Yes DynaFlow, Christmas Island is one of my most favorite places on earth.


Like you, many have a deep bond with the island and the people.

I think we started going about the second year it was open through Frontiers, naturally.


My wife Marilyn went 3 times and she made friends with the locals as well.

Today, we both like to talk about how lucky we were to be able to go to some wonderful places.



In the 1980s my brother Dick and I had made friends with a native gal who worked at the outside bar at the Captain Cook Hotel and I

started bringing her "stuff" every time I returned. My wife thought I had a "girl friend" on the island but when she finally met her she

realized that we were just friends. He name is/was Retyra Mann and was just a special person. We took her an old Singer 300?,

all metal, portable sewing machine. We also took the natives old CB units that they used to communicate all around the island.



Back then we heard a story about a 22# Bonefish that was accidently netted.



One reason we stopped going was the fact that many of our guides were dying and we knew it would not be the same for us.

Their life expectancy is much shorter than ours and we did not want to hear that our "Retyra" had passed on.


My wife's favorite guide was Simon who was one of Big Eddie's brothers. He was tall, hansom, part native and part German.

When we went out with Simon, the two of them just fished and talked and I got to go by myself which was really amazing.


Too bad we have to get old to really appreciate life.