Sunny day in Tonga 9/4/08

IT'S NOT RAINING

Now sitting on the deck with the sun in my face - even sweating a little. Drinking coffee and listening to the roosters.

More provisioning - the third time now - we are getting really good. We should have plenty of food and drinks now.

Set off at about 10 AM - had to listen to the 8:30 AM weather report and morning show!!

I took us out of port - very nervous but Bryan was right there with me.

Wind was good - only put up the Genoa. Sailed to Nuku Island - anchored at anchorage 8. Dingy over to Nuku to snorkel. Water was chilly so I wore my wetsuit - glad I brought that - only 1 mm thick but it kept the chill off. Used my Scoobado rag too!! It did not work BTW. My hair was a tangley mess when I was done.

This is one of my favorite pictures - you can really see how blue and clear the water was. This was just off where we anchored before going over to Nuke.

Saw so many great colors and fish - blue starfish every where, cow fish and a bunch of huge slugs.

Sat around on the sand for awhile then back to Sapphire Seas for a chicken frank lunch.

Great sail over to the Ark Gallery. This is floating house boat that Larry and Shari live in with their cat Cheeto. Shari sells her art there. We dingy'd over and bought a painting after being greeted nicely by Cheeto. Got a great shot of Cheeto taking a dingy ride.

Back to the boat for a shower and nice relaxing dinner - Sally made Oyster Beef and Chinese noodles.

We drank Kava for the first time - it tastes like muddy water and makes your tongue feel numb. I don't think I felt anything other than that but I may have had too much wine with dinner.

Neiafu Vava'u 9/3/08

Rained like crazy last night, thunder and lighting right above us - hardly slept at all.

Chart Briefing with Sandy (Ed, Amy, Bryan and Collette). Dan and Sally off to find more provisions. He gave us the basics; tides - watch them, Keep garbage on board and throw all organics into the water, No water on the weekend - maybe Sat in the AM, Sunday church services, Whale watching - illegal to swim with them if there is guide boat but if you're out on your own - jump in if you see one! Went through the entire chart - where to stop, where to eat and what to see. Took 2 pages of notes

All of us (except Bryan) bundled up and walked into town. Was so thankful I brought Denise's raincoat and my keens - rained the entire time but it was amazing the supplies we found. Steaks at the first market PB and Sons, Oil, wine, then to the bakery for hot dog buns and cinnamon rolls, then found the farmers market - wow, fresh fruit and veggies galore. Rained and Rained.....

Back in one piece then had a wet lunch at the Aquarium Cafe. Great soup and hot tea. Decided to stay in the harbor that night - just too much weather to venture out our first time.

Kicked back on the boat and napped, learned how to play cribbage then Oh Hell. Sally made a great pinapple dip with tortillas she bought from the Aquarium Cafe. Showered and to Mangos for dinner. Had on my pancho and Denise's jacket, almost didn't bring either of them - Dingy ride was very wet! Dinner was just OK - veggie pizza. Ed's spaghetti was yuck. Power went out this night too.

No rain on the way back to the boat!!! I even see stars!!!

Tongatapu and Vava'u 9/2/08 Tuesday

Finally on the boat - let me recap

WOW - what a day yesterday. Up at 3AM - we left for the airport at 4:45 had over 1.5 hours at the airport for an amazing cup of coffee and yummy banana bread. Ed bought us some Kava. FIJI airport was great. Nice shops - a ton of them. Flight was perfect - breakfast and a funny show on the video system.....

Then BAM - Raining like crazy in Tongatapu. Had to get a transfer over to the domestic terminal (which looked like something you would see in TJ). Looking around at the open air terminal there are no computers and two counters - At our airline counter (Air Fiji) there is no one there - were they just out to lunch, no, they were out of business.

Thank goodness for Edward tours (that's him above) - he came to save the day. He packed up our bags and took us to the travel agency downtown. Got on a flight going up to Vavau that day but will have to come back on the 12th not the 13th. We have to stay the night in Tongatapu on the way to Fiji. Had a nice lunch at Friends cafe. Little tour around the town - King's Palace. Got to the airport at 1 - flight at 2. Absolutely gorgeous views from the airplane. Vavau even more rural - pigs and dogs everywhere.

Moorings was right there waiting for us. Marina is a lot less than the BVIs but OK. Our boat is called the Sapphire Seas II

Girls took off to gather the required provisions and to exchange some money. Shopping....OH MY!!! There were slim pickens. Got the important stuff - Vodka, Beer, Wine, Rum. The chinese store (not sure why it was called this) had chicken franks, spaghetti and Dan's diet coke. Sally got a lift in the stores truck while Collette and I headed off the the bakery. Then it started to pour - the bakery let us borrow umbrellas thank goodness. We still got soaked.

Ok - we're fine now. Packed it all up and had a great glass of wine to relax and reflect. Provisioning is going to be a challenge.

Showered, then our first dingy ride off to dinner at the Mermaid in Neifu. It was a really cute outdoor restaurant. Raining hard and took a long time to get our food because the power went out. Ed had a good burger and I had soup - good but salty.

Back to the boat for our first night - it's going to be tight quarters but WE'RE ON VACATION

Nadi - Fiji 9/1/08 to 9/2/08

Now at the Tanoa Hotel in Nadi Fiji and it's Tuesday 9/2/08 very early in the morning. I didn't do much journaling yesterday. It's 3:42 AM (8:42 AM at home) - sitting here drinking a really good cup of Fijian coffee. I feel great --> got a really good night sleep. We all went to bed at about 8. Yesterday was very relaxing. Slept ok on the plane but was still very out of it. Got to Fiji at about 5AM but did not get to the hotel until 7. Lots of news about Gustav on CNN - praying for those poor people in New Orleans. Nice hotel, small, quaint. After a good shower and breakfast the girls trekked over to the Westin to drop off a bag for our stay after sailing. Country side is beautiful but they are in the process of burning the sugar cane so it's really smoky. Our Taxi driver Mohammad gave us a nice tour on the way over - BTW the Westin is beautiful and look forward to staying there.

Layed by the pool and tried to nap but just couldn't. Got a great workout in and then a nice walk around the facility. Drinks and a great Indo Fijian dinner.

It's going to be a long day but WERE ON VACATION

Our adventures in Tonga begins - 8/30/08

We are off - sitting at the gate waiting for the rest of our sailing buddies. I am so nervous - did I get everything done, did I pack the right things, is Angel going to be OK? We are going to be gone for almost 3 weeks. I have to stop and enjoy this trip. Don't let that little kitten ruin this trip for me. Just so much anxiety - I am really so lucky I can't believe it.

Worked really hard getting ready for this trip - working out, watching calories, shopping, packing, re-packing, reading blogs/travel sites, getting instructions for the house done.


Goals for this trip - #1 Relax and Reconnect with Ed - it has been a crazy summer. Have fun, don't stress out about work or weight or the house or lists or what to wear.....Really want to enjoy every moment

It's now 9:50 PM Hope they make it - we have a long flight ahead of use - almost 11 hours to FIJI See you in FIJI