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hugging strange men was culturally inappropriate for her .)
Back outside , the children were running around , chewing on green reed stems , and haggling over candies . We were allowed to mosey about the island for a bit , before boarding one of the ‘ Ferrari ’ boats to the main island . As we pushed off , the children hopped on , too . They played , dancing in the bows behind the dragon heads and finally wandered about , singing a song that ‘ welcomed ’ us in a dozen foreign languages .
As they made their rounds , holding their hands out for coins , it became clear that they had been told to go busking , but I was just so very impressed with the many different languages they had learned the refrain in ! Once again it was easy to feel like this was yet another way to extract tourist dollars . And I suppose it was . But knowing how much things cost on land , and having seen the tough life these people chose to lead , I can only feel impressed with their creativity of producing things that someone might happily part with a few Sols for .
Afterwards the girls sat in the bow , innocently counting their coins in full view of everyone . The principle of ‘ there ’ ll be time enough for countin ’ when the dealin ’ s done ’ hadn ’ t tainted their innocent minds yet .
Day-to-day life went on in the golden evening light as we floated past . A few ‘ Ferraris ’ and small wooden boats were still about , but it felt very much as if with nightfall , life on the islands would slow down and go to sleep . We arrived on the main island , lovingly called ‘ the capital ’, in time for dinner and many guests took up the offer of freshly fried trout . Others opted for a cheese sandwich at the small shop , also serving hot instant drinks and coca tea . The man behind the counter seemed a little stressed , slapping sliced cheddar onto cheap toast while directing his wife to make the various drinks from a large kettle powered by a solar panel .
Gourmet this was not . But the meagre quality at a high price was easily explained by the fact that the islanders had to bring everything in from town , didn ’ t have a fridge to make quality produce last , and still needed to make a living off the sales . I felt bad about consuming their hard-to-obtain supplies when I could easily eat in town in a short while . But then I did want to support their income , so I opted for a coca tea . I didn ’ t need it for altitude sickness , which it is known to relieve . But it had gotten markedly cooler , and I was glad for its warmth .
Most of us had already done our shopping with the families on the previous island , but one guy was glad when they opened the capital ’ s craft shop . He was only wearing shorts and t-shirt and was shivering as the sun made for the hills . Moments later , he emerged with a thick alpacawool pullover and a huge , relieved smile on his face .
A little wander took me past the tiny cabins , where guests , who were staying the night , soaked up the views , cups of steaming tea in their hand . Behind , ducks were waddling all over laundry spread out over the reeds to dry . Fragrant smells of fish and chilli wafted over from the dark , smoke-blackened cooking hut . An older woman sat on the floor in front of a pottery stove , purposefully placed on a large flat stone to avoid setting the reeds on fire . Her pink and green skirts almost filled the rest of the tiny space . Her eyebrows were drawn together in concentration , and she was so engrossed in stirring ingredients into her simmering cauldron , she didn ’ t notice me watching .
Feeling like an intruder , I returned to the bustling tea counter , where a cute black kitten kept everyone entertained , suicidally dashing between punter ’ s legs . Like tiny black lightning , it whizzed past in hot pursuit of invisible mice and tumbled over itself chasing through the reeds . When it was time to leave , the kitty hopped onto the boat with us . It seemed they lead the best life a cat can have , travelling between the islands and being looked after by all , wherever they show up .
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