10 years ago I was filming for #BBCEarth on the remote Pacific island of Yap - famous for its giant round stone money. A local man, with a mouth stained red from the Betle nut he was chewing, was fascinated by our camera and so I let him have a go - he was focussing on his wife! #BBCEarth #BBC #EarthOnLocation #Yap #Micronesia #Pacific #Island #People #Camera #Technology
I was filming on the Micronesian island of Yap... While her husband had a go at using our camera, Agnes offered me betelnut and tobacco from her handbag. It's a natural sedative that has been chewed on these islands for thousands of years, and so in the interest of cultural respect I accepted. It has the unfortunate side effect of turning your mouth red and so I spent the rest of the day looking like I had bleeding gums. In this image Agnes and I are resting on a giant rai stone - the traditional form of currency. Hundreds of these giant coins stand across the island - all originating from ancient quarries on the island of Palau 450kms away. The most valuable are those for which people had died whilst transporting them on rafts. #BBCEarth #EarthOnLocation #Yap #Micronesia #History #Pacific #Betlenut #Money #Coin #Currency
Yap, Traditional Navigation
