Our International hang out (actually it's the only cafe in Lifuka)
The "Bad Ferry" giving the brush off to one of the other boats that didn't move out of the way
Still in Lifuka.
Some days have unexpected encounters that help us appreciate how small the sailing world can be. Today we went into Pangai on the island of Lifuka to officially check into the Ha’apai Group. Check in was very simple. Hand over your check out form from Vava ‘u. That’s all. When we check out we will get it back. Simplicity is good.
We ventured to the only internet café on the island, Mariner’s Café, for lunch and a peek at the internet. While there we noticed the skipper of a Brazilian boat that we have seen in several anchorages and wondered if the name, Santa Paz, had a fun play on the name. Boldness wins again. We introduced ourselves and asked the burning question. And yes it does have a fun play on the name. Literally it means sweet peace. But in slang it means life is great! Lucas and his wife and two daughters are living the sweet life! We exchanged cards only to admire each other’s cards and found that Lucas’ wife was also in advertising and also had a great art department design theirs. I love the small world.
As we returned to our dinghy we continued our bold “let’s meet those we haven’t met” and introduced ourselves to a boat often heard on the VHF with Santa Paz, Aquamante from Holland. We have seen/heard Aquamante as far back as Niue when our paths first crossed. Today we have new Dutch friends, Vries and Daphne.
Other than that international excitement we avoided two bad ferries, one that left Lifuka and one that came into Lifuka, while enjoying a quiet sunset on Charisma. I mention the bad ferry because the port captain actually called out to the anchorage and told us all that we should all move to make room for the ferries. Few other instructions were provided. Having had personal bad ferry experiences we raised our anchor and moved 50 yards closer to shore and into water too shallow for ferries to play in. As it turns out we had been well clear of their exit routes but we were happy to comply.
Several other boats that didn’t move experienced the “Bad Ferry Brush-off”. We’ll sleep better tonight. They won’t. Unless they move.
Bad fairies. Sounds like something out of a Disney movie. I thought they were all in St. Louis. Giants now down 2 games to 1. Next two in SL. If you find the good fairies send them to Saint Loouie to help our team.
Great story about the tins messing up the GPS. We think we are all so cool with this high tech stuff and forget it can easily be rendered worthless. Oops, forgot to charge it. The update blew it up. The batteries are dead. Dropped the damn thing. And, too much alien tin wrecks the pulse drive, or something.
Glad to hear you are making new friends. Surprise, even ad folks! You’d think they’d go nuts in that laid back island life.:) The modern world is truly a small place.
So, when the barracuda came on board did you say, “Such big teeth you have grandma?”