On 1 Dec, while waiting for dinner at Loola campsite, just outside our sea dormitory, we spotted a smiley face in the dark sky above...
Everyone got excited at the very rare sighting... How often do we see the crescent accompanied by 2 bight stars, forming the smiley face?
Some of the cadets decided to take pictures of it, but without tripod to handle the long exposure, it's very difficult to capture it...
I told XR that some beautiful moments in life are meant to be enjoyed and savoured and be totally immersed in those moments... Rather than getting ourselves so busy and hectic trying to capture it in a photo in vain... And that moment would be lost without us fully enjoying it, while we are busy tying to get things to work...
It was only later that I found out from a staff of Loola that the two bright stars were actually Venus and Jupiter!!! It's a rare conjuction of the 2 planets and our moon!!!
So I decided to try my luck with my G10 and managed to capture this rare conjuction... Not the best quality shots, but I was able to make do with the settings to get this shot...
The brighter one on the left is Venus, and the other is Jupiter...
Looking back at the 4 days 3 nights in Loola, Bintan, I really feel that heaven was indeed smiling on all of us on this trip...
1) An overseas trip for my NPCC cadets had been long overdue... loads of reasons cropped up last couple of years and we couldn't realise this plan... Even this year, we started with plans to go Thailand... Then the political instability there forced us to reconsider other locations... Our friendly neighbour up north was also out of consideration also due to some uncertain political developments... We had no choice but to consider Batam or Bintan... Never had I considered these two places for an adventure trip... But lo and behold, came Loola... A never heard of location in Bintan... offering an adventure getaway... The preparations for this trip was amidst the most hectic phase of my work in school... Was juggling quite a number of other matters while trying to get this trip going... I almost felt like giving up... But for the cadets who have been really enthusiastic about this, it was well worth the effort...
2) There were a number of moments during this 4D3N camp where my heart was almost in my mouth...
- On the 2nd night, the wind was howling all though the night and there was lightning at somewhere far far out in the open sea... My greatest concern was for the 10 boys who were sleeping in the open sea dorm.... Though sheltered, they would be quite drenched should the sea storm come in the night... Prepared them for the worse and prep them to evacuate in the middle of the night should there really be a need... Thankfully, the storm didn't come...
- On the 3rd day, we went kayaking after our flying-fox... There was a patch of dark clouds further out in the sea, but we pressed on to do some kayaking... the sea was a bit choppier than usual, and two kayaks capsized... The delays from helping these 2 kayaks caused us to be drifted further away from the land and to make matters worse, it started to rain very heavily and we were soon paddling against the current... This was the last thing I had wanted to happen... In fact, this shouldn't even be happening, to get ourselves exposed in the sea, in the heavy rain, against the strong current, and with 6 kayaks and 3 single canoes trying hard to return to land... Thankfully, there was no thunder and lightning, and we all managed to return to mainland after some struggle, safely...
- On the 3rd night, we were all quite excited to spot the smiley face phenomenon in the night sky... And many of the cadets started to crowd themselves on the little bridge connector linking to my sea dorm... And while we were all so engrossed looking up, all of a sudden, we heard a crisp cracking noise... The wooden bridge couldn't take the weight of so many people, and it cracked!!! Thankfully, the bridge didn't collapse or gave way totally... Otherwise my cadets would have fallen down into the muddy seabed below...
- On the very same 3rd night, our debrief session was cut abruptly when the wind started to howl again, and unlike the previous night, lightning began to strike... We decided to take no chances, and we quickly evacuated the boys to the land dormitory... It was a 200 metres walk to the land dorm from our sea dorm... What was freaky was that we were walking in the open with lighting occurring right above our heads... Had to take this risk as the alternative of staying put was far riskier... Thankfully, the thunder and lightning ceased by around 3 am... We didn't have to manage the unimaginable...
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And so, by the end of the very fruitful trip, I really feel that heaven was really smiling on us... And personally, I'm really so glad that this trip happened... The cadets were wonderful... Such a cooperative group of youths... So much fun and laughter we had... So many important lessons we have learnt together... I've lost count on the number of times where I laughed till tears were flowing and my stomach was cramped... It's been a while since I had so much fun organising a camp... And for that, I really have to thank all 13 of cadets, my 2 very capable Cadet Inspectors, and of course my fellow TO, who without her enthusiasm, this trip would not have been possible... And I guess, this trip is our parting gift for her, for this will be her last camp with us before joining her new school...
(Check out camp photos HERE)
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(For more reading on the Moon Venus Jupiter conjunction, check THIS OUT.)
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