So, our good friends Linda and Bob on Bright Angel and John and Lisa on Orcinius showed up in Fulunga on the same day! With them were real, live greens not to mention wine and beer. We went down to half rations on wine and consumed the last drops of wine on board Charisma the night before they arrived. The only greens we’ve seen in the last month or more have been cassava leaves that you have to boil into submission. Tonight Ann and I feasted on a real salad of lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Wow, what a treat.

It was coincidence that both boats ended up here at the same time. We’ve been hoping to see them here and have stayed this long partly because we hoped to have some time to “play” in paradise with them, but Orcinius was in Suva and Bright Angel in Savusavu, so we had no idea whether either could find a weather window that would allow them to get here. Neither was positive they would be able to catch favorable conditions to sail here, so we split our list of hoped-for-food and gave half to each in the hope that some fresh food would make it here. Bonus – they are both here! Now, besides resupply we’re going to have fun with folks we have sailed with since leaving Mexico so many miles and years ago.

So, it’s been a great reunion and we’re looking forward to some fun over the next couple weeks. Yes, we’re staying another couple weeks to enjoy the new company. But, we’re starting to plan our voyage back up to Savusavu since it seems my back account is overdrawn (thanks to my parents for covering that while we’re here playing), my health insurance needs to be renewed and several other things that we can only do with the help of internet access which we do not have here (I’ve mentioned before that we post these messages via shortwave radio using a Pactor modem).

Today being Sunday in Fiji was of course Church. The difference at this point after being here over seven weeks is Ann is now sitting with the Fijian ladies who have adopted her (from Ann- it is a totally different perspective and I even got to sing the Fijian songs as my friend Qele pointed, word by word, to guide me. I loved it and even helped corral the loose child wandering in hopes of a new lap to sit in.) There’s even talk about her being accepted into one of the clans here (“She is Mataqali”! which means “She is part of our clan”). Ann has made quite an impact, but no surprise there.

For my part, the men have been impressed with my wood carving abilities and there are many jokes about how my bowls (I’ve made two at this point – although one is not finished yet) are better than the ones made by the village and I join the joke offering to sell them to the top village carvers to put in their stores. It has been a rare experience though, sitting all day out by the banana trees under a jury rigged corrugated tin roof – crossed legged on a mat on the ground among the wood chips – chopping and carving away with the other men, all of us carving one thing or another. Neither Ann nor I will ever forget being accepted so completely as part of the village and being able to freely participate in their daily life.

So that’s our update for now. The weather is a bit on the cold and windy side. We’re wearing sweaters at night. Very un-Fiji like. We’re looking forward to a change so we can go diving and snorkeling again.

Oh well, such nice problems to have.