Fiji
My Way
Mike Kopman
Fri 31 Oct 2008 03:35
Hello from the Eastern Hemisphere!
We crossed the date line yesterday and about 05h00 this morning we dropped the anchor off Lautoka, on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji. We had a couple of hours sleep and at 08h00 went in to clear customs etc. It's now 15h00 and would you believe wee have JUST NOW finished clearing in! Mike says he hasn't written so much since final exams at school. Forms and forms and forms, pus trips into town to get a cruising permit (even though we're only here for 5 days and won't be going more than 20 miles!) and lengthy discussions about quarantine issues, garbage disposal and alcohol duties.
Anyway, it's nice to be done with that. We got back to the boat pretty exhausted and irritable, picked up the hook and are now moving to Musket Cove, an hour away, to relax a little and catch up with some friends. Apart from the couple of hours this morning, Mike hasn't slept since 11 last night as we had a tricky entrance through a reef passage to negotiate.
On a more positive note, the people here are, as we'd heard, the friendliest we have ever met! Everyone wants to chat to you, shake your hand, know your name and your story. And that's just in town. No doubt they're even friendlier in the more remote areas.
That's it for now, Mike & Sarah