Jinja Island : Jinja Island

Time for the close-up:

Ok, so I was kinda lazy and didn't put a legend on the map, but it's not that complicated.
Blue                = water (duh)
Dark Green     = the dense mangrove fringe
Light Green    = island interior - actually many trees here (mainly palms) but not dense
Brown            = marsh flats
Red                = structures
Solid Line      = gravel path
Hollow Line   = boardwalk

The Points of Interest

1. The Stilt House - This is where Campesino and I live. It is three stories. The first is mainly open, though there is an enclosed bodega that houses the solar batteries, electrical stuff, and water collection tank. Second floor contains the open plan kitchen and den. Bathroom and shower are on a deck off the back. There's a front deck too - that's Campesino's. Third floor / loft is the master bedroom and guest room (two more single beds). More details on all this in a future post, perhaps. 

2. The Cabana - This is not quite finished. Some floorboards need to be nailed down (and I need to get to that, but it hasn't been a priority since I have not been hosting guests). It's just a room with two single beds. Graham plans to build a few more once he's installed some more infrastructure for the island. The chickens have tried to claim this one as their own, because...

3. The Chicken Coop - This is the most useless thing on the island. The chickens got loose from its fenced area sometime before I arrived, and Graham was unconcerned with putting them back in. He's over the chickens, except for one speckled one that he likes for some reason. He told me not to let that one die (there are seven). I fed them some to begin with, but I don't worry about it anymore. They seem to be doing perfectly fine foraging about the island. I know they are eating plenty, because they are shitting plenty, downstairs in the open area under the house. Bastards. 

4. The Stone Pier - This is basically just a bunch of rocks dumped in the water, but it has a shape, and the water next to it is deep enough to pull in a shallow drafted vessel. From this pier I can see the sailboats clustered around another islet to the east. Graham told me that the original plan for the island (when it wasn't his) was for there to be three separate plots for houses, each with its own water access. This is one of those. 

5. The Bodega - This is a separate storage structure and tinkering area tucked back into the far nook of the island. It's a little creepy, and it inspired me to make some notes for a horror/suspense screenplay set on Jinja Island. If you were going to stock this place up doom-prepper style, this is where you'd keep your guns and MREs. 

6. The Boat House - This is my special place. As long as there's a decent breeze, you'll probably find me and Campesino chilling here while I read a book and laze in the hammock. I spend an inordinate amount of time here. Seriously. 

(No Pic - The Termite Dock Sucks)

7. Termite Dock - This is the third point of water access. I have so far observed Graham's advice and not tried to walk on it. The name is not fanciful. The solar power handyman dropped by the island one day and tied up to this dock, and I watched him almost fall through it. He had been warned, so it was ok to laugh. 

8. The Butterfly Path - I named this portion of path myself. It actually goes through kind of a foliated tunnel with the mangroves on one side, and some stunted trees on the other. I swear that every time I walk this path, the same large blue butterfly flies in front of me from right to left. It makes me wonder if it's a blip in the Matrix. Or maybe I've been alone on this island too long. 

9. The Pineapple Patch - Ever actually see a pineapple growing? Look it up. It looks like something alien, or prehistoric. There was one rising up when I first got to the island, but sadly I am now sans pineapples. I have only pineapple bushes. 

10. The Walkway - This is the narrow wooden walkway that connects the boat dock to the house and the house to the cabana. It's in a state of perpetual rot and termite infestation. You can tell which board is about to go next, because it will start to support some variety of fungal growth. I could use some YellaWood. Come to think of it, I could probably make some good money bringing a container full of YellaWood down here. Nobody steal that idea.