Somehow it just so happened that Grecia would be here during the survival workshop weekend Richard and I had signed up for. Survival weekend is run by an ex-military man who teaches the basics of getting by with next to nothing in a tropical climate.
Bright and early Saturday morning, we met up and were immediately given our "rations." Army MRE-type food that is hardly edible, but would sustain us should we be unable to find anything once we got "out there." Grecia and I discovered there was only one other girl in our group of ten participants.
There was a last call to use the bathroom, so we wandered into the dark old Creole house. As we waited awkwardly by the front door, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked down.
"Did that bag just move?" I asked Grecia.
We stared.
It moved again.
"I don't want to know what that is..."
We found out soon enough. As we joined the others a few minutes later, our leader was waving the bag and asking who was going to start off carrying dinner. One of the guys volunteered.
"Tonight, one of the girls will do us the honor of killing it."
My stomach sank.
I peered closer at the bag. A shadow of fluffy ears pressed up against the side for a split second.
A rabbit. They wanted us to kill a rabbit.
With Grecia gently reminding me to focus on the present moment...I shrugged off the feeling of dread and we started to hike. For the next two hours, we walked along, stopping every so often for water if needed (we weren't allowed to bring any with us) picking fruit, or learning about the healing qualities of certain plants and trees.
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| Which one of us is going to become the rabbit killer? |
At the river, we split up into two groups. Half of us went on to set up the camp site, and the other half went to collect bamboo and vegetables. Richard and I were in the first group, so as soon as we got to the site we started clearing out vegetation, rocks and whatever else was on the ground to make a proper sleeping area for our little group. Then a couple of us took out our machetes and started chopping wood for the fire.
Richard and his new adopted dad (our Creole guide) took this opportunity to start searching for grub worms they call "zandettes." We all joined in...
Grecia and her group joined us just in time...and before we left the campsite, each of us were required to hunt and eat one raw.
It was decided that it was then time to kill the rabbit. A creepy silence hung in the forest as the three of us looked at each other. I just stood there, shaking my head. There was no way I was going to hack off the neck of a furry little rabbit. Richard mentioned that this would go nowhere, as Grecia and I are vegetarian. That somehow made us the target, and so Grecia volunteered.
They got the bag and pulled out an adorable giant white rabbit by his ears as if we were just going to watch a magic trick. Who will make the bunny disappear? I burst into tears and Grecia backed down. The leader's wife demanded a vote: who wanted rabbit for dinner?! To our shock, not one person raised their hand. One of the guys mentioned he was also a vegetarian, and another said "I don't think our generation really likes to do this kind of stuff..." For the first time, I felt actual pride to be a Millennial.
As democratic as the vote seemed to be, ONE guy reluctantly said that he also wanted rabbit, and so, the rabbit's destiny was sealed. They took him behind the tent and tied him to the tree. Grecia, Jade and I walked down to the river with tears in our eyes to escape the screaming. The whole experience definitely makes you think twice about eating animal meat...even if only once in a while.
However, hunting proved to be slightly easier when a small group of us set out to the river with make-shift fishing poles. It turns out that I'm a pretty good fisherman and although I didn't LOVE learning how to gut a fish, I at least felt thankful and responsible for what I was eating.
So our feast included rabbit, zandettes, fish, and fresh vegetables!
We learned that bamboo can be used as cups since each segment has a divider.
Dinner was followed by ghost stories and then we took turns guarding the fire throughout the night in assigned groups of two.
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The next morning, we learned how to start a fire, how to find water, and then Richard's adopted dad took us to a secret cave of wonders...
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| Reunion Island is magical, no? <3 |
There was no path to the cave and for 30 minutes, we had to crawl and slide and climb up walls with tree branches to get there. I fell pretty hard on some rocks and fought a serious battle with myself about giving up. But I kept on, and by the time we reached the caves, I decided the journey was worth it. They were so breathtakingly beautiful.
And, in the end...we survived! We won the official title of "Jungle Scout."
Like good little Reunionais, we all celebrated with rum.
Dont worry, I dont think I could kill a rabbit either. Its just so much easier when you dont have to think about what you are eating
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