Fidget fidget fidget fidget ...Fiji

We arrived to Vanua Levu, the north island of Fiji, checking in at the main town and port, Savusavu. That process went exceptionally smooth and we proceeded to town to get a sim card for our cell phone and hook up some wifi. We have our priorities and one is to get connected to the world as soon as possible after a passage.

it has now been a full week since we have arrived to Fiji. And I am embarrassed to say we have done very little. Well, actually less than that. Ok, maybe not that bad. We actually went for a dive yesterday, which was pretty great. But apart from that, it seems we have slipped into a true cruising mode, even taking on some of the habits of the die aboards, if you can believe it. That means scoping out the restaurants where you can get a main course for around $5.00 per person, happy hour drinks, and so on. We have discovered that Savusavu is a favorite spot for the Kiwi seasonal yachties who come here to escape the cold New Zealand winters (they are the equivalent to the Canadian Snowbirds in Florida). The main attraction is a quiet mooring field, services such as laundry and showers and of course cheap restaurants, groceries and beer.

When we first arrived here, we were approached by a local man asking if he wanted us to polish our boat. After discussing prices, Jens agreed to hire him as we hadn't given the outside a good polish since we left Ecuador in February. He was to polish the stainless steel and all the fiberglass including the hull. A job that would take 2-3 days. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, I didn't know it rained in paradise. Of course you have to expect some rain...a quick afternoon shower now and again, just enough to keep the land lush and green. But four days and nights of rain and drizzle? I had to check if we had somehow arrived in the rainy season, but the brochures confirmed that the rainy season doesn't start till September. Anyway, the rain delayed the polishing work and didn't make it very interesting for us to explore the island. Instead, Jens and I caught up on our reading, found a cheap place to buy DVD movies and had ourselves some very lazy afternoons. We both got plenty fidgety and couldn't wait to get on the move again.

We spent an afternoon with Curly, a local-expat-dieaboard-cruiser who has been sailing the Fijian waters for more than 40 years. He does a seminar for cruisers and gives a lot of very valuable information. We are now armed with waypoints, chartlets and lots of good advice. The low pressure system that caused all the rain has finally moved off and we are off to explore the islands.

Curly also makes homemade lures "guaranteed to catch fish". Jens bought two and was inspired to make a few more of his own. On our first day out he had two lines in the water, one with Curley's lure and one with his. Neither one caught a fish. 'Nuf said.