Disclaimer - See Chapter 1
Chapter 22 - Field Trip (Part 1)
The group consisting of Mimi, Sordd, Peter, Adam, T'Shahel, Avarak, and Saros had spent the morning meandering along the trail, climbing higher and higher into the mountain passing numerous waterfalls and pools.
Mid-morning they had stopped at the top of one of the waterfalls, a sheer cliff face which dropped 60m into the valley below. Thousands of years of erosion had resulted in the formation of a rock pool right at the very edge, with a high lip. Avarak and Saros, who were wearing special wetsuits to keep them warm and afloat, had followed Peter and Adam into the pool. The boys all screamed with a mixture of fear and excitement as the force of the river pushed them to the edge before the lip brought them to an abrupt halt, the water rushed past them and flowed over the precipice. Mimi looked towards Sordd, concerned for a moment that he would not be pleased with the display of emotion, although it was too late now. He simply raised an eyebrow.
"Sordd, I hope Saros's parents will not be upset…"
"Kaiidth. T'Sai Mimi. What is, is."
From their position the boys could look over and watch the water cascade down the side of the cliff to the pool below, or if they pulled back from the edge a little they could see the deep blue of the ocean in the distance appearing to meet and merge with the edge of the pool and become one. T'Shahel sat beside Mimi on a large rock taking in the view. She had quietly shadowed Mimi the entire morning, a sharp contrast to the exuberance of the boys.
When they came out of the pool all the boys were elated, talking ten to the dozen. Sordd showed a great deal of interest in what they all had to say, at the same time endeavouring to bring some semblance of control with his quiet manner. The boys each dried off then took their time to eat a snack. The whole group then continued upstream to explore more pools and waterfalls.
The sunlight pierced through the lush green rainforest illuminating the path before them. The trail was dense with moss and ferns. The boys shuttled back and forth between forging ahead up the trail and coming back to the main group who were walking at a more sedate pace. Overhead there was a rich canopy of green peppered with a brilliant display of vibrant colours from different flowers including the yellow flower of the Acacia tree, the purple-pink flower of the oha wai tree and the mass of fiery red and yellow stamens of the 'Ohi'a lehua tree. Every so often a gentle wind would blow producing a heady scent from the various flowers. At every turn all of the children, but in particular Avarak and Saros, were filled with a sense of wonder at what was all around them. So very different to anything they had experienced on Vulcan. Sordd and T'Shahel were suitably impressed as well. However, their reaction was more restrained, in the usual Vulcan manner.
By midday they had reached a pool which was suitable for Avarak and Saros to swim in. It was a beautifully clear blue pool with the added benefit of a small natural beach. The group decided to stop here for the rest of the day.
Avarak had just finished washing his hands in the river and had found himself a comfortable rock to sit on. Peter sat down beside him, they were fast becoming good friends. The other members of the group were scattered around sitting on various rocks.
"What are you having for lunch Avarak?" Peter asked, genuinely interested.
Avarak produced a flask out his bag, "I'm having plomeek broth. Followed by kaasa. I also have some Vulcan green tea and yon-savas krei'la for later."
"What is kassaa and yoon-saaavas kreeei'la?" Peter made his best attempt to pronounce the words, but he didn't quite get there.
Aravak raised an eyebrow at his pronunciation but said nothing. He then looked in his bag and produced something that had the appearance of a grapefruit except it was blue-green in colour. "This is kaasa, it's a fruit. Yon-savas krei'la are Vulcan biscuits. Would you like to try one?"
"Yes, I would love to try it." Peter replied quite excitedly as he had never tasted Vulcan food before.
Avarak looked in his bag again and produced a silver rectangular container. He opened it up and handed the container to Peter, inside were a number of light orange-red coloured biscuits cut into star shapes. Peter took one. "What are they made from?" Peter asked while holding it in his hand for inspection.
"They are made from butter, wheat, yon-savas fruit syrup, and mixed spices." he counted the ingredients off on his fingers.
Peter bit into the biscuit, he chewed for a few moments and then had a look of pleasant surprise on his face. "It's chewy. I can taste a hint of all-spice and then some other things I don't know. They are really nice."
"Yon-savas syrup has a strong flavour its maybe that you are tasting. What are you having for mid-meal Peter?" Avarak looked up at him.
Peter looked in his bag and replied, "I have Moroccan rice with harissa, dates and orange. I also have apples, chocolate and a traybake Aunt Mimi made for afterwards. Would you like some chocolate?"
Avarak tried to hide the sense of shock on his face, "You are allowed to have chocolate?"
Peter looked back at him slightly confused, "Yes of course."
Avarak raised an eyebrow, "I am not allowed to eat chocolate as it would make me drunk." he frowned.
Peter shook his head, "It doesn't make me drunk!"
"Quite Fascinating!" Avarak replied.
"Would you like to try Aunt Mimi's tray bake then? It's called 15's." Peter asked.
"What is is made from?" asked Avarak.
