This blog on New Caledonia is for those of you who ever wondered what life on a tiny island in the South Pacific might be like. Tired of bracing winter winds, the stress of an inner city or simply dreaming of a life change? This is a blog about what happens when, in the words of Yogi Berra, "you come to a fork in the road, [and] take it".

22 August 2006

The Crazy Things They Do in Water

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

I was horrified to see scores of military boys plunging into the sea, fully clothed and equipped for battle, just outside my window recently. We live in a relatively peaceful place in the middle of the South Pacific for heaven's sake! Why on earth are we being invaded? Laurent laughed a belly laugh (unheard of in the French) and his "Silly Julie" look flashed across his face. "They are just training," he explained. "They are required to do that every day for two weeks. They are on a 'stage'. They have a 'parcours' they have to climb, jump off from, swim to and back from. They have to carry heavy logs and hit each other." What in the world for, I ask. "Just in case," he explained. In case, what, I ask. "You never know," he said. Know what, I ask. No answer. Do people ever die doing these exercises, for it certainly looks dangerous, I ask. "They sure do. All the time," Laurent smiled.

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