After a beat to get south to meet us, the day finally came to meet up with our friends Roxy and Carl. Traffic pushed us a little behind schedule but by 10:00am SV Sky Pond was on the fuel dock and all of the boat items we muled out to Fiji were aboard. After helping Carl and Jean get off the dock, Roxy and I took the rental car for final provisioning. First finding nearly everything on our list at an IGA store before returning the rental car.
I asked the rental car owner if it would be possible for one of his employees to drive us to the marina in Denarau with a stop at the city market. For $30 Fijian plus a $20 cleaning fee??? Whatever, still at $25 USD it was a good deal and soon we were being chauffeured around. A time-safer, our driver knew of a closer market which turned out to be great. We were probably directed to his families veggie stands but no complaints from us as everything looked very fresh. One final stop at the Fresh Choice market by the marina for presto and cheese before filling the dinghy full of our shopping results and slowly, very slowly, making our way to the boat. A couple close calls later, due to boats making wakes and our heavy load, and we had everyone and everything aboard.
Of course it wouldn’t be a