"It's made from coconut, digestive biscuits, marshmallows, cherries and condensed milk." Peter said.
"That would be acceptable."
Peter handed him a small container with the traybake inside. "I warn you it's very sweet."
Avarak took one of the pieces. It was shaped into a small ball. It was fairly solid, with a brown biscuit base interspersed with light pink, white and dark red bits, coated in coconut. He broke a small bit off and ate it. He was immediately struck with the sweetness and texture. "It is satisfying. It would go better with tea than plomeek broth." he put the other bit in the silver container beside the other biscuits, "I will keep the rest for later."
Peter, who was now partial to Vulcan biscuits, spoke again, "Would you like to do another swap?"
Avarak inclined his head, "What is a swap?" he replied.
"I give you one of my 15's and you would give me one of your Vulcan biscuits in return." He looked at Avarak hopefully.
Avarak's eyes lit up. "A swap! Yes, lets do that." This now meant he could give his father a whole piece of the 15's. He was inwardly very pleased.
After they had completed the swaps they sat down and continued the rest of their meals in silence.
After lunch the boys were entertained by taking part in a scavenger hunt that Mimi had prepared. Peter was paired with Avarak, and Adam was paired with Saros. They were currently collecting different objects into a bag. Sordd and T'Shahel were away gathering some flowers. T'Shahel wanted to try and make a flower garland which she had seen some humans wear. Mimi was sitting on a rock watching the world go by...
Suddenly Mimi's peace was interrupted. You could hear them before you saw them. The boys all returned at once, gasping and out of breath. Their faces were flushed scarlet red and a dark green respectively as a result of the exertion. They were all totally caked in mud, including Saros. Mimi looked them up and down and inwardly sighed, boys would be boys.
"Ok, lets see what you have all got. I will read the items and you need to show me that you managed to collect them." Mimi said.
The boys sat down on the ground, not particularly caring that it was slightly wet.
"First thing on the list is a leaf, there are bonus points if you can tell me what kind of plant it is from. Peter and Avarak go first." Mimi said again.
Avarak held up a large leaf, it was wide, elongated and slightly rounded. The surface of the leaf was waxy, it was very flexible and had an olive green colour. "Avarak can you stand up with that please?" Mimi asked kindly. Avarak stood up and held the leaf against himself. "How tall are you Avarak?"
He straightened himself up, "I'm 1.051m." The leaf he was holding was at least double his height.
Mimi laughed, "I think you and Peter have managed to find the biggest leaf in the forest!" Avarak looked at Peter and simply raised an eyebrow, Peter smiled broadly.
"What kind of plant is it from? Mimi asked.
Peter replied, "We think it's a banana leaf."
"Well done." Mimi replied, "What about Adam and Saros, what do you have to show us?"
Adam held up the leaf they had collected, it was long and slender with an oval shape. It measured about 8cm long and had a waxy bluish-green hue.
"Ok, What it is Saros?" Mimi asked.
"It's eucalyptus." he replied.
"Well done Saros. And interesting choice of leaf. A bonus point if someone can tell me an animal that eats eucalyptus?"
Adam was quickest off the mark, he put his hand up first. Mimi indicated for him to answer. "A koala bear!" he said excitedly.
"Well done Adam!" Mimi smiled. Avarak and Saros both made mental notes to research what a koala bear was.
"Another bonus point if someone can tell me what eucalyptus can be used for?" It was Avarak's turn to put his hand up first. "Ok Avarak, what do you think?"
"It can be used in medicines and it is also an essential oil." he said confidently.
"Fantastic Avarak!" Mimi smiled broadly again.
She then looked back at her PADD. "Ok. Second thing on the list is a flower..."
They continued to work through the scavenger hunt list identifying various plants and animals from different feathers, seeds, grasses, mosses, tufts of fur etc... Saros had even found part of a broken egg shell. This brought no small degree of excitement among all the boys, Human and Vulcan alike. After some research on their PADDs they identified it as a Red-crested Cardinal eggshell.
By mid afternoon things had settled down into a more sedate pace for the whole group. This was after the dive bomb competition the boys had. Neither of the Vulcan children had ever heard of 'dive bombing', but they quickly caught onto the idea of the game... Peter won!
The boys were now swimming in the blue pool. Sordd and T'Shahel were sitting on a rock not too far away. T'Shahel had started on making her garland with the flowers they had collected. Mimi was sitting on the small beach reading a book on her PADD. Eventually she put it to the side laid down on her back and closed her eyes. All around her there was the sound of running water mixed with the songs from numerous birds singing in the canopy and the sound of children's laughter. It was idyllic… Mimi drifted off to sleep.
Notes
Yon-savas - fire-fruit - a strongly flavoured yellow to red-coloured fruit
Krei'la - biscuits
Kaasa - fruit - blue-green fruit often made into juice
Gespar - fruit - native fruit that tastes tangy and piquant; lives in temperate zone of Kir Province