Ta ta to Tonga

Karacool
Stephen Bassett
Fri 13 Jul 2012 23:42
18:34.5S
174:30.3W
 
We are on passage to FIJI, so it was up at 06.45am, engines on, mainsail up and hey - I am not dressed yet!! Off we go - let the mooring ropes go from the buoy at Anchorage No. 11 by the Ark (floating art) Gallery and head west through the islands.
A little later it was fresh papaya for breakfast. I had bartered a few things with a local grannie yesterday and a ripe papaya mixed with mini bananas and apple make a good fruit salad to start the day. The bananas really are midget size and deliciously sweet.
And now off to Fiji, which is about 400 Nms. We have deliberately left on a Saturday to ensure arriving in Fiji on a weekday. If you arrive out of hours or over the weekend then you have to stay on board until all the immigration paperwork is completed.
So ta ta  to Tonga where we enjoyed pig-racing, tongan feast, snorkelliing and some idyllic anchorages. Also said ta ta to Keith who returned back to the UK after nearly 10 weeks on board. Thanks for the company and look after yourself, Cynthia (!).
All well on board,
TTFN