the bad news: we finished too early today as the rain was too much for the apples to bear picking. the good news: today, i had the greatest apple i’ve ever eaten in my entire life. it was perfectly red, moist and juicy, and crispy, and wet, and sweet, and soft in texture. i don’t normally finish apples in my life as i don’t like the innards of an apple fruit with the core and the seeds, so mostly likely, i end up eating my apple like this shape -> )( . however, this apple was different i almost ate even the seeds, and the short stem clinging on its crown! it was my own kind of super apple!
earlier today, we’ve been actually thinking if there will be work or not as the overcasting cloud was so thick and it has been raining for quite a while. kelly, our boss picks us up daily at half past seven in the morning, and today he arrived about 15 minutes late. as much as we wanted not to work today as the misty and gloomy mood make us feel lazy, we can’t reason enough that we needed money as well. so, i was confusely happy and sad to see when kelly’s truck came. at the orchard, i finished my bin yesterday so had to start a new bin. about half way on my first bin, dylan (the tractor who moves our bin from time to time) said i just need to finish one bin and that’s it for today. apparently, the rain will continue for the whole day and it’s not good for the apples to pick when wet and soaked. they bruise more easily, and rot. after 2 hours of picking and climbing up and down the ladder, i finished my bin and went back to the shed, waited for a while and headed back to the hostel.
kayo and the others from the vineyard (where i worked before orchard) were back already as they can’t work as well. we were planning to go to napier tomorrow, saturday, for some shopping and look around what’s going on for the art deco week. napier is the biggest city in the hawke’s bay region, and if i’m not wrong hastings is second. though napier is just some 20 kilometers north of hastings, i haven’t been to the area before, so today being early out at work is not bad after all as kayo and myself went to the center. however, the rain got stronger on our way and most people here in new zealand probably didn’t know that a device to keep you from getting wet, called umbrella, exists. i, for one, don’t have an umbrella, but wore a hooded jacket and ran aimlessly from shops to shops looking for a bargain backpack. the biggest and cheapest i found is a vauer assymetric 70 liters valued at $230. i got a sleeping bag (wayfarer, 50% of from kathmandu) at $80, and a shirt for $25 too. having spent more than $300 today, i have to earn them back from the apples or grapes next week. i’m thinking of going back to the vineyard next week as doing the apple work is so exhausting for me, and the money is not as good as working with the grapes i guess.
to say something about the town, napier, i find the center really classy and full of character. the buildings, like hastings, are remnants of art deco buildings. the city undergone total reconstruction after the destructive 1931 earthquake, building the infrastractures more quake-resistant and in style. shops are scattered along main streets, and it was art deco festival, a 1-week long celebration where many people dress up in old-fashioned clothes, and cars of old ages sprung and lined the streets. the old cars are impressive, even with current warrant of fitness! (a kind of vehicle license here). for a while, the vicinity feels and looks like having gone back in time. we were in napier just for a couple of hours as we have to catch the bus going to hastings at half-past 5. not having seen much apart from the shops, and marine parade boulevard, i might go back next time, and ‘will complete some more shopping before leaving hastings.
more pics -> napier
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