If it's Thursday, this must be the Torres Straits...

“The land is my mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment and provides our needs." Indigenous quote 

 Actually, it's Friday Feb. 14th here, but it's Thursday back home and we're inching our way through the narrow (91 miles wide) and shallow (15 meters of water under the keel) Torres Strait to our port of call, Thursday Island. It's the main yet tiny island (read 1.4 square miles) in this chain of 270-some dots of land, of which only 17 are inhabited. 

This is a tender port and the Sky must tie up in a lagoon an hour's tender away from the town because the strait is so shallow at this point. The sea is rolling and the heavens have already emptied themselves so heavily, we aren't able to see through the torrents to the uninhabited islands we are near.

I travel with a portable oxygen concentrator. Bad things happen if it gets soaked in a downpour. So that's strike one. 

I've been struggling with the motion of the ocean for the last couple of days. I don't mind the swells. It's the jiggles that get me. Our cautious reef pilot Captain Vikram keeps the Sky creeping along at a snail's pace, so every cross-current sets the ship wiggling. Our excursion manager has cautioned everyone that this will be a challenging tender ride. It will be rough. The doors and windows of the tender will be shut tight to keep out the waves and we will be packed in larger groups than usual to accommodate the 200 passengers who have signed up to see the islander's welcome presentation ashore. Strike two. 

We heard that we must stay away from the beaches, even though they are beautiful, because the waters are the home of salt water crocodiles, sharks and poisonous jellyfish. There have been many injuries and not a few deaths. The island really didn't seem to want us there so we didn't wait for strike three. 

We decided to declare an unofficial sea day and stay on the Sky. It has its compensations. I didn't have any trouble getting a treadmill when I wanted one. We were almost the only people in the spa soaking in the thellasotherapy pool. And later we heard that several people did become ill on the tender ride and many were caught in blinding rain showers, so we felt we'd made the right choice for us. 

But then I did a little digging into the island and now I think we missed something very special.

This is a modern linoleum print using ancient patterns and stylistic images. I'd have loved to see more art like this on the island. 

The Thursday Islanders are a unique mix of Aboriginal, Melanesian and Polynesian ethnicity. They have their own creole language, but voted to remain Australian when Papua New Guineau tried to annex them. Every year, they celebrate the "Coming of the Light Festival" commemorating the arrival of the first Christian missionaries in 1871. The first meeting on the beach was not friendly, but the faith took a firm hold on the residents. Our reef Captain Vikram lives on Thursday Island and says they have one post office, one bank, one grocery store, and FIVE churches.  (Oh! and four bars! He said it's hard to beat the Good Book in one hand and a beer in the other.) 

My new friend Marie said she was visiting with a local lady and a couple of the students from the high school joined them. The youngsters were extremely polite, friendly, and respectful. Marie couldn't help compare them to the way American teenagers sometimes behave. 

And Sylvia and Tom who dine at the table for two nearest ours were telling us that they had been on Thursday Island eight years ago during the Coming of the Light Festival and it was a total delight. Today, they were looking for an 18 foot statue they remembered from the first time and when they asked a local where the art work was, they happened to ask the artist's aunt. She was thrilled that they remembered her nephew's work and led them to its new installation. She told them that since they've been to the island twice, she should consider themselves honorary Thursday Islanders. 

One of the rare calmer moments near the Sky. Sometimes, we couldn't even see this island because of the pounding rain.

Forget tourist attractions, beautiful beaches or shopping opportunities (though to be fair I'm always happy to miss shopping!), we missed the island's best asset--its people.

Maybe next time we find ourselves in this part of the world...