Viable means of transport

Three days later we reached the place where Sandor Baci had his barge. It was evening. Everyone had arrived safely. Some reached a day or so before. Group 1 had been the slowest as expected, but we all made it. Sandor looked as old as time itself like Cawlin had described him. He was dressed in partical, non-descript clothes that seemed to be about two centuries old. A friend who looked like he could be his twin in outward appeareance came by. Their faces were different. It was the practical centuries old attire that made them look so similar.

Cawlin later translated their conversation as:

Sandor Baci: I had an old corracle that my father used to fish with before me. I had left it anchored a little higher up. It dissappeared a week or so ago during that storm.

Julo Baci: It must be at the bottom of the Tisa or it might have reached the bottom of the Danube by now. You've got many years of use out of it. Think of its sinking as a gain. You don't have to take it apart. Nature will do it for you.

Sandor Baci: I'd like to think it's used by somebody else somewhere even if I never find it again. It was made by my father's father and it had lasted all these years. So, somehow, I don't think it's a the bottom of the river. My children would never fish on it, though. Why are you so pesimistic today? Did you lose at cards? or was the wine sour?

Julo Baci: No, no, my grandson is visiting this week. He's lost his phone on his way here, and he's been going from tantrum to tantrum. He keeps me and my missus on our toes. Nothing is right for him. I've just gotten away.

Sandor Baci: I've always said those phones are the eye of the devil. Never got one myself. People ask me "how do you live? how does anyone find you?" and I tell them I'm always by the Tisa, and when I am not here I am home or at the store. So, folks know where to find me, and I've got my responsibilities here. I can't get distracted and push my stick in the wrong way. What if everyone sinks? Tisa is the only mirror I need. It's big enough. Then they go off, but they don't really hear me. They are always staring at their phone and not looking left or right. It's like they lost part of their soul. They don't see the beauty of the Tisa. It's the biggest mirror of all.

Julo Baci: Well, there is the Danube over there. Tell me how is your missus...

Then the conversation drifted off to other topics. Cawlin heard the word coracle. He knew we need it to find it. Flying separately was OK along the Bega, but the Danube is large. There are more predators of all sorts. It would be much better to stick together, and to keep each other safe.

Back on land, we decided to search for Sandor Baci's corracle. We have better eyesight than Sandor Baci, the barge man, and we could use the corracle for fishing and transportation. It could be a nice, safe place to return to after eating too much fish. It was harder than it looked. Both the Tisa and Danube are large rivers with thick reeds on their banks.

After a long fruitless search we returned to land.

Cawlin: I wish I still had my floating nest. Then I would not need to search for coracles that are centuries old, older than even Mother Cleverbrain. I should have never agreed to throw it away!

Penelope: I thought that subject was closed. It would have been an open submarine, and it probably has reached the bottom of the Bega by now. I am glad I am not in it.

The Danube was deeper than I ever imagined a river could be. It had so many fish. The Danube ducks had more dangers, but also more oportunities. There is more trash because each river that spilled into the Danube brought its trash with it, but because the Danube is bigger it is not as visible as in the Bega. Narcisa and I had a good meal made of fat fish and then we went to find desert. There were more weeds closer to the back, and some black berries that I thought could be ripe on the bank. Then I saw a dark wooden shape between the reeds. It was Sandor's coracle. It comouflaged amazingly well because of its beaten up color. It was full of sticks and mud. This was good because we did not want to be seen easily. I called the others. We all agreed it was better than any floating nest. Now the challenge of driving it remained. We also did not want to be spotted or caught.

We added grass, nettles and other prickly plants that we could get our beaks on. Most humans would not deem to touch them. Cawlin mended them together so that they looked like a sort of room like my island did before Edwina. Now the coracle looked like one of the floating islands of the Danube Delta. Athena suddenly swoops down to say goodnight before she goes out to hunt. It scares me every time, but she still enjoys it. It's the predator in her that makes her act the hunter even when there is nobody she wants to hunt.

Athena: Why are you in a floating island? I've heard that birds can live on floating islands before, but they are usually bigger.

Narcisa: It's our coracle. It's camoufladged to trick humans. We would not want to be sitting ducks for others to hunt.

Athena: Wow! Never heard of one before, but I like it. It looks prickly enough to keep humans at bay.

Me: Tomorrow morning when you go to sleep, perch on the back of the coracle. You can use the bench in there. Then you'll be with us when we float away.

Athena: Yes, I'll add some dead rats and mice tonight so it smells nice and home-like. Ho! Ho!

and she flew off to do her hunting.