So, I’m laying in the cockpit around 2200 watching the stars, well – sleeping actually and I was startled awake by voices in the distance.  “mBomb, can you use some lobster?”  What the heck!!?  In a daze I stagger awake (Ann’s asleep in bed) and try to make sense of this.  Angels again??  In this case it’s some of the young guys from Nairai who have been out spearfishing on the outer reef.  Since it’s Saturday night and there’s no work allowed on Sunday they are pushing to the last minute to bring in fish for the Sunday feast.  And they had speared two lobsters and figured Charisma would like them.  I had given one of them, the Chief’s son, two lures and apparently this was repayment. 

 I like this economy.  You give a little, you get a little.  Nice.

So, I got a bucket to put the lobsters in, still in a bit of a sleepy haze and they dropped two nice lobsters in the bucket.  Then they shined the flashlight on all the fish in the boat and asked if I needed some fish too.  No thanks – (we have so much food at this point including almost a quarter of the pig Epele slaughtered yesterday).  I had a brief inspiration.  There were four young men in the boat.  They had been spear fishing for hours on the outer reef, an exhausting exercise.  I knew I had four cold beers in the fridge.  We don’t offer alcohol as a matter of policy, but in this case it seemed appropriate.  “Let me get you guys a cold beer,” I said in the darkness to the outline of the little open boat just a few feet off Charisma.  In the dark, I could hear the response that any young man anywhere in the world would make, “Yesssssss!!!”

They motored off very happy having paid back for the fishing lure and scoring a cold beer.  Now that I’m waking up I’m starting to wonder what the hell am I going to do with two lobsters at 2200 at night?  The only answer:  Cook them.  So, out comes my cookbook to again remind me, “Plunge an ice pick between the eyes to kill them instantly”.  (Cruising can be so cruel).  Then I cooked the lobsters, put them in the fridge and tonight threw them on the grill to finish them off and had a great dinner with mung beans, cabbage and apples with Asian peanut dressing. 

Today we went to church.  Very similar to Fulunga but smaller.  This village only has about 50 or so people including children.  But as with everywhere in the South Pacific the service was heartfelt and the singing was inspiring.  It was of course followed by a feast prepared by Esther.  I had to take a nap under the mango tree afterward to digest the wonderful food.  Ann pulled out yet another game to teach the children and leave them to play after we’re gone.  

Back to Charisma and time to prepare for early departure tomorrow.  Put away the outboard, store the dinghy and paddleboards… same routine.  As the sun began its descent Ann spots whales breaching just outside the reef.  And suddenly the sounds of a squealing pig floats across the water from the shore and we can see a large black pig being towed by its hind legs back to the village.  There was a parade of children happily following the big pig.  There is a fiber headed to Suva tomorrow for a funeral and my guess is that this pig will be a passenger.  And when we think the wild life excitement has settled down another fiber comes over to Charisma from around the point.  In this fiber is Epele driving with three of the young guys, each holding tightly to one hind leg of a small pig.  There is going to be quite the feast in Suva.

 It was a very enjoyable end to our stay at yet another lovely and special place here in Fiji.  We will never forget the friendships we have made here.