Although we ended up being at the dock for 2.5 weeks we are still enjoying Fiji. Currently Shellette is surrounded and dwarfed by several Mega Yachts….wait til you see the pics. As we waited for some boat parts we met up with some boat friends from Brazil and made new friends from France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand…to name a few.

We entertained a boat full of guests on Father’s Day with an American BBQ complete with BBQ Chicken, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw. We were the only Americans in attendance, but all enjoyed the feast. We also rented a car for a few days with Silvio and Lillian from Brazil. One day we went into the back country…. All four wheel drive roads…ouch! We saw the beautiful mountains and small villages sprinkled among the landscape. These villages are all self sustaining with their own farms etc…. They even still farm their land with oxen and a plow. I will download pics asap.

The second day we travelled by bumpy road to Suva, the capital of Fiji. The roads here are very windy and not well maintained. Mike and Silvio took turns driving as it was a 3.5 hour drive one way. While Mike was at the wheel we were pulled over two times in 10 minutes. Once for speeding and once for wrongful overtaking (passing). No tickets were issued and we were on our way. I found out the next day that the police here expect you to pay them about $20 for being pulled over and it is customary to pay this in return for not getting a ticket….oh well, lesson learned. A day later we found out our local friend, Dierdra (Marina employee) was so worried about us because she hadn’t seen us for two days and nights. She knew we were headed to the back country to take our own tour and was worried our shrunken heads were on a stick in a village somewhere….as Cannibalism was once very big here! Yuck! Good to know we are watched after. Speaking of shrunken heads….I decided to get my hair braided by the local ladies, complete with beads….you know, like Bo Derek in the movie “Ten”. Well I look bald and Mike laughs that my head is so small. Apparently you have to BE Bo Derek and a “10” or BE 10 yrs old to pull this look off. (Do not attempt this at home)

We finally set sail again and are making our way around as we discover new islands and new people. Hopefully I will not scare the villagers with my new hairdo…. We will meet up with some friends of ours from Aspen next week that will be here for their Honeymoon. What a small world!! That is it for now. Look for new pics in the next day or so…..Life is Good…