Rangers have arrived

John helping the rangers to ferry their gear to the beach

The National Park Rangers have arrived. We're happy to see them. They will
stay on the island for 6 months, keeping a record of visitors, recording
wildlife and vegetation, touring yachties around the islets, checking
visas/licenses, and so on. Their only supplies will be brought in by
yachties, and they will likely trade for fresh caught fish, or excursions
around the atoll.

We helped James and John to unload their supplies from the beach up to their
shack. As a result, we were rewarded with a tremendous dinner of wahoo -
half was marinated in fish and chile and cooked on the bbq. The other half
was marinated in coconut juice and lemon. Fabulous. Stranded on a deserted
island isn't so bad.

We spent part of the evening browsing through their logbook from last year.
They recorded oer 100 boats that came here last year, many of whom we
recognize from our travels. James has an amazing memory, remembering them
all, with stories about their boats and adventures!

But, our time here is coming to an end. La Familia is moving on. And we
won't be far behind. We're waiting to sort out a few things, so we have a
better sense of how long we'll be in Samoa. But we look forward to fresh
food again. It has been over a month since we've seen a grocery store: it's
been weeks since we've had veggies, we ate our last eggs this morning, and
we're baking on borrowed flour. So I guess it is time.