In our previous blog we mentioned we were going into Denarau to get provisions. It turns out, this was not a great idea! Firstly, the boat got covered in black ash from all the fires around the area. Then, the trip to the supermarket was a nasty surprise. We refused to buy much becasue the prices were outrageous. For example, a pathetic looking lettuce was $11, where we have been paying $1 for a nice fresh one from village markets. Some other prices I recall - $13 for a bar of chocolate (usually $4), $105 for 1 litre of Seagars Gin (usually $30), and $4 for a small papaya (we paid $1 for a large one in the market). In desperation we did pay $2 each for a couple of apples as a bit of a treat because apples don't grow locally. Next time we stop for provisions we will go to Nadi or a local village market and avoid Denarau completely! We couldn't wait to get out of the place, so sailed to Musket Cove on Tuesday. Surprisingly, the charts for this area are completely wrong - if we had foll owed the recommended route on the chart we would have ended up on a reef! Good spotting by Karl saved the day and we wriggled in and around reefs that were not on the chart - and anchored in an area that was plenty deep - even though the chart showed that we were on top of a reef! About 70 boats in the bay, many of the ICA fleet were there. Caught up with Fusio and Vegas - we had not seen them since they left Vava'u on 8th July. Joined the Musket Cove Yacht Club - lifetime membership is $5. Going ashore in the dinghy, Karl surprised a striped snake eel while walking in the shallows - it came out of its burrow and followed Karl which is most unusual for these shy creatures and gave Karl a bit of a fright! Went to Dicks Restaurant for a lovely meal - a gorgeous evening, no wind, 22 degrees C, candlelit dinner with a Fijian trio playing the guitar and singing in the background. After dinner, while waiting for our dessert we moved into the lounge to watch and listen to the music. Every couple of songs one of the band would say "It's Kava time!" and they would all drink a bowl of Kava before playing the next song. Some of the other restaurant guests joined the Kava drinking, but we were happy to just sit and watch! After exploring Musket Cove we decided that sitting in a bay with 70 other yachts was not really for us, so we left yesterday and sailed to the northern Mamanucas. We caught a small tuna on the way, so we had tuna steaks for dinner which is a nice change from Mahimahi. After being in busy anchorages the last couple of nights we are glad to be in wide open spaces with clean water around us when we jump over the side! The anchorage we are in has a legend attached - apparently the first Tongans arrived here, rounded up the locals and cooked them in a pot. The islands are considered sacred now and nobody lives here. The gap between the two islands is filled in by one massive coral reef. The whole area is densely covered in layer upon layer of coral formation s. The water here is crystal clear, similar to Tonga clarity - much improved from other snorkeling and diving we have done in Fiji. Until now, although we had pretty dives, the visibility was not as good as Tonga. But then we have been spoiled a little! Visibility in Tonga, epsecially the Ha'apai was around 25m, which is outstanding. So far in Fiji we have only had 10 - 15m visibility and the water has been slightly cloudy (but as we keep reminding ourselves, it is still much better than Waiheke!). The water temperature here is 27.5 degrees, warmer than Tonga and quite acceptable!