improbable paths

On the road to the hospital, a few hundred feet from the site of a yet-to-be completed Korean condominium development, there's a little gravel path cutting into the jungle.

Strewn with abandoned appliances and trash, as most of the vehicle-accessible jungle spots on the island are, the path doesn't look promising to the casual observer.

But, if you follow the road up to the end, you'll find yourself at the edge of a cliff, facing due west and overlooking a rocky coral bay.

The site of a house that never was, the gravel road ends at a half-completed faux-Spanish railing, satisfyingly missing half of its rails, which runs along the cliff edge.









If you follow the railing, toward the encroaching jungle, you find a staircase.


Walking down it, I sort of felt the way Frodo must have felt navigating the hand-rail-less depths of Moria, minus the Balrog.

The zig-zagging series of staircases, presumably built as part of the same, unfinished house, lead all the way down to platform overlooking the ocean.























The spot provides a clear view down to the water, and a solid perch from which to cast a fishing line. The coral rocks were pockmarked with pipes, which had been dug into them cliff, presumably as holders for fishing lines.

We also encountered several fishermen, who were casting off reels from the bottom-most platform.

















Being fairly uncoordinated, however, I stayed far from the edge, and simply took in the view.

















We were a little early for sunset, but I didn't mind.