laundry day!

Slaving in the hot sun.....in Vuda Point Marina, Fiji!

Living in the minute!

Once again….my apologies to all of our loyal vicarious blogging
sailors out there! I know I have been negligent in updating you on
our situation. There is no excuse, as usual, and I plead lethargy!

In brief…I survived two months of refitting Toketie…Linda arrived to restore me to sanity….and we escaped to Musket Cove for a few weeks of much needed rest. Soon being bored with resting, we took scuba diving lessons and earned our open water PADI diving certificates and made four ocean dives!

But we are back in the marina, doing the final preparations for leaving Fiji…a very mixed blessing….as we do not feel we have really finished with this place….but it is time to move on and the call of
the West is strong so we get up early to take the 'chicken bus' into
town…run around like mad photocopying charts and guides, buying whatever we can find to stock the cupboards for the journey ahead….one more trip up the mast, fuel, water, gas…all the nicessities…..and the parting with friends, always hard as everyone follows their own personal dream….but the ocean's track is not written and only by moving somewhat blindly into the future can it be known….so now we look at the weather charts and prepare ourselves to leave the safe confines of life ashore for the open sea….I think we are ready!

Toketie's TODO lists!

Toketie's 'todo' lists come in many flavours! The hastily scribbled
note on a yellow sticky! Or worse the hastily scribbled note on a
scrap piece of paper! The formal organized list for the day! Or the
formal organized list for the particular marina or anchorage. Then,
of course, each list will have the critical 'must do' items, perhaps
prior to sailing or prior to a passage! And then there are the 'would
like to do' items that are usually the ones scribbled on any available
paper as they usually occur to us while underway or busy with
something else! And then there are the 'dream on' items, things we
would like to do but can't foresee a time when we can afford them.
Routine day to day things that never make the list but take up a lot
of time include preparing meals, shopping, cleaning the galley, doing
the laundry etc..
But whatever flavour they come in, there is usually at least one list
at any time. Occasionally they are consolidated and maybe even
prioritized. I know it sounds pretty anal for the cruising lifestyle!
But we find that if we don't make note of these things and refer to
the notes, there is less chance of things getting done. And most days
we can wake up and look at the list and decide what we feel like doing that day…if anything! We try to cross an item or two off the list each day. That way, we can enjoy the rest of the day without feeling guilty about not getting anything done, you know, that nagging feeling that you should be working instead of snorkelling or hanging out at the pool!
The list(s) are like an accordion though. It seems that whenever something gets crossed off of it, two more things get added on! But that is the nature of the list! And slowly things get done and we can look around at our cozy little floating home and feel good about it!
Bigger items, like the recent repainting of the decks, require lots of planning and resources (like money)! Smaller items only require that you find the necessary pieces and tools, usually well hidden or buried at the bottom of a locker. So often the smallest task can turn drawers or lockers upside down to accomplish. But then everything goes back to its place and life returns to whatever 'normal' is on
board!

For example, at the moment the list is down to the following:
Rig lazy jacks
Soak rusty tools in diesel
Polish and remount brass bell
Test HF radio
Support for cockpit table
Call Willie to schedule paint touch-up
Refasten lifeline netting
Clear out V berth
Pay VISA
Provisions
2 cycle oil and diesel oil
Battery water
New fire extinguisher

So if you thought we were just lolly-gagging about in paradise here,
well we do a bit of that but…..oops….gotta go….the list is calling!

Up the mast!

Installing a new steaming and deck light on the forward face of the mast!  Got it on just before the weather went south bringing a vigorous 50 knots to the anchorage overnight and heavy tropical rain.  Deck light came in handy when someone dragged anchor and went steaming by in the middle of the night!

Toketie in Musket Cove!

We have escaped the confines of the marina and are enjoying the Fiji the tourists see!  Still have a list of things to do on board but much more pleasant doing them out here where we can swim with the colored fishies!!

The TradeWinds!

The trades have finally arrived!  Steady and strong from the SE....bringing lower temperatures and very cool nights to Fiji!  Makes for much more comfortable days.....and nights you can actually fall asleep in!  The locals are quick to put on sweaters and jackets but for us hardy Canucks....going from 30C+ degrees to 26 on board is easy to take. 

We have bent the sails back on to Toketie!  She rocks gently at the slip and teases us with her desire to leave the confines of the marina and once more feel the wind in her sails and the water gliding past her keel!

This week we hope to escape to Musket Cove and relax on the hook briefly while we plan our next leg!  There is so much more of Fiji to explore but New Caledonia beckons so the plan at the moment is to sail 700nm West to sample the baguettes before carrying on to Australia......

