Cocos Sports Weekend

We head to Cocos Island for a sports weekend, which was organized through the sports club here on Christmas Island.  My knee is still in recovery mode, so I'm going purely as a tourist.  

There is touch footy (touch rugby), cricket, golf, and soccer organized, with the main event being a big soccer tourney on Saturday.  It's crazy hot, and I'm kinda glad I'm not out there running around like a crazy person.  The fields are epically beautiful, lined by palm trees and a few steps away from the lagoon.

On the way to soccer tourney, we spot a handful of green turtles off the jetty.

Later in the day we relax with some drinks in the ocean.

The next day is a big game of cricket, which Arthur opts out of, so we end up taking a motorized canoe tour of the islands.  (Cocos Island is a series of several islands that make up a coral atoll; you can easily cruise around the lagoon in the middle where it isn't very deep, and the waters are always calm).  We set out with a handful of folks and start it off right with a champagne breakfast, accompanied by a chicken with a sweet mohawk.  This island is also crawling with small hermit crabs.

We then cruise over to another island and walk the short distance across it, through the jungle, to the ocean side where we go for a dip.  And along the way we come across the granddaddy of all hermit crabs. All in all a great trip!

Racking the Beer

Five days later, the airlock stops bubbling, which means the yeast is done doing its fermenting.  A couple days later I sterilze the 19L (5 gallon) keg we have and all the tubing, and Arthur helps me siphon the beer  from the fermenting jug into the keg.  The two key elements during this step is to prevent aerating the beer (which introduces contamination from any airborne microbes that will spoil the beer) and to keep all the equipment sterile throughout the process. We have a couple bubbles during the transfer, and I end up sticking my arm in the keg to get the siphon going, so we'll see (in several weeks!) if we have contaminated brew.  It needs to sit for at least 3 weeks, with longer waiting producing tastier beer.  For now, the keg sits in the corner in our office, the one room with full-time air-conditioning, that has the right temperature for the brew.

Homebrew

We inherited some homebrew supplies from a friend, and after ordering the remaining necessities and a few recipe kits, I delve into the world of homebrew.  I miss hoppy beers, so the first recipe I try is a Fat Yak IPA.  The most involved aspect is the careful sterilization of the equipment, as well as all the water, which needs to be boiled for 10 minutes, put into sterile containers, and cooled.  After that, though, is the fun part: boiling the malted grain, adding the hops, cooling, and adding the yeast.  It all goes into a big fermenting jug, and then it sits for about a week, while the yeast does it magic.  A simple airlock is added to the top: water is put into the 'S' bend, so the CO₂ can vent off while preventing contamination from the air. You know if the yeast is active if the airlock starts bubbling. The next morning brings vigorous bubbles, and we're on our way!

Happy 28th, Arthur!

Dinner at the Rumah Tinngi, eating out on the lawn.  In daylight it looks out over the ocean.  At night you can just see the coconut palms, and their warning sign.

I'm actually lucky that knee started to hurt when it did, as it coincided with the orthopaedist's yearly visit the island.  After a few consults, I go in for arthoscopic surgery, and in addition (hopefully) to a fixed knee, I get a picture of the scope of my left knee - the end of my femur bone.  The light part is the cartilage around the end of the bone, and the dark oval part on the right is where the cartilage has become detached.  The little white chunk on the lower left is where the detached cartilage was hanging out. The doc went in and removed the detached cartilage and smoothed the edges of the tear.  It's been week now since the surgery, the bandages are off, and I'm feeling pretty good.  Still don't full range of motion, but can put all my weight on it and walk around without any pain.  I'm still totally amazed the technology of arthroscopic surgery - how the heck can they fit a little camera in there and have enough room to fix stuff up?

Arthur's been a great help this week, keeping me well fed, my knee well-iced, and even entertained by his mad yo-yo skillz (yo-you compliments of sister.  Thanks for the care package, Nella! :)

View out our office window as the sun sets over the port.

Arthur's been perfecting his bread baking, with a recent focus on baguettes.  He's discovered a "Pain a l'Ancien" method which includes keeping the starter refrigerated for a day or more, and it really brings out a host of nutty flavours I've never really experienced with baguettes before.  So very nice.