Today we venture to where the pepper grows. We stop at one of the countless pepper farms in the hinterland. After stocking up on black and white pepper, there is a short tour of the farm grounds.
The pepper plant grows along a string towards the sky, similar to hops. When the grains are ripe, they are harvested and dried in the sun through air and heat. We head to the Starfish Beach, near the village of Rach Vem.The beach lives up to its name, as we find the first specimens within seconds. In Rach Vem, the (male) village community gathers and inspects various roosters. Unfortunately, we cannot find out if they are meant for fighting, mating or frying. This hen could definitely use a rooster to help her guard the chicks, she has over 15 of them! While the dogs are exhausted from the heat of the midday sun.. .. we enjoy a fresh coconut under palm trees and move on, as the jungle calls! On the red dirt road between the villages of Rach Vem and Ganh Dau, the canopy of leaves thickens more and more. We realize that we are actually cruising through the jungle when a toucan flies past our nose. We leave the scooter behind and set off on foot along a more or less paved trail through the forest. Birds chirping and whistling around us, vines hanging across the forest, and we see huge, ancient trees. At the furthest point of our hike, we are very lucky: high up in the treetops, we see and hear wild monkeys. We see monkeys for the second time this day, but it has a less beautiful background. As the road is being expanded to four lanes, deforestation is taking place next to the road, including the former habitat of this monkey family, on whose remains they are still sitting. We enjoy the sunset on the lonely Vung Bau Beach. We actually wanted to take a short swim, but a jellyfish species we do not know prevents it.When it's dark, we stroll through the night market in Duong Dong, the vibrant capital of Phu Quoc. It is designed for tourists and offers everything a vacationer could desire.After this exhausting long day, we fall into our beds exhausted. Tomorrow we are going to Saigon.