Andre's book!

Our good friend Andre that we met under very unusual circumstances in Mexico a few years ago has just had a book published.  His views are very direct, always entertaining and contain layers of meaning. 

You can find it online or through Amazon.com and it's called "Oceanborne Madness??? A self-alleged Aliens views about Humanity"

The weak in spirit need not apply!

Splash!

Toketie afloat once more!  The crew are very happy!!

Toketie painted!

Most of the hardware has been bolted back on....still lots to hook up and stow....very pleased with the new paint job!

Toketie's decks being painted

...masking the new paint before applying the anti skid....

Back in the marina!

Well, I have moved out of Abdul's house....I'm sure the cockroaches(those that survived) will appreciate having the place to themselves!  I am still not on board Toketie at night as I have sanded the floors and am varnishing them, between putting the portholes and deck hardware back on.  Our friends Russ and Sue on Antipodean are off travelling for a week and I am boat sitting for them while they are away. 

Deck painting finished!

Big day yesterday!  Rolled on the anti slip....today they pulled the tape off.  I sanded the floor inside all day!  Only eight days till the admiral arrives....have to get this old bucket shipshape!!
Pictures to follow......on a side note, one Fijian, a security guard at the marina, is renting a few doors down from me.....he invited me over for kava but I have not been able to make it yet!

Moce! Moce!

pronounced 'mote'...it means goodnight or goodbye in Fijian....here are the boys heading home after a long day making Toketie look pretty again!

Mohammed!

I was sitting on the picnic table outside the marina café this morning, hiding from the sun, and watching the activity on Toketie across the way.  Mohammed, Abdul's brother, and currently my neighbour, also a taxi driver, was sitting beside me.  Naturally the conversation turned to religion and after agreeing that most religions were basically the same in terms of having one God, Mohammed said God makes one path and man makes many!  By this he meant the distinctions between Moslem and Christian or any other variation on the theme.  So I asked him if he had been on the Hajj ( or حج‎ in Arabic) which is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah in the Arabic language).  The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Ibrahim (Abraham).  Well Mohammed had not as he could not afford it but he did have in-laws who have been several times.  Abraham sounded familiar from a previous incarnation of mine and I wondered how it was that people could stray so far from their roots.  But Mohammed had a fare to attend to and I wandered back to watch them spray several coats of paint on Toketie's decks, marvelling at what an interesting life it is at times!

Hindu Temple

...the community seems to include Hindus as well as Muslims...though I have yet to meet one of them.  Their Temple sits along the road to Abdul's house and I did see someone sweeping the dooway this morning.....the stupa in the background has a painting of Hanuman, the monkey king on it......if I recall my E religion classes.....

Sugarcane train!

If I'm still around when they start cutting the cane and hauling it to the mill in Lautoka, I will get a shot of the cars loaded with stalks of sugarcane.  This is the work crew heading back to town!

Abdul's house

....mentioned to Abdul in passing today that I had a couple of cockroaches scurrying around last night....without missing a heartbeat, he said "well, keel them".....and I responded "I did"!!

Sugarcane train track!

....miles from nowhere....

8:08 Special

So I rode the train into work today!  No seriously!  You might well wonder how that is possible. 

Running parallel to the road to Abdul's house is a small gauge railway track.  It is used by the miniature locomotives that haul the miniature flatbed cars loaded with sugarcane stalks to the mill in Lautoka.  Probably close to par with tourism on the west side of Viti Levu, the sugar refinery is often a bane to cruisers who anchor in front of it to check into Fiji.  The fine black soot from the chimney makes for very messy decks.  

But this morning as I stumbled bleary eyed and coffee less out the front door of Abdul's house at 8:05, running behind my usual scheduled 7AM departure, I found what looked like a caboose with open benches on both sides and the engineer controlling it by a large lever in the center, working its way slowly down the track.  Eyeing an opportunity too good to be missed and thinking how much sooner I could get that long black coffee to go, I waved and gave them the Bula Bula greeting common in Fiji.  I was soon aboard and clickety clacking my way down the track with only one stop and a quick reverse of the engines….to pick up some coconuts that had fallen by the wayside!  These four friendly fellows were a maintenance crew and were examining the track in readiness for the sugar cane harvest that would start later this month and run through to September.  Jumping off at the marina entrance with a friendly wave, I scored my coffee and made my way around to find the crew getting set up for another day on Toketie's decks.  The day went well, lots of sanding and filling and I slipped away in the afternoon for a dip in the pool at the resort, having to buy a cold Fiji Bitter to justify my transgression.

Gecko!

these little fellows love the paper lanterns.....they attract lots of bugs....