Neighborhood

Dinner with friends in tiny apartment. 

Every once in a while we hang around with our lovely neighbors. 

Satomi works in a bakery, Shinji works in a lodge, Sugi does Hawaiian dyeing, Reiko is a nursery teacher, Tsuyoshi is a chef. They all do Ocean sports, surfing, supping, swimming and snorkeling.

bird talk

 

You guys! That road is very dangerous! I've seen gigantic machines with wheels moving at high speed! I know the grass looks greener on the other side but why don't we just go to the beach instead...

We are crossing Mario! We are hungry and that tree seems to have what we want!

Let's go guys! We are not going to starve any longer. 

But Che don't you think Mario is right, I mean haven't you seen them! those humongous machines that make that noise!

Look guys I think we have to act! It is now or never!

Follow me! 

 

 Oh men! Here we go! 

oh oh oh 

ruuuuuun! 

stop! 

ok go!

 

Yeah! We made it! Uff tough life we've got! 

Thanks Che for your encouragement.

Never mind guys!

wait a moment, why didn't we just fly to the other side -.-;

nature of ogasawara

 

 Wonderful colors and shapes to be found in the Island. It seems to be a blur but when you get closer to objects you can see an infinite amount of detail, all of these created by nature. All the inspiration that you can obtain by just wondering around it. 

The Island is semi tropical so you can find exotic fruits that were brought to the island by human beings. The most exquisite one for me is the Mango and the best way to eat is with your hands! A mango is sold for an outrageous amount of money, it is cheaper to buy Mexican mangoes that have traveled so far. You can also find papaya trees, banana trees and passion fruit vines. 

It is sad to say that fruit is very expensive so we don't buy it often, but along our road there are many banana trees that to my believe lack an owner ; )

Mark's magical blog

check out this blog

early rise - cloud hazy over rising sun - wanted to surf - last two days watching wind rapping the sea against the rocks - brewing waves - albeit weak - could ride though - thoughts racing by - watching them go - where from and where to? - rode waves for an hour - sooooo shallow - like 10cm under the water the living reef - Now coffee charges the brain - and inspiration has a chance to be channeled 

 

Mark Stone - Great writer and an amazing photographer.

Wood Pigeon

 

The endangered Wood pigeon can only be found in the Ogasawara Islands. From November to March they start looking for their female pigeon and start mating. The male sings to attract the female but there are other males that also sing at the same time and the female gets to choose. They lay eggs and after 20 days of hatching "pop" a new pigeon is born. At the beginning they are just black but as they age their peak turns yellow and their feathers look like this. 

In Chichijima they have created a sacred woodland just for the pigeons, it is called the "sanctuary".  My job right now is to check on them to make sure they are mating and having a peaceful existence. The energy of the untouched woodland and the smell of all nature can make you dizzy.

Sunset

Hatsuneura beach view

Beach Art 3

 

 

There is a little village called Pelan Village close to were we live. It is ran by a family trying to live a harmonious life with mother earth by being as sustainable as possible. They also have volunteers from WOOF to help them out improve their village. One of the volunteers we met is named Hiroki and on a day we bumped into him at the beach in town, just before we were about to open a nice bottle of wine. Great weather, talking about real things we wanted to do in life and the journey's joys. He went back to mainland and on a normal day our postman handed us a rectangular box... my lovely tried to stop the postman thinking that it was a mistake mail but it had our address on it. We opened it and it was a very kind present from our friend Hiroki. We drank it in your honor. Thanks a lot :) great surprise 

To keep this great memory I collected what people call trash from the beach and stuck it to the nice bottle of wine. With all the little pieces (shells, crab bits, lighters, glass, plastic) from the beach the pieces started to shape like a puzzle. One piece at a time.

Beach Art 2

 

This little one I found too at the beach, I am guessing it is a float or something similar with an aperture that makes it look like a frogs mouth. Very cute. Painted with Oil paint markers. Good for pretending to attack someones finger or just for simple decoration ;)

Beach Art

 

I found a piece of ceramic at the beach. Kept it in the car waiting for inspiration and this is what came out of it. You can find so many of this ceramic bits, before it landed in my apartment it must have been a part of a beautiful ceramic pot or who knows what, and who knows where it could have been before, or who's hands made it and when? I think it is a very romantic idea to bring little treasures and transform them into pieces of art. 

Raw Apple Pound Cake

 Made it the other day. It didn't look much like this gorgeous one but it sure did taste yummy. I recommend this moist cake if you have a spare apple in your kitchen. It is really easy to make. I made it with a microwave-oven, those things work... sometimes.

Raw Apple Pound Cake  (www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups apples - peeled, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Cream together oil, sugar, and eggs. Blend in flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir in chopped apples and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until done. Cool.