The children have returned to school, and Francisca and Raphael go out to work. The banana trees must be looked after every day and every stage of their development watched. The Federation that is responsible for the export of bananas has issued very strict regulations, which have to be obeyed, and that takes hours of work. Now they both wrap bunches of green bananas in blue plastic bags to prevent the windblown palms from blemishing the fruit. “They tell us foreigners don’t buy marked bananas,” says Raphael. Tomorrow Raphael will plant sweet potatoes. He follows the instructions of the farmer’s almanac, whose growing seasons are governed by the phases of the moon.
