Mo'orea: Day 19

Although perhaps not the most productive day in terms of projects, it was none the less quite packed.  After breakfast, we once again sampled along 5 transects in Gump Reef, counting Lithophaga in Porites lobata for three hours.  The data did not look promising, but I am hoping that when we compare the data to other sites, it will reveal more about the infaunal community of coral heads.  Then, after lunch and some data entry, my group and I decided to visit the juice factory just down the road.  We were a few minutes late for the tour, but they were gracious enough to give us our own.  The factory was very hot and humid but it was interesting to see the whole pineapples complete the process of becoming packaged juice.  Along the tour, we came across the jam station and it just so happened that a taste test was being completed, so we got to try some pamplemousse (grapefruit) jam which was so delicious!  The grapefruits here and much unlike those in America, these are green and much less bitter.  

Back in the classroom, I picked up a Tahiti travel book and learned some interesting things about the Society Islands.  First, the seviche often served at meals is actually a popular dish on the islands and the cream I have been tasting is actually coconut milk.  Also, the black pearl market is only second to tourism.      Which reminds me, I still have to set the black pearl I have from Hawaii.  

After dinner, I lay on the dock to watch the stars with a few other girls.  The night was very clear and the Milky Way shone bright.  We found Saturn, Mars and a few other constellations, but mostly, we made up our own.  I saw a total of six shooting stars that night, remembering to make wishes on each one.  As I lay there, the smell of deet reminded me of fishing.  It has been a while since we have gone as a family, but I can picture some of those moments with perfect clarity.  Of course, I will never forget the time I fell in the river at Mammoth.  I thought about how far away I am from home, yet at the same time, in comparison to the distance from the stars, I also felt so close and so tiny in this expanse of universe.