Islander Day 0: Time To Find Out

Here it goes another adventure to delight my relatives and friends during those get-togethers, and I can assure you guys that this one tops my personal list.

It all started when, as a child, I read Daniel Defoe's classic "Robinson Crusoe". I was fascinated by the challenge posed by the author: surviving in a tropical island isolated from the rest of the world. I always wondered how I'd cope with such situation if one day I found myself in the shoes of the Scottish castaway. The same question came back to my mind years later when I watched the movie "Cast Away" and again the first evening I saw "Lost" with my friends in England. The initial curiosity became a small obsession. I needed to know. I needed to find out. Could I survive in a tropical island isolated from the rest of the world? and if so, how would I do it?

Last week I said goodbye to my friends at Din Dang determined to find out how much of castaway there is in me. I visited a near farming gear store and a convenience shop to complete a special shopping list that I had been thoughtfully composing for more than two months:

• Knife
• Garbage bags
• Lighter
• Candles
• Torch (Flashlight)
• Fishing line + hook
• 4 cans of beer

I put the new items into my stinky rucksack and hitchhiked 42 km to reach a small pier near Ranong. A few hours later I arrived to the small island that I had carefully selected to stage my adventure. I said goodbye to the boatman and set off in search of a beach to set up my base camp. Just before dusk I found the perfect location: a small stripe of white sand enclosed in a quiet bay and flanked by dramatic rocks on both sides. Three features supported my choice: a spring of fresh water, shade (trees) and the abundance of mollusks on the rocks.

My next goal was to find shelter for the upcoming night. A careful inspection of the area and the 'beginner's luck' gave as a result an abandoned bungalow on the forested hill that rose up from the beach. The place looked quite shabby -full of litter and dead insects- but the roof seemed reliable and the darkness of the night was too persistent by then to turn down this option. I cleaned it up and set my mosquito net. I also unfolded my raincoat over the mattress to avoid any unfortunate contact with bed-bugs.

So far so good, in less than 5 hours I had found fresh water and shelter, not bad. Around 9 pm I went down to the beach to face my next challenge: fire. I collected some branches and what seemed to be dry leaves. I stacked them up and fed the lot with a flaming ball of paper. Smoke came up but it vanished after a short while. I tried again. Same outcome. Once again. No luck. After my fourth attempt I realized that it had probably rained before my arrival to the island and therefore the leaves might not be that dry after all.

That night it took me some time to understand that my first failure wasn't so. Almost by accident In the middle of my desperation I looked skywards only to discover one of the most breathtaking spectacles of nature: thousand of stars staring back at me embraced by an endless milky way. No words to describe it. I savoured my first can of beer as I tried to sketch the few constellations that I learnt in my childhood. Soon my eyelids became too heavy to sustain them open and so I decided to head back to the spooky bungalow were I was to spend my first night in the island. Sleep tight Iñaki, this has just started!

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He aqui otra de mis aventurillas para el deleite de familiares y amigos en esas largas sobremesas. Prepararaos porque esta es de las buenas! Todo empezo cuando suendo un nino lei el clasico de la literatura "Robinson Crusoe". El reto propuesto por el autor, sobrevir en una isla tropical, me fascino desde el primer momento. Pasaron los anos y peliculas y series de television me devolvian a aquel sueno de ninez, seria yo capaz de sobrevivir como lo hizo el famoso naufrago escoces?

Cuando aquella manana me despedi de mis amigos de Din Dang tenia un proposito claro en mente, descubrir cuanto de Robinson corre por mis venas. Asi pues pase por dos tiendas del pueblo y complete la lista de la compra que habia preparado concienzudamente durante meses: Un cuchillo, unas bolsas de basura, un mechero, unas velas, una linterna, anzuelo y sedal y cuatro latas de cerveza. Tras un viaje en autoestop de 42 km me plante en un embarcadero cercano a Ranong. A primera hora de la tarde llegue a la isla que habia seleccionado cuidadosamente para albergar mi aventura. Me despedi del barquero y me adentre en la isla en busca de una playa para levantar mi campamento base. A ultima hora de la tarde encontre el lugar perfecto, una pequena playa asentada en una bahia tranquila y flanqueada por rocas que la hacian virtualmente impenetrable. Otros argumentos a su favor eran el manantial de agua dulce que yacia de una roca y la abundante sombra que me daria cobijo en las horas mas calurosas del dia.

La noche se me echaba encima y debia encontrar refugio para dormir. Una busqueda minuciosa y mi suerte de principiante se materializaron en forma de cabana abandonada. Monte mi mosquitera y extendi mi chubasquero sobre el colchon para evitar el contacto con las chinches (que como las meigas, haberlas hailas). En menos de 5 horas habia encontrado agua y refugio, nada mal para un principiante.

Sobre las 9 y ya de noche baje a la playa para afrontar mi siguiente reto: hacer un fuego. Recolecte hojas y ramas secas y las amontone ordenadamente. A pesar de disponer de un mechero y algo de idea mis intentos no daban resultado. Tras el cuarto deduje que seguramente habia llovido esa manana asi que las hojas no estarian tan secas despues de todo. Minutos despues entendi que mi primer fracaso no era tal. Casi por accidente, levante mi mirada al cielo y descubri uno de los espectaculos mas asombrosos de la naturaleza. Cientros de estrellas me devolvian la mirada mientras la via lactea surcaba el firmamento como una bufanda de seda. Y asi, mirando al cielo y tratando de dibujar las constelaciones, saboree la primera de mis cuatro cervezas. Pronto mis parpados se tornaron demasiado pesados para mantenerlos abiertos asi que decidi emprender camino a mi cabana. Descansa Iñaki, esto acaba de comenzar!