Mantanani is so ridiculously peaceful in the morning. I was first out of bed today, and I have no desire to go back there when this world is out here for me. All there is is the sound of the waves lapping against the shore and the occasional call of a bird and the slight rustle of a breeze through the trees. The rest is silence.
Today is our last full day on Mantanani already, so I think we're back to the hard work today! I just cannot believe that we have basically a week left before we head home already: the time has gone by so, so quickly!! Seeing as we're heading to the jungle next, the hardest part is probably still to come, but in Borneo everything has been a challenge, so there'll be nothing new there!
The main thing that this expedition has done is constantly surprise me. It surprises me when I'm shown the world in a whole new light; it surprises me when I discover new cultures and traditions that I had no idea existed; and it surprises me when I'm shown just what I'm capable of, which is more often than not far more than I've ever dreamed possible.
6:45pm
After breakfast we were briefed about the beach cleanup project and why it's important to remove litter from the beaches, and then we set off. We had a 400m stretch of beach to cover. At first all of us were litter-picking, but then we changed tactics, which meant that me and some of the others headed back to camp again to begin sorting the rubbish out. We had to sort it into specified categories so that the data about how much we had collected etc could all be analysed properly, but some of the categories were really oddly specific and others were very vague, so sorting it wasn't actually as easy as you might imagine. Once sorted, it all had to be counted and weighed as well. In total, we collected and sorted just under 90kg of rubbish by 11:00, which is apparently another record broken by our team!
It felt really rewarding, but also a little pointless to be collecting all this rubbish when we've seen how the villagers dump it all and it will be just as bad again tomorrow, but at the same time I know why it's a really important job and it is a good feeling to know that you're helping to save the lives of marine animals and birds.
In the afternoon, we headed down to the project site where they're building the community/Homestay hall. We were packing the bottles together with chicken wire and mortar to make the walls. It was ridiculously hot - about 45°C, so there was a fair amount of grumbling (including from me), but we all took turns so that people could have breaks and we got through it.
This evening should be good as we're holding early birthday celebrations for Gemma (18 on the 23rd) and Ethan (17 on the 25th) as their birthdays are whilst we're in the jungle, so we decided to make the most of the opportunity here to throw a bit of a party.
8:30pm
After dinner we had banana cake and layer cake trifle for dessert as a special birthday treat, and then we all sang Happy Birthday before heading down to the beach for a bonfire. However, just as we started making our way down we heard a pattering on the roof of the eating area. We ignored it at first as this isn't unusual - in the evening a lot of leaves fall from the trees if there's wind and that makes a similar noise. But the pattering quickly turned into a roaring and before we could even comprehend what was happening, it was raining! Rain on Mantanani in the hot season? Even Ida looked shocked! At any other time we would have welcomed the rain with open arms (we still kind of did because of the heat, even though it was terrible timing). Everyone ran in from the beach, and Hattie started sprinting through camp, screaming that her washing was out - at which point I realised that mine was too, so I dropped my water bottle from where I'd been filling it up and ran after her. We all just about managed to rescue it in time and string up a makeshift washing line inside the bunkhouse where it would be out of the rain.
We thought that that was the bonfire plan out of the window for the evening, but then word spread that Dave still wanted us down at the beach for another surprise. So despite the rain (which was surprisingly chilly), we met him there, where he was waiting with marshmallows and biscuits which he'd somehow managed to get hold of in the village shop! Gemma and I had only been reminiscing about making s'mores on Girlguiding campfires the other night, so it was really lovely. Toasted on what was left of the bonfire, we stuffed our faces, finishing them all in good timing just as the fire went out.
And now, after all that excitement, it's time for bed...
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