The fishwife

Up early to walk to the fishing port again because last time it rained and today I thought I might get some pictures of brightly dressed women going to the huge church. It's the sort of hot and humid day when the camera round your neck gets to feel like a ton weight, your thighs stick together and you can't walk freely as your clothes cling to your body. I looked like a ripe chilli pepper on my return. Before I left my room I had drunk two cups of tea, had milk with my cereal and drank a litre of water during the walk but when I returned I couldn't pee more than an ounce or two. My body has learned to sweat freely, it isn't just the shiny nose option here! At the port the main fishing boats had discharged their cargoes, if any, about 4 a.m. They will go out again at 4 this evening, their lights dot the horizon at night. I saw lots of little fish drying in the sun – gosh they smell - and men mending nets but was horrified at the rubbish heaps dotted around although the village itself had well brushed tracks and paths through it. One man was holding a ceremony for his dead mother and men dressed in white shirts and turned up longhi were sitting around under an awning in front of a table where a large photograph of her was propped up and garlanded with white flower petals. The man stood behind the photo of his mother and asked me to take a photo of them both. He then asked if |I could send it to him and a friend hopped away to get a pencil and paper. Perhaps I can get it printed here and send it for it is sure to get lost otherwise. On the way I took a detour down a path that led to a water tank for I thought I was early enough to watch the women washing clothes. They were actually washing themselves and shouted at me to go away. I then saw a black and white dragonfly and took lots of pics of that so when an irate woman came and shooed me down the path I showed her the pics of the dragon flies, butterflies and some of the fishermen's pics I had taken earlier and she calmed down. This lady was sitting in the market square with her dried fish for sale. She was so pleased to see her portrait. Very few people were around and I think Sunday was probably not the best day to have gone there, or perhaps everything had happened and I was just too late.

Here is Our Lady of Good Voyage on top of the church. The church had loudspeakers from the top tier of its wedding cake build - obviously they have learned to compete with the Muezzins from the three Mosques across the bay!