Sliding Rocks in Samoa - A Video

Well, here is my first attempt at putting together a video of our adventures. Here's a trip we took to the Papaseea Sliding Rocks while in Samoa. Enjoy.

We also tried to make a video of our time in Samoa. I'd love to hear what you think of these videos, and if you have any suggestions!

Arrived in Majuro, Marshall Islands

After a three day passage, we've settled into Majuro, the capital of the
Republic of Marshall Islands. Our 9th country on this voyage.

Our first day here was a bit hectic. Yesterday morning, John spent a few
hours at the dock awaiting the officials to clear us into the country. When
they didn't show up, he finally went to their offices - first customs, then
immigration. By the time he returned to the boat, it was mid-afternoon, and
I was a sopping wet after collecting water for the past couple
hours...filling buckets, transferring into jerry jugs, then siphoning into
our boat's tanks. We're full again. Whew. And laundry is done. And we're
clean. YAY!!

We spent today wandering around and scoping the lay of the land. We checked
out a few of the glorious grocery stores. It is amazing what a basic grocery
store can do to lift the spirits after spending three months without!! We
happily wandered the aisles of several stores, amazed at all the familiar
brands and products. We just picked up a couple necessities (eggs, bread,
veggies), and can't wait for a bigger shop.

We also checked out internet options. You must pay by the minute. I was also
considering a cell phone, with internet capabilities. Hmmm. Can't seem to
get away from that magnetic force that draws us to new gadgets! But, we
decided to wait and see how we manage for now.

There is quite a cruising community here. At least a dozen boats. There is a
morning [radio] net - complete with weather info, social events, news, etc.
Tonight is cruisers night out, where many eat together at one of the local
restaurants. We're looking forward to getting to know a few people, and
hearing some local beta.

We're here because we have lots of boat work to do. But for now, we'll rest,
shop, eat.

Passage to Marshall Islands - Day 3

The sky is no longer clear, beautiful and blue,
The clouds have arrived, a grey and black stew.

We see the squalls and anticipate,
The accelerating winds, the sudden wall of hate.

All hands scramble top side and quickly lower sail,
We wrestle with the sheets, steady her dive to the rail.

Ahhh, we missed you - our beloved ITCZ*
How quickly we recall how fickle your weather can be.

As quickly as she rose, the squall is soon long gone.
We are left without wind in a slow and tedious calm.
-------
* Remember, I'm Canadian...so that should be ITCZ: AYE.TEA.SEA.ZEE.

Passage to Marshalls - Day 1

A perfect day of sailing. The light breeze pushes us along beautifully. The
drifter is flying, showing her dazzling blue and gold hues. Dolphins visit,
play in the bow and give us a show by spinning loops and twists as they
launch into the air. And the past week of calms has left a residual sea that
is flat and easy. This is a sailor's dream.

But the day didn't start out that way. From Tarawa, our check of the morning
weather showed that winds were going to ease sooner than expected. The wind
would stop before our anticipated arrival day in the Marshalls. We decided
to leave Kiribati today, instead of tomorrow as planned. So, I gather our
papers and make my way to shore (where I fall into the water while getting
out of the dinghy) to clear out of the country. Customs takes FOREVER, but
goes smoothly (well, except for that huge sandy puddle I've left in the
middle of their lobby floor). Then onto the bus (where I leave another wet
spot) and to immigration. It's 11:30 by now, and the young staff are more
keen on their lunch orders than my exit permits, but no worries. They are
kind and friendly, and I'm in a cruiser...no schedules, right?! I'm on my
way after only an hour (only half of which was spent searching for the stamp
needed for my passport - found next door). By the time I return to the boat,
John has everything secured ship shape and ready to go. We raise sail, heave
the anchor, and wave goodbye to our newest friends as we make our way out of
the lagoon.

But...that was this morning. Now, we're living the dream. Bring it on.

News...or Gossip???

For the last couple of days, an interesting news story has been circulating among cruisers... rumours perhaps? I'm not sure. But for your information and/or entertainment...here is the story of a young cruiser who was eaten  by cannibals on Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas...one of the island we visited last year.

http://news.msn.co.nz/article/8361657/cannibal-victim-identified-by-teeth

By the way, CELSIUS returned to the anchorage today. And THREE more sailboats showed up. All of a sudden we're not alone anymore! 

