Welcome to Matamanoa

We were some of the very first ones to board the 9 AM Ferry to Matamanoa Island.  Of course we took the stairs up to the top deck and claimed the front row seats.  After settling in to the smug feeling of our prestigious setting, we noticed the endless line of girls in school uniforms, climbing aboard, willing to sit in each others '  laps, lean against the rail, and show their excitement.  They were 6th-8th grade girls, going to another island to do service projects for the weekend.    

The accommodations are separate little bures with outside decks,  dark cherry wood furnishings,  high open beamed ceilings with a ceiling fan, tan, brown, and black designed tapa cloth stretched up to the beams, and louvered windows to let the ocean breeze blow through.  Scattered throughout the unit, were small arrangements of hibiscus, and other flowers, nestled together on top of a leaf or two.  

Coconut trees are every where on the island

Coconuts make a huge kerplunk when they hit the ground.  IF, you can then find the one that made the loud KERPLUNK, you have the treasure.  At the end of one of the trails, there is a much used 2inch thick mango branch stuck in the ground, supported by a short tree trunk.  Someone has carved the end into a sharp chisel point.  They thrust the side of the coconut down over the chisel,

and rip off that portion of the husk. A few repeats of this action, and the coconut is husk less.