More Magical Memories

The chief and elders gave us the blessings of the village and welcomed us to thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

 The caves, the coves, and our cruising friends full of adventurous warm spirit all contributed to this special time in the Bay of Islands, Vanua Balavu.   The pictures speak for themselves!

 Carolyn, Linda, and I had so much fun exploring the lagoons.......and left us all smiling.

 Daliconi villagers embraced us and shared their lives with us. How fortunate we are!

Still in Musket Cove .....Waiting and Reflecting

It is reflection time which brings to mind wonderful memories with new friends.

Here at Budd's Reef, we found ourselves with great people from four other boats. We hiked the rim of this vocano and thoroughly treasured the views at the top. Wonderful friends, Beth and Ken joined in the fun.

After hiking, we snorkeled one of the passes, and had a wet, wild ride home.

Ken finds his dive mask useful even out of the water!

Sidewinder and Eagle's Wings sailed side by side on the way to Budd's Reef

What a joy to meet the villagers at Daliconi, who danced with us, sang, and gave us a great feast!

Flying Foxes are plentiful in Vanua Balavu, the Bay of Islands. They look like little monkeys when they move from branch to branch.  So interesting to watch them.

Passages between island groups were pretty spectacular and comfortable.

The kids delighted in having their pictures taken by me. What fun it was to re-connect with the children.

An excursion to the caves gave us the opportunity to see the whole area.

Linda, from Chesapeake, and I enjoyed early morning tranquil kayaking trips around this exotic area.

Fun times on Riada II, with Dave, Carolyn, Rickki (Guava Jelly)  and others. Think we got crazy?!!

Carolyn and Dave cooked us yummy food and often times we played music together.

What an awesome place, both in the still of the mornings, afternoons, and at sunset time. WOW!

Early mornings are such a wonderful time to connect and think about all that is good.

It has been a whole week since the last night party, and we are now on a mooring, more settled in than ever. I am just recovering from a bug which took away my voice, and the weather has been very stormy. We had major lightning and thunder a few nights ago, and we feel lucky not to have been hit; several boats lost all electrical and we are counting our blessings. Being here has its advantages.  I have found a flat area where I can go ashore and do yoga postures, there is good hiking/walking in the hills, David has been playing lots of good VBall with the locals every evening, and warm showers are the best.  My voice has finally returned, unfortunately for Cpt David, and the energy is back. We have talked about going somewhere, but it is quite fun just hanging out here, while the money lasts, and since I have been sick, the diving elsewhere is not a possibility. It is time to reflect on our awesome cruising season after leaving Taveuni and the ones above are just a few of the pictures for all to enjoy.  I will continue to add some each day.  We certainly have been blessed with wonderful weather, great new friends, and amazing Fijian local experiences which we will always cherish.

More Regatta Fun

 
 Race day started with breakfast on Jemellie with Steve and Lindsay and what a glorious day it was with perfect wind and nothing but sunshine.

After the start which Geoff, the owner and skipper or Flashback, hit perfectly we were in the middle of the pack with the bigger faster boats ahead and the boats of our size well behind.

The racing was fast and intense and we had front row seats.

After rounding the island the shoots were popped and we were headed for home.

The crew of Flashback at the end of the race and just before the beers started opening.

The Hobie races began with a grand prix type start.

The day of the finals the wind picked up which made for a lot of excitement

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With another perfect weather day the beach was lined with cruisers yelling and hooting support.

The father and son team off Ivory Quays won it all, Good job Bill !!!!

Pete and Diana off s/v Quickstar displaying their winning trophies for their victory in the Merling races. Great job you two, we were cheering for you.

The final evening was special with a great sunset, fantastic food and lots of wine to wash it all down. We all danced till our feet hurt and then limped back to our dingies and a star lit ride back to our boats. I can't believe the week is already over, it was a ton of fun and if there is anyway we can do it again we will be here again next year.