Christmas day we dressed Chris as Father Christmas and took 3 hampers of goodies to the few people that were on the Island for Christmas for one reason or another:our askaris,
the 6 fundis from Arusha or Dar es Salaam who were not able to go home for Christmas
and a third box to the old fisherman, his wife and 2 sons who have always lived on the Island and have been allowed to stay on.
Their eyes lit up and the smiles grew as we unpacked cans of beer, juice, biscuits, chocolates, popcorn, fresh vegetables (compliments of our very own veggie garden), sugar and salt. We also had some chickens sent over from the mainland for their dinner. We wanted to make sure that EVERYONE on Lupita would have a feast.
Chris and I cooked a huge turkey in a metal box surrounded by coals and enjoyed our dinner on our patio watching the lights of the fishing boats and hundreds of stars. The evening was so beautiful that we pulled our bed onto the patio so that we could lie in bed and enjoy the gorgeous sky. It was a perfect day.
Four days later, the old fisherman's wife from Lupita arrived at our gate with 12 small fish and one of their own chickens to thank us for our Christmas gift. We were so touched. This humble family have only a couple of chickens of their own and here they were giving us one of their most prized posessions. The old man's wife appologised to us saying that they had wanted to repay our kindness earlier but that today was the first time since Christmas day that her husband had been able to catch some fish that were large enough to give to us. It is a Christmas gift that we will never forget.
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