Les arrived in Vava’u on Tuesday. His trip from Australia to here via Fiji was long and tiring but he made it ok. We had an easy day yesterday showing him around the village and going for a beer at the Aquarium bar by the dinghy jetty with an Australian sailor we just met Steve. Steve came back with us on board for dinner. BBQ steaks and pasta with cougettes. Good fun.

We hired a taxi today to tou the island. Not the most scenic place we have been to but it was still nice. Very green and hilly. There is a lot of poverty around. Most of the people do not own furniture. They just sit on the floor. Yet nobody looks hungry. That’s perhaps pigs are plentiful and roam feely around with their piglets in tow. Not much agriculture and no manufactures. Apart from tourism I am not sure what their economy rely on. And even tourism is minimal. Hotels are either run down or closed. Bars and cafes in Neiafu, the village where we are, are all run by foreigners and even they have a hard time filling their places up, probably partly because they are not all that cheap and food is basic.

Last Friday we took part in the Yacht Club weekly event, a race round the bay. We went on Stuart’s boat, BEYOND, with Barry and Judy. We raced against big boats and one big catamaran. Guess what: we won! It was not very windy but we all enjoy it. The following evening they all came onboard for dinner: spaghetti Bolognese followed by home baked cake with fruits and cream. We will race again tomorrow and go on Barry and Judy’s boat this time for dinner. The outcome of the race might be different tomorrow as we can expect 21 kts of wind.

Very windy this week but at least sunnier today. It would be nice if it could calm down a bit so we can finally leave the bay and see the other anchorages!

All well onboard.

Love

Mike and Catherine