Day 72, Year 2: Good Day, But More Internet Frustrations
Date: Thursday, July 5, 2007
Weather: Sunny Day with Clouds Hanging Low Over Most of Vanua Levu . . . Again
Location: Savusavu, Vanua Levu
Wash a load of clothes, wash the king-size sheets and mattress cover by hand, buy fuel and oil for dinghy outboard, fill water jerry jugs and start filling water tanks, get photos from the past month uploaded to the internet, try again to get photos from the past month uploaded to the internet. The list stops here because we just couldn’t get the last job on the list done. Mark tried for two hours, but he could not get one photo album to upload. It appears to be a Picassa problem, but we just
aren’t sure. I guess we’ll continue to work on that one again tomorrow. Our internet explorations were not all for naught, however. We were successful in viewing new pictures posted on the web from both of our children. Our grand baby Sam’s pictures from the 5-month folder are precious. In one photo, he is reading a post card from us and in another he is starting to show interest in the computer keyboard. Before we know it, he will be reading and he’ll be in full control of a computer. Our
son Justin made the decision to leave Venice, California, because it was just too expensive. In the past couple of weeks, he and his new wife Jo moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. And they have a new family addition named Alphie. This is a new puppy and he is REALLY cute.
Just doing the first few things on our list took all morning. We returned to Windbird in time for a late lunch. The catamaran Holokai arrived from New Zealand with parts for Cheers, Cheers left for Kadavu, Vidora from North Carolina arrived and became our new neighbors, and Maggie Drum arrived from Suva by way of Gau and Koro Islands. Mark went back into town on a beer run, and I met with Jennifer of Camdeboo and her friend Maureen. Camdeboo left New Zealand and went back to the Cook Islands,
American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga before coming to Fiji this season. They have only a month left on the boat before it is handed over to new owners and Jennifer has very little information on Fiji. I was able to share our cruising books and our experiences with her. We talked for well over an hour about Fiji cruising possibilities, and before we knew it, it was time to head to the Yacht Club for Happy Hour. We were anxious to see Joe and Cindy from Maggie Drum, and to spend more time getting to
know some of the other cruisers here.
Tonight we sat with Chris and Kathy of Two by Sea, Nick and Bonnie of Rise and Shine, Patrick and Johanna of Vidora, and Cindy and Joe of Maggie Drum. It was great reconnecting with Cindy and Joe. Joe was our neighbor at the Riverside Drive Marina in New Zealand, but Cindy was not there as she had gone home to work for the off-season. By the time she had returned from the US, we had already left Whangarei, so we had lots of catching up to do. Patrick and Johanna are a young couple who worked
as marine geologists before taking off on their own boat. Patrick is from near Charleston, South Carolina, but his boat is from North Carolina. Johanna is originally from Finland, but moved to the United States in 1998. They are probably in their early 30’s and are really great couple. Once again, we ate at the Captain’s Cafe at the Yacht Club. Maggie Drum and Vidora joined us. I had blackened tuna and it was absolutely delicious. And it only cost $8.50Fiji which is about $5.00US. Eating
out here is a really good deal.
Tomorrow we get ready for Mark’s brother, Steve, to arrive. We meet him at the airport here early on Saturday morning and begin our adventures together. Saturday is also Mark’s 65th birthday, so it will definitely be a day of celebration.
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| 070705 Day 72 Vanua Levu, Fiji–Old and New Friends Arrive in Savusavu |
