[password] caesar

[position] 19 08.912s 178 33.945w

[status] 0730 hrs 20 July 2018. Two days ago a couple of Fiji policemen arrived from one of the other Lau group islands. It appears 3 one-kilo bricks didn't make the trip when the helicopter came to retrieve the cache a week or so ago. One of the villagers says he "discovered" the oversight after the helo left. As you can imagine, eyebrows were raised to the hairline over that excuse. Supposedly, Fulaga is once again drug free.

If that wasn't enought, yesterday we were invaded. A NZ warship arrived outside the lagoon (too big to enter). The yachts were abuzz with rumours, ideas, opinions, but mostly cluelessness as to reason for the visit. The ship launched a large, black, stealthy RIB packed with ninja looking seaman dressed in black, wearing helmuts - presumably to protect them from falling coconuts. Think, Seal Team 6. While not in obvious view, I'm sure they were armed to the hilt for their iinvasion of Fulaga. The RIB sped past the anchorage where we were, and then went into the village anchorage. Fortunately they didn't stay long enough to take prisoners. Thinking about it, it was pretty keystone cop-like. Here comes a boat load of warriors dressed to kill, cruising past six yachts with us sitting on deck in shorts, tank-tops or shirtless, suntanned, and just finishing breakfast in a gorgeous S. Pacific island lagoon of sun-soaked, clear azure water. When we waved, instead of opening up with their machine gun, they waved back. Pretty surreal. Some thought they were there at the invitation of the Fiji authorities because of the huge cocaine cache found about a week ago that I wrote about. No one was boarded. No one was questioned. The RIB never landed on the beach. My own, clueless belief is they were enjoying the beautiful setting just like us. We might get more info when we go into the village over the next few days. If I discover more, I'll report.

More examples of "never a dull moment" in paradise.

For a time over the past two days, the yacht population surged to 15. It's getting to make Hong Kong look deserted. Two yachts left yesterday, so that was a minor relief to the over population. Let's face it, a 5-mile wide lagoon can hold only so many.

Sototale
John & Leilani

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