[password] grace40
[position] 19 08.375s 178 34.533w
[status] 0800 hrs 8 Sept 2019. You may have noticed that we moved from the eastern side of the lagoon to the western and back. That's because there was a front that moved through several days ago bringing strong westernlies. Our usual anchorage is good for all wind directions except westerlies. Lucky we moved. When the front come through, we had winds that spiked to 40 kts. Luckily the excitement was over in less than 5 minutes. Then it was like we were in the eye. No more big winds came through. Yesterday everything returned to SE trades and we moved back. Speaking of our anchorage. We have had this particular anchorage to ourselves since we arrived in Fulaga more than 2-month ago. It's a bit west of the places yachts traditionally go to. We feel like we have the whole island to ourselves since we don't see other yachts. There's even a separate trail to the village right from the anchorage. However, it's much more primitive and requires some climbing up and down rocks. I'm not comfortable trying that path yet, although we used it regularly before my injury. Not a smooth pathway like the main village path where ironically I slipped. Our anchorage (we think of it as ours since no one else uses it) is about a mile from the main village landing, so we can easily dingy to it. Speaking of the village path, yesterday I walked to and from the village for the first time completely drug free. Wasn't too bad, pain-wise.
Last week a yacht arrived and for first time I heard there had been a volcano eruption in Tonga. Pumice has inundated the lagoon. It floats around individually and in small islands. Size ranges from marbles to fist. They're grey in colour, almost weightless, and can be crushed by squeezing it in your hand. The first time I saw it last week my initial thought was, "Where are all these turds coming from?" Then I heard another yacht on VHF radio talking about the volcano and how they had sailed through islands of it on the way to Fulaga. Said it sounded like the boat was sailing though rocks, but it cleaned the waterline. Speaking to villagers, they say this has happened before, and can take 1-2 years for the pumice to fully wash ashore. Because the lagoon is virtually fully enclosed, except for the small entrance through the reef, once the pumice gets inside it doesn't leave. The upside is it's good fertilizer - according to one villager I spoke with. Can be crushed and sprinkled throughout their small veggie gardens.
Today is Leilani's B-day. I'm not supposed to tell anyone, so don't say you heard it from me. To celebrate we're having our host for lunch. He is home alone as his wife is in Suva. Speaking of our host, in early August he went to Suva for his annual Jehova Wittness convention. Before leaving he threw us a party featuring a whole pig roasted in a lovo (underground oven). A number of our close village friends, along with couples from 4 other yachts, attended. It took place at a beautiful idyllic beach on one of the islands in the lagoon that could be a motion picture setting of what a South Pacific beach should look like. He did this for us last year, too. Because he was going to be gone one month, he didn't know if we would still be here when he returned. So he considered it a farewell party. We're still here, so I think we're going to get another pig feast when we actually do leave. I know one of his remaining pigs is not too happy we're still here.
Thank you to those who sent get-well wishes. I appreciate your kind thoughts.
Sototale, John
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