily the locals
that were there to see the plane
land pushed it fast enough that they
were able to pop the clutch and get
us on our way.
Having never been to a third world
country before, I was taking in the
sites of the island with great intrigue.
Many of the huts had chickens
walking around freely, and some
of them had a pig tied up to a tree
outside, which I learned later was
their idea of an emergency savings
fund. Along the way, we stopped
at the biggest grocery store on the
island in the village of Banana to
grab some refreshments. Everyone