Mike had gathered a small group for the island tour.  Colin and his father Robert (81 years old and never sailed before other than dingies in his youth – Panama to Tahiti is therefore his first trip.  Wow) and Lottie who had arrived the night before from Galapagos with her father Nick. 

First stop, a Tiki deep in the forest.  “How old is it?” we ask John our guide.  “Two hundred….”  replies John to which we all say “Ah”………….”years BC” finishes John to which we all say “Blimey!”  Over two thousand two hundred years old and it is just there in the forest with all the markings still very clear.

We were taken to a farm to buy Pomelos, picked specially for us using the string bag on the end of a long stick technique…………..

They are very juicy so best eaten out of doors where dribbling won’t matter……

They also dried bananas at the farm and they tasted delicious. They were dried and smoked on racks over wood fires. Very different to anything we had tried before and they will be excellent snacks for midnight munchies on passage so we stocked up.

The fruit was just an appetizer though.  The main event of lunch was spectacular.  A small house by the road and a fabulous spread of local dishes including mango, coconut ……