Grossest and Stinkiest Fruits in the World!

Ahh, the noni fruit.  We tried Noni Juice 15 years ago when it was a trendy MLM in Utah and tasted like vomit.  Imagine our excitement when we found wild noni growing on trees on a hike one day!  One smell and we knew EXACTLY what it was!  It looked like a "blob of green with a bunch of warts." (Brigham).  We picked one and bribed the kids to try a piece, with a reward of watching Coyote Peterson eat a noni on his YouTube show, "Brave Wilderness."  Brig and Lil were brave enough to try it and boy was it gross!  Although, it tasted better than it smelled.  The deal was to actually chew it before we chased it down with some water and we did it!  The health benefits are amazing, so we knew it would be worth it.  Coyote threw up after eating his, so we felt pretty good about ourselves!

We watched a video about the stinkiest fruit in the world - the Durian.  It is even banned in some stores because it smells so bad! So, when we found one at a frutaria, we HAD to try it! It didn't even smell that bad; how bad could it taste?  We cut it open and the smell was released...something interesting... It had little creamy, custardy pods that tasted like onion ice cream.  It was definitely not as bad as noni!  It's so fun to try all these new foods!

The giant fruit on the right is a jack fruit.  It was super sticky when Adam cut it open and was full of yellow sections that tasted like starburst.  Delicious!  It took us three weeks to eat it, but we did it!  The other fruit is a cacao.  We sucked the sweet flesh off the cacao beans and it tasted super yum.  Then we'd munch on the beans.  We later learned what a process it is to roast them and crush them into powder!

Brigham loved the crabs all over!  They were easy to catch and fun to look at.  We found a few inside too...

Adam had a cool experience.  We knew that there was a coral reef not far off the shore near our house, so Adam and Brigham checked it out one day with their snorkel gear.  They saw a bunch of lobster, so Adam bought a metal rod, pounded the end into a hook, and determined to catch himself some lunch!  A few days later they headed out to hunt and came back successful!  They cooked up the lobster and we ate it on the beach.  How cool is that!?  THIS IS SO FUN!!!!

Lily's not so sure if she wants to try it...

Proud boy right here.

We had all made the goal to individually finish the Book of Mormon by the end of our trip, and now we were down to crunch time and each needed to read around 10 chapters every day!  It was a daunting task, but the kids were champs.  Our house became a sacred, spiritual place at night when everyone quietly read their scriptures.  I cherish these times!

We were living the LIFE!  We'd wake up around 6, read scriptures to the sounds of toucans, howler monkeys, other birds galore, and insects buzzing on the open deck with hammocks and rocking chairs.  Eliza usually woke up first, so we'd get her a bowl of banana-cinnamon oatmeal and let her watch Little Einsteins or Daniel Tiger.  When the other kids woke up we'd study scriptures during breakfast.  We studied the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual, which has built in discussion questions, so it was SO fun to discuss together!  We all learned so much and loved it!  Then we'd get the kids going on their school work, lock the doors, and go for a run!  It's hard to describe the beauty of this place.  Running alongside massive, mossy, green trees, the humid air, the birds singing, the sloths reminding us to slow down and take it easy, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore nearby...Best thing ever.  We LOVED our runs together, as it was the only time we got alone and we always felt so rejuvenated.  After we returned we'd pack up and head to the beach!  Can't get much better!  So loving this lifestyle!