Somehow someway we have lost a day while we have been taking this world tour. I am not sure exactly where or when it happened. A couple of the crews of other boats even had a birthday. Do you not even have that birthday? Or do you save up and have two the next year? This might be a way to combat the aging process!
Really, it happened on our way from Raratonga to Tonga. We thought we would arrive on a Sat. and lo and behold it was Sunday. Good thing for Paul in the World ARC or we would have really been confused. Well, I guess -I am still a bit confused. This travelling has a way of making one off balance. And try it on a sailboat where there are angles of degrees of "off balance".
Last night we had our World ARC rendezvous. It was quite wonderful. Most of the boats were here and made an extra point of coming to meet up with the other boats. We have been spread out over the Pacific and still some boat are. We missed Chessie, J Sea and Bristol Rose who have been slowed by technical problems. But most of us are here to join back up and check in and get ready to start the next leg. We have free cruising of Tongan Islands and then we meet in Fiji.
The food was great at the party with fish, and local fare. The decorations were very Polynesian of course and the dancing and singing put on by the Tongans was delightful. Most of the Arcers even got up to happily join in. All in all it was a lighthearted night filled with lots of happy memories of
French Polynesia.
Today Matt and I will go on a tour of the island, visit some of the artisans, have a lunch of island specialties, and go snorkeling off one of the beaches. This is a tour in which many of the people from World Arc will participate. Unfortunately, Bill will stay back and work on the boat and get repairs scheduled for the layover in Australia. We will probably stay around this island of Vava'u for a while since it has many motus and places to anchor around and beaches and caves to explore.
Rosemary