Birthday Celebrations

Oct 17th

John's birthday was yesterday. I've already blogged about the great Tour we
took. And the robbery was a bit of a birthday downer. But...I found ground
beef at the grocery store! This was a major highlight for Renova's crew. We
hadn't seen ground beef in many months. So I decided to turn this delicacy
into a birthday feast. We'd been talking about hamburgers and fries for
months...this was a perfect opportunity.

The hamburgers turned out great. The buns...well...they were perhaps a bit
denser than the rolls I usually buy. Maybe I didn't knead the dough enough.
Or too much. The french fries refused to crisp up, and were a touch on the
soggy side. The corn on the cob was mushy, which was disappointing, given
that I paid $10 for it. But knowing that it had likely been frozen and
thawed several times on it's journey from Australia, quite understandable.
Thankfully, the chocolate cake was (and still is) fabulous. Thank you Betty
Crocker.

Despite all this...it was still a fan-super-tastic birthday dinner!! And,
I'm (almost) certain John would agree.

Robbed in Tarawa

It's true. We've been robbed.

After spending most of the day ashore on the Battle of Tarawa Tour, we
returned to the boat to find we'd been robbed.

We'd heard that there have been thefts here. ICE lost their dinghy oars and
a fuel can. CELSIUS had been boarded, broken into, and a few items were
taken from their boat - hair clippers, palm pilot, etc.

Knowing this, we'd been careful. We always lock the boat when we leave,
including the cockpit lockers. On shore, we lock up the outboard and spare
oars to the dinghy. But, these guys were clever. They just broke the locks
on our cockpit lockers and got access to these big storage lockers.
Surprisingly, they didn't take much. They looked through John's tackle box,
but didn't see anything they liked. They didn't take any of the zillions of
coils of rope we have, nor the dinghy fuel, the tools, or speargun. Odd.
Instead, they took some snorkelling gear. They left behind the broken mask
and the old black snorkel, and took our two remaining masks and snorkels.
But left our fins. They also took a dive knife, and a pair of neoprene
booties.

It's all a terrible shame. A bad memory in a country that has become our
favourite destination of our past two years of cruising. And...the worst
part is that the cockpit locks are now broken, and will be expensive to
replace - more so than the lost gear. Not to mention that we have to always
have one person on the boat.

So, it's with a bitter taste in our mouth that we prepare to leave Tarawa.
Earlier than planned. But, if we can't both leave the boat, we may as well
move on.

Now we'll get busy with a few remaining internet jobs, and wait for a
weather window to take us to Majuro in the Marshall Islands - our home for
the next several months. According to the weather forecasts, I don't think
we'll be waiting long. It looks like the wind will pick up by the end of the
week!

Battle of Tarawa Tour

Those of you who know John are already aware that he's a history buff. Especially war history. He loves the stuff.

So, for his birthday treat, I booked us on the WWII Betio Battlefield Tour by Molly's Tours.

Molly has a few odds and ends in her front yard!

Molly picked us up at the wharf in the bus, and took us back to her house to watch a dvd on the Battle. The Battle of Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history. After the video, we jumped on the bus and walked to the various war remains that lay scattered across the islet. Although we'd seen many of the sites on our own previous explorations, Molly's descriptions and additional information added to our knowledge and made the tour interesting!

Remains of an American Tank

An unexpected surprise was walking through various villages on our way to the beach relics and buried bunkers. We was how the locals are living in very cramped quarters. We talked to a couple of men who were digging a new well, and had come across machine gun parts, and ammunitions. In some cases, we saw bunkers, gun mounts, and search light bases in yards and between homes.

Tank track buried in the sand

Around Abaiang

Oct 5

Our friend, Ngaluenga, offered to tour us around the island for an afternoon - we jumped at the chance. A few of the sights we saw.

First we had to fill up with gas. Here, the two guys are measuring our gas into 2L plastic bottles. 

Measuring the fuel

Full service

Boat repairs - notice they are stitching the boat together!

The tower of the catholic church - built in 1907

View of the village's large canoe shed from the tower

Cutting toddy - collecting the sap from the tree, to be fermented into a local brew

Our host, Ngaluenga, and his granddaughter, Merri

The best singer on the island...performing in a private concert just for us!

Kids of Abaiang

Oct 5

The kids at Abaiang LOVED to have their photo taken. They love to look at the camera's screen and see the pics of themselves. Here's a few: