There are fields and fields of sugar cane on the drive to Lautoka, which we do every week, so we have had ample opportunity to follow the progress of the harvest, which began a few months ago. Reggie and Lucy are particularly thrilled to spot a truck or train piled high with cane and Reggie will yell ‘sugar cane’ whenever he sees one. Well on Sunday, our neighbours finally began the process of harvesting the field right next to us, which began with burning the undergrowth. The flames came awfully close to the mango trees we’re currently enjoying the fruit of, but the farmer walked up and down the boundary with a machete making sure nothing got out of hand.
This morning there were about half a dozen workers cutting the cane and by afternoon, they were loading it onto a truck.
We went for a walk to Tony and Lesley’s and by the time we got back an hour or so later, the pile on the back of the truck was twice as high. Reggie watched from the window for ages.
He was particularly thrilled when someone gave him a piece of sugar cane to try a few weeks ago. I was surprised to discover that when you chew the cane it releases what tastes like sweet water and you have to spit the fibrous part out. I think I had expected something more syrup-y (golden syrup-y??) but that is not the case.
So now the view from our front deck looks rather different. Pretty impressive job for one day.
Reasons I Choose To Look Up 