5/10/08 Denereau Island, Fiji

I’ve been back on the boat a few days and am slowly adjusting to jet lag.  The day I arrived it was raining just to make me feel at home but that only lasted one day.  The Americans pulled one of my two bags at JFK for inspection so it missed the flight.  It arrived a day late and I had to pay some duty on the boat parts.  I could have gotten it in duty free but the amount was less that the customs agent would have charged.

The customs officer just wanted to get something he didn’t seem to care how much.

So we have a new wind transducer, a new starboard engine throttle control, new fridge parts, new anchor chain counter sensors, new camera battery charger, proper tinned wire with proper tinned crimps and so on.  It never ends.

Today we’re off to Castaway Island, renamed in honour of the Tom Hanks film which I haven’t seem.  As we are approaching so are the clouds.

We anchor just as a tourist boat is leaving so we have it to ourselves.  The water is glorious although the visibility doesn’t let you see the anchor in 20 meters depth. The sun comes out while I’m snorkelling.

There are hundreds of fish and dozens of varieties on the reef.  There are a couple of baby goats ashore who keep their distance and disappear into the palm forest.  They must sense we are defrosting  lamb chops for dinner.  The scenery is magnificent.  If you’re going to be a castaway this must be the place.   There is a big rock on the island a few hundred feet high and I wonder if there is any fresh water. 

There are dozens of islands in this huge lagoon many of which have their own resorts.  This island appears to be populated only  by the goats.  I enclose a couple of snaps of some randem islands in the lagoon.  It will take a day or two to get back in the blog groove.