The Bunch of Bananas Was as Big as Our Four-Year-Old

We're a family of four living aboard Leo Nui, our Leopard 48 catamaran, in French Polynesia. We went up the hill behind the anchorage with Dad (James) and Aunty Brittany to cut bananas, which on this boat means our four-year-old, Chelsea, learning to come down a muddy slope backwards, one knife, and a bunch that turned out to be the same height as she is. Chelsea (4) spotted the big one from underneath. She helped cut the wedge, watched the tree come over, and carried what she could of the haul back down. A gecko came home with the bananas and did not want to leave. What's in it: Teaching a four-year-old to climb down a wet slope backwards - hands on, feet dug in, and do not sit on your backside because it is all mud The difference between the little baby bunches and the big big ones, seen from underneath the trees Cutting the wedge, and why the tree wants to fall all at once rather than politely "Boom. Nice job, Chels." The haul: a bunch as tall as the kid who helped cut it down Aunty Brittany takes down a second tree, and the part nobody films - getting the bunches back out of the tangle once it is on the ground Washing the whole lot in the lagoon to get the insects and the dirt off before any of it comes aboard The hitchhiker: a blue lizard riding the bananas, sitting on Chelsea's back, Maverick (19 months) learning the word "gecko", and the argument for keeping him Filmed in French Polynesia. Music: "Owies Ukulele" by Michael Ramir C., "A Happy Child" by Diego Nava and "Sweet September" by Arulo (Mixkit). If you have cut your own bananas - how long do you hang the bunch before the whole thing ripens at once on you? Ours seems to go from solid green to all-at-once in about three days, and then we are eating banana bread for a week. #bananas #familysailing #sailingwithkids #boatkids #frenchpolynesia #liveaboard #catamaranlife #leopard48 #sailinglife #islandlife #gecko #foraging #boatlife #offgrid