April, 2017
Building the box
One of Alan’s priorities for this year is to build another instrument box for the cockpit to keep the new depth gage and compass dry. He build the first one last year and it works really well so now he wants to expand it to the other side of the deck. Weeks were spent on the design but finally he was satisfied and ready to buy the wood. Last year we had called the local lumber year which is also a cabinet shop and told them wheat we needed. When we went to pick it up there was a lot of paperwork but not a problem. This time when we showed up they would not sell us any wood. It was a holiday. The manager was not there. They needed paperwork. No matter what we said, there were no pieces of wood for sale. Very strange. We finally decided to enlist the help of a local. He look the measurements, made some phone calls and over a week later our wood arrived, cut to order. It actually came from the same shop that had refused to sell to us. We found out later that this is the modus operand in Fiji. Lumber yards stock logs and when you need lumber you call with the measurements and they cut it to order. Apparently you can also buy a pallet of scraps but that is not going to work for us. Sort of puts a damper on the DIY business. This might also explain why Fijian houses never seem quite finished.
Figuring and measuring and sanding and varnishing took weeks but the new box is finished and the instruments are mounted and wired in. It is beautiful and practical and blends in perfectly with the design of Rhapsody. The wind gage and depth gage are at eye level where I can see them easily and there is an adjustable bracket for the iPad.
The cover did not turn out so well. The current box has a sunbrella cover which wraps around, protects the varnish and keeps it dry when the weather gets stormy. But the shape of the new box makes a cover very difficult. Eventually, with the use of a lot of velcro I came up with something. It is not elegant and flaps around when there is heavy wind but it does keep everything dry which is the point after all. I have six months to fiddle with it before we leave for Hawaii.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Raijeli, aka Racheli
Our anniversary dinner at Vuda Marina was topped by the arrival of a kitten. She showed up at the restaurant when we were having dinner, helped herself to some of my ice cream and moved onto Rhapsody. She was a skinny little black and white thing with a non-stop purr and endless curiosity. She looks to be about 3 months old and is very friendly. We decided that we would keep her until it was time to leave Fiji and then find a home for her here. Her name was Raijeli, (Rachael) given to her by one of the waiters that night.
The next day we set sail for Musket Cove. We had reservations at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary. Not a good introduction to sailing life for Raijeli. She freaked out the minute the engine started and hid herself in the back of a closet. It was not a smooth crossing and the poor little thing was both scared and seasick the entire way. We had reservations for several days at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary so we would need to leave her alone on the boat while we were gone. Luckily, we had friends also moored in Musket who were delighted to take care of here while we were gone. She did fine and was already bigger when we got back. Unfortunately, the crossing back to Vuda was just as bad and she once again threw up on the carpet. Guess she is not cut out to be a sailing cat.
Back in Vuda she soon settled in and became a favorite of everyone, climbing up the mast, racing along the boom and bouncing on the awning. She is definitely a nocturnal cat and we would hear her chasing around the cabin most of the night. During the day she would disappear into some hidey hole.
Eventually she realized that it was possible to leap off of the boat and onto the grass ashore. Unfortunately, getting back on was another story. We are not at a traditional dock but med moored nose to with a steep cement wall. To get back aboard she needs to leap from the shore onto the narrow bowsprit. When the tide is right this is easy but the tide is not always right. About 3am one night I was awakened by a loud knocking on the boat and heard the security guard, saying, “your cat fell in”. The tide was very high and Raiceli was crouched soaking wet on the dock ready to try one more time to make the leap to the bowsprit. This was apparently her third or fourth try. Each time she fell in she had managed to scramble up the wall and back onto the grass. The security guard could not get close to her so I scrambled ashore, picked her up and carried her, dripping and shivering, onto the boat. To add insult to injury, I put her in the sink and washed her as soon as we got back inside because the marina water is filthy. This showed her down for a while but several weeks later she was up to her old tricks. We have ropes hanging off the bow and stern for her to climb up on but she will not use them. Twice more I had to go get her in the night and a couple of other times she showed up dripping wet.
When she was about 5 months old we started getting late night visits from an local tom cat, who even came onto the boat, so it was time for a trip to the vet. I found a friend with a car and off we went to get a check up, shots and the operation. Another trip for more shots. Then a huge mix up over the booster. I was told to come back in 2 weeks for a second shot but when I called to verify I was told they were out of the rabies booster. Not only that, but there was none in Fiji and it would be at least a month before any more arrived. Eventually, almost 2 months later, they had the vaccine. Only when I arrived we figured out that she did not need the rabies booster, she needed the booster for the cat fever shot which they had all along. By now it was too late for that booster and the series had to start over.
Although we had not planned on keeping her when we left, I decided to get all of the necessary shots and paperwork, just in case. Wow! Talk about complications. Every country has different requirements depending on where you are coming from and where you are going. For most of the islands as long as she had all her shots and stayed on board it was not a problem. This would means that we can never tie up in a marina but always need to anchor or moor. Hawaii is the absolutely worst. A blood sample must be sent to a lab in Kansas with all paperwork stating that the results are to go to Hawaii. This must be done at least 2 months after the second rabies vaccine. There is a 3-4 week wait for the results to show up on line and then she is free to enter for up to 36 months. We also have to have a certificate of exit along with an internal, external parasite treatment within 10 days of checking out. One more wrinkle, we must check in in Honolulu only. No other port of entry and she has to be picked up by and authorized vet and taken to quarantine at the airport. If everything is in order she can be released the same day.
Animals Fiji is a nonprofit organization staffed mostly by volunteers. I take my hat off to them for working with me through this whole complicated process. In the end, we did not take her with us. She hates sailing and is always seasick. If the weather gets rough I would be worried about her falling overboard. But the deciding factor was that we could not find a marina in Hawaii that allowed pets. I fact most marinas do not even allow live aboards.
So we found a local family that promised to love her. And then she started disappearing. I was used to her going walk about at night but she did not turn up in the morning. We looked everywhere and could not find her. Finally tracked her down by following a trail of paw prints 3 boats away. The boats are packed in so tightly this time of year that it is an easy jump from boat to boat. Fair Isle was badly damaged in Cyclone Winston and has been sitting empty for 2 years. Apparently it is the perfect hunting ground. Must be lots of mice and spiders and geckos on board for chasing. On the third search she was finally discovered sleeping under the floorboards. She was not happy to be dragged out and carried back to Rhapsody but happy enough to have a meal and sleep for the rest of the day. Next night she was gone again. After the third day, I told the security guard what was going on and we closed all the doors and hatches on Fair Isle. Sure enough she took off again but came back an hour later, furious. The next day she went off with several bags of crunches and litter and all of her paperwork to her new Fiji home. We miss her but it was definitely the right decision. The Futuna run turned out to be horrible this year and I cannot imagine having to deal with an upset cat along with everything else.
Several days later we left for the movie shoot at Rakiraki.
The next day we set sail for Musket Cove. We had reservations at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary. Not a good introduction to sailing life for Raijeli. She freaked out the minute the engine started and hid herself in the back of a closet. It was not a smooth crossing and the poor little thing was both scared and seasick the entire way. We had reservations for several days at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary so we would need to leave her alone on the boat while we were gone. Luckily, we had friends also moored in Musket who were delighted to take care of here while we were gone. She did fine and was already bigger when we got back. Unfortunately, the crossing back to Vuda was just as bad and she once again threw up on the carpet. Guess she is not cut out to be a sailing cat.
Back in Vuda she soon settled in and became a favorite of everyone, climbing up the mast, racing along the boom and bouncing on the awning. She is definitely a nocturnal cat and we would hear her chasing around the cabin most of the night. During the day she would disappear into some hidey hole.
Eventually she realized that it was possible to leap off of the boat and onto the grass ashore. Unfortunately, getting back on was another story. We are not at a traditional dock but med moored nose to with a steep cement wall. To get back aboard she needs to leap from the shore onto the narrow bowsprit. When the tide is right this is easy but the tide is not always right. About 3am one night I was awakened by a loud knocking on the boat and heard the security guard, saying, “your cat fell in”. The tide was very high and Raiceli was crouched soaking wet on the dock ready to try one more time to make the leap to the bowsprit. This was apparently her third or fourth try. Each time she fell in she had managed to scramble up the wall and back onto the grass. The security guard could not get close to her so I scrambled ashore, picked her up and carried her, dripping and shivering, onto the boat. To add insult to injury, I put her in the sink and washed her as soon as we got back inside because the marina water is filthy. This showed her down for a while but several weeks later she was up to her old tricks. We have ropes hanging off the bow and stern for her to climb up on but she will not use them. Twice more I had to go get her in the night and a couple of other times she showed up dripping wet.
When she was about 5 months old we started getting late night visits from an local tom cat, who even came onto the boat, so it was time for a trip to the vet. I found a friend with a car and off we went to get a check up, shots and the operation. Another trip for more shots. Then a huge mix up over the booster. I was told to come back in 2 weeks for a second shot but when I called to verify I was told they were out of the rabies booster. Not only that, but there was none in Fiji and it would be at least a month before any more arrived. Eventually, almost 2 months later, they had the vaccine. Only when I arrived we figured out that she did not need the rabies booster, she needed the booster for the cat fever shot which they had all along. By now it was too late for that booster and the series had to start over.
Although we had not planned on keeping her when we left, I decided to get all of the necessary shots and paperwork, just in case. Wow! Talk about complications. Every country has different requirements depending on where you are coming from and where you are going. For most of the islands as long as she had all her shots and stayed on board it was not a problem. This would means that we can never tie up in a marina but always need to anchor or moor. Hawaii is the absolutely worst. A blood sample must be sent to a lab in Kansas with all paperwork stating that the results are to go to Hawaii. This must be done at least 2 months after the second rabies vaccine. There is a 3-4 week wait for the results to show up on line and then she is free to enter for up to 36 months. We also have to have a certificate of exit along with an internal, external parasite treatment within 10 days of checking out. One more wrinkle, we must check in in Honolulu only. No other port of entry and she has to be picked up by and authorized vet and taken to quarantine at the airport. If everything is in order she can be released the same day.
Animals Fiji is a nonprofit organization staffed mostly by volunteers. I take my hat off to them for working with me through this whole complicated process. In the end, we did not take her with us. She hates sailing and is always seasick. If the weather gets rough I would be worried about her falling overboard. But the deciding factor was that we could not find a marina in Hawaii that allowed pets. I fact most marinas do not even allow live aboards.
So we found a local family that promised to love her. And then she started disappearing. I was used to her going walk about at night but she did not turn up in the morning. We looked everywhere and could not find her. Finally tracked her down by following a trail of paw prints 3 boats away. The boats are packed in so tightly this time of year that it is an easy jump from boat to boat. Fair Isle was badly damaged in Cyclone Winston and has been sitting empty for 2 years. Apparently it is the perfect hunting ground. Must be lots of mice and spiders and geckos on board for chasing. On the third search she was finally discovered sleeping under the floorboards. She was not happy to be dragged out and carried back to Rhapsody but happy enough to have a meal and sleep for the rest of the day. Next night she was gone again. After the third day, I told the security guard what was going on and we closed all the doors and hatches on Fair Isle. Sure enough she took off again but came back an hour later, furious. The next day she went off with several bags of crunches and litter and all of her paperwork to her new Fiji home. We miss her but it was definitely the right decision. The Futuna run turned out to be horrible this year and I cannot imagine having to deal with an upset cat along with everything else.
Several days later we left for the movie shoot at Rakiraki.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Water maker, 2017
January 2017
2017 was supposed to be the year we left Fiji and headed home again. Seven times we left and seven times we came back. One thing after another was not working. The main problem was the water maker. We had not run it for 6 months because the water in the marina is too dirty and clogs the filters and once we start it it has to be run every 3-4 days. So at the start of cyclone season we “pickled” it. The marina supplies free water and it is very good. It is Fiji water, after all.
The main problem is the generator. We bought our little Honda generator in Mexico and it has sat on the deck for 4 years. Even with a waterproof cover, it has taken a beating from rain and waves, including being knocked over on it’s side at one point. So it finally was deemed unfixable. Like most things in Fiji the search for a new one was frustrating. The water maker is 110 volts and everything here is 220. Rather than have a new one shipped in Alan decided to rewire the water maker to run on 220v. Even having done that the search was difficult. Almost every hardware store sells generators but they are all either too small or too big and heavy and none of them had a good cover. Finally one store had what we needed at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, when Alan asked them to test it before he took it, it would not start. After messing with it for an hour, finally offered to have another one brought up from Suva. We were scheduled to leave the next day for the photo shoot in Rakiraki so he gave up and left . Late in the day he got a call saying that they had fixed it and would deliver it to the boat. We should have said no right then but we said yes. We tested it when it was delivered and it started so we loaded it onto the boat
Next morning we left to meet up with the movie shoot so we did not have a chance to run the water maker until we were there and settled. Lo and behold, the generator would not start! That was when we discovered that it had an electric starter with a key in addition to the pull cord and apparently that battery was dead Alan finally used a portable jump starter to start it and let it run for 8 hours to see if that would charge the starter battery but no luck. 8 hours later it still would not work. We eventually got the mechanics from the movie shoot to take a look at it and they could not make it work either.
The one day movie shoot ended up lasting over two weeks but eventually we were back in Vuda and ready to deal with the generator again. Back at the store, he discovered that the only mechanic who maybe knew how to work on it was in Suva. They could send it there, have him come here, or order a new battery from New Zealand. After several more days of run around and broken promises, I finally decided we had had enough of this. Alan is just too sweet and hates to upset people. Sometimes that works but not in this case. So off we went together to confront the store manager. After about 10 minutes of bluster on his part and firm insistence on mine, we were offered an different and more expensive generator for the same price. No way were they going to give the money back. I made Alan go and research the offered generator before we accepted the deal. After several hours on the internet, he said that all the reviews were positive and it is a reputable company so we accepted the offer and arranged for it to be delivered. The new one is actually slightly smaller and lighter which is good. We tested it several times and it started up and ran great.
By this time it has gotten too late in the year to leave Fiji so it is time to do the Futuna run again. Our friend Bev on Kokoh is also going and she is ready to go now so with our new generator on board we set off. Since we got a late start we stopped about 2 hours out for the night. Time to finally run the water maker. The generator starts right up but when we start the high pressure pump on the water maker it dies. Now what? No time to mess with it now. We are full of water and can easily make it to Futuna and back. Meanwhile. Alan sets down with the manuals and tries to figure out what the problem is. Eventually he figured out that the generator is 50 hertz and the water maker needs 60 hertz so the water maker pump was overloading the generator. An email to the manufacturer confirmed this. Too bad we had not caught this piece when we were shopping for a new generator.
Once we were back, Alan began talking to mechanics to see how our problem could be fixed. Everyone said that it should be possible and fairly easy to either adjust the generator up or the water maker down so that the hurts matched, but no one could actually see how to do it. Then we decided that we could replace the motor on the water maker. That turned out not to be possible either. It is now December and we still have not resolved the problem. Since we have not actually been able to run the water maker yet we do not know if it really works or if there are other problems. At this point it seems our best bet is to get a new 110 v generator and rewire the water maker back to 110. We are heading home next year and do not need to be stuck with a 220 system when everything else on the boat is 110v. Our options seem to be to order a new one from New Zealand, wait until we get to American Samoa and get one there or fly home, visit the family, take care of income taxes and bring a new one back as excess baggage. To be continued
2017 was supposed to be the year we left Fiji and headed home again. Seven times we left and seven times we came back. One thing after another was not working. The main problem was the water maker. We had not run it for 6 months because the water in the marina is too dirty and clogs the filters and once we start it it has to be run every 3-4 days. So at the start of cyclone season we “pickled” it. The marina supplies free water and it is very good. It is Fiji water, after all.
The main problem is the generator. We bought our little Honda generator in Mexico and it has sat on the deck for 4 years. Even with a waterproof cover, it has taken a beating from rain and waves, including being knocked over on it’s side at one point. So it finally was deemed unfixable. Like most things in Fiji the search for a new one was frustrating. The water maker is 110 volts and everything here is 220. Rather than have a new one shipped in Alan decided to rewire the water maker to run on 220v. Even having done that the search was difficult. Almost every hardware store sells generators but they are all either too small or too big and heavy and none of them had a good cover. Finally one store had what we needed at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, when Alan asked them to test it before he took it, it would not start. After messing with it for an hour, finally offered to have another one brought up from Suva. We were scheduled to leave the next day for the photo shoot in Rakiraki so he gave up and left . Late in the day he got a call saying that they had fixed it and would deliver it to the boat. We should have said no right then but we said yes. We tested it when it was delivered and it started so we loaded it onto the boat
Next morning we left to meet up with the movie shoot so we did not have a chance to run the water maker until we were there and settled. Lo and behold, the generator would not start! That was when we discovered that it had an electric starter with a key in addition to the pull cord and apparently that battery was dead Alan finally used a portable jump starter to start it and let it run for 8 hours to see if that would charge the starter battery but no luck. 8 hours later it still would not work. We eventually got the mechanics from the movie shoot to take a look at it and they could not make it work either.
The one day movie shoot ended up lasting over two weeks but eventually we were back in Vuda and ready to deal with the generator again. Back at the store, he discovered that the only mechanic who maybe knew how to work on it was in Suva. They could send it there, have him come here, or order a new battery from New Zealand. After several more days of run around and broken promises, I finally decided we had had enough of this. Alan is just too sweet and hates to upset people. Sometimes that works but not in this case. So off we went together to confront the store manager. After about 10 minutes of bluster on his part and firm insistence on mine, we were offered an different and more expensive generator for the same price. No way were they going to give the money back. I made Alan go and research the offered generator before we accepted the deal. After several hours on the internet, he said that all the reviews were positive and it is a reputable company so we accepted the offer and arranged for it to be delivered. The new one is actually slightly smaller and lighter which is good. We tested it several times and it started up and ran great.
By this time it has gotten too late in the year to leave Fiji so it is time to do the Futuna run again. Our friend Bev on Kokoh is also going and she is ready to go now so with our new generator on board we set off. Since we got a late start we stopped about 2 hours out for the night. Time to finally run the water maker. The generator starts right up but when we start the high pressure pump on the water maker it dies. Now what? No time to mess with it now. We are full of water and can easily make it to Futuna and back. Meanwhile. Alan sets down with the manuals and tries to figure out what the problem is. Eventually he figured out that the generator is 50 hertz and the water maker needs 60 hertz so the water maker pump was overloading the generator. An email to the manufacturer confirmed this. Too bad we had not caught this piece when we were shopping for a new generator.
Once we were back, Alan began talking to mechanics to see how our problem could be fixed. Everyone said that it should be possible and fairly easy to either adjust the generator up or the water maker down so that the hurts matched, but no one could actually see how to do it. Then we decided that we could replace the motor on the water maker. That turned out not to be possible either. It is now December and we still have not resolved the problem. Since we have not actually been able to run the water maker yet we do not know if it really works or if there are other problems. At this point it seems our best bet is to get a new 110 v generator and rewire the water maker back to 110. We are heading home next year and do not need to be stuck with a 220 system when everything else on the boat is 110v. Our options seem to be to order a new one from New Zealand, wait until we get to American Samoa and get one there or fly home, visit the family, take care of income taxes and bring a new one back as excess baggage. To be continued
Saturday, December 23, 2017
2016 recap, Fiji
Fiji. 2016
Fiji is lovely, wonderful people, nice weather, warm water. The problem is, it is so nice it is hard to get anything done. We get up late, check the weather and surf the net for several hours. Maybe work on projects for an hour or 2 before lunch After lunch it is time for a book and a nap. Maybe another hour on a project, unless we have started a book. 5:30 is happy hour, time to head to the Boatshed for a drink or 2 or 3 and another wonderful sunset. Dinner on the boat and a movie or more internet. It is all in all, the perfect retired life. Except that we are supposed to be getting the boat together to move on. We never expected to stay in Fiji this long.
2016, I went home in Jan to to clean out the house and get it rented. A horrible job, but eventually it was done. Everything stored, given away or sent off to relatives and a lovely family to take over our house for us while we continue our adventures. I got back to Fiji in March, expecting to head out as soon as cyclone season was over the end of April. We are thinking seriously about going to Australia and on to Indonesia and around the world. Except that vey little had gotten done while I was gone. April came and went and also May and June and Rhapsody still was not ready for a long voyage. When Chris announced that he was finally getting married in November it made sense to stay here another year. Of course, this really took the urgency out of any work and the rest of the year was as laid back as the first part had been.
Since we did not leave Fiji we had to go to Futuna and back again. This time we went with 3 other boats and it was not a bad trip, except that Alan got sick and I ended up hand steering the last 6 hours or so by myself
Since there was nothing going on here I decided to take some extra time on try trip home for the wedding. First stop Hawaii where I checked up on our condo in Makaha It is rented but needs serious work. The current plan is to sail back to Hawaii next year, fix up the condo, sell it and give the money to Chris and Molly to buy a house. From Hawaii I flew to Sacramento and joined the Unhitched Ranch team at the Grass Valley Draft Horse Show. Wonderful to be with Audrey and her family and see them put their horses through their paces. Both Jack and Sebastian have really grown up and improved. From there we drove straight to another horse show at the lavender farm in Nevada and then home to Southern California where I joined Holly Scott for a week sailing to Catalina with the women sailors
Finally home again, I moved into our cabin on Mt Baldy. The weather was cool but not too cold and it was wonderful to have so much room to move around. The boat is so small that two people cannot pass each other without squeezing and the galley is just a corner with a sink and stove. Here I have a whole bed to myself, a huge main room and a large kitchen. There are a few problem. No one has been here for months and it is over run with mice who have made nests everywhere. There is only a fireplace for heat so a lot of time is devoted to collecting, chopping and carrying firewood. It has also been a dumping ground for extra stuff that no one wanted; furniture, clothes, kitchen stuff. It is also in the mountains, up a dirt road and then a hike over a stream and up a hill. Since it is back in a steep canyon there is no wifi or cell service, just a land line. Nice.
After several trips up and down the mountain, I finally got things cleaned up and looking good. Audrey gave me a cat to chase the mice. I stocked the kitchen with fresh vegetables and good bread and cheeses and all of the wonderful foods that I cannot get in Fiji. Alan arrived about a week before the wedding Nov 12 and stayed until after Thanksgiving.
I got back to Fiji a few weeks later, just in time for the first cyclone warning. Christmas and our 50th wedding anniversary were spent in Vuda.
Fiji is lovely, wonderful people, nice weather, warm water. The problem is, it is so nice it is hard to get anything done. We get up late, check the weather and surf the net for several hours. Maybe work on projects for an hour or 2 before lunch After lunch it is time for a book and a nap. Maybe another hour on a project, unless we have started a book. 5:30 is happy hour, time to head to the Boatshed for a drink or 2 or 3 and another wonderful sunset. Dinner on the boat and a movie or more internet. It is all in all, the perfect retired life. Except that we are supposed to be getting the boat together to move on. We never expected to stay in Fiji this long.
2016, I went home in Jan to to clean out the house and get it rented. A horrible job, but eventually it was done. Everything stored, given away or sent off to relatives and a lovely family to take over our house for us while we continue our adventures. I got back to Fiji in March, expecting to head out as soon as cyclone season was over the end of April. We are thinking seriously about going to Australia and on to Indonesia and around the world. Except that vey little had gotten done while I was gone. April came and went and also May and June and Rhapsody still was not ready for a long voyage. When Chris announced that he was finally getting married in November it made sense to stay here another year. Of course, this really took the urgency out of any work and the rest of the year was as laid back as the first part had been.
Since we did not leave Fiji we had to go to Futuna and back again. This time we went with 3 other boats and it was not a bad trip, except that Alan got sick and I ended up hand steering the last 6 hours or so by myself
Since there was nothing going on here I decided to take some extra time on try trip home for the wedding. First stop Hawaii where I checked up on our condo in Makaha It is rented but needs serious work. The current plan is to sail back to Hawaii next year, fix up the condo, sell it and give the money to Chris and Molly to buy a house. From Hawaii I flew to Sacramento and joined the Unhitched Ranch team at the Grass Valley Draft Horse Show. Wonderful to be with Audrey and her family and see them put their horses through their paces. Both Jack and Sebastian have really grown up and improved. From there we drove straight to another horse show at the lavender farm in Nevada and then home to Southern California where I joined Holly Scott for a week sailing to Catalina with the women sailors
Finally home again, I moved into our cabin on Mt Baldy. The weather was cool but not too cold and it was wonderful to have so much room to move around. The boat is so small that two people cannot pass each other without squeezing and the galley is just a corner with a sink and stove. Here I have a whole bed to myself, a huge main room and a large kitchen. There are a few problem. No one has been here for months and it is over run with mice who have made nests everywhere. There is only a fireplace for heat so a lot of time is devoted to collecting, chopping and carrying firewood. It has also been a dumping ground for extra stuff that no one wanted; furniture, clothes, kitchen stuff. It is also in the mountains, up a dirt road and then a hike over a stream and up a hill. Since it is back in a steep canyon there is no wifi or cell service, just a land line. Nice.
After several trips up and down the mountain, I finally got things cleaned up and looking good. Audrey gave me a cat to chase the mice. I stocked the kitchen with fresh vegetables and good bread and cheeses and all of the wonderful foods that I cannot get in Fiji. Alan arrived about a week before the wedding Nov 12 and stayed until after Thanksgiving.
I got back to Fiji a few weeks later, just in time for the first cyclone warning. Christmas and our 50th wedding anniversary were spent in Vuda.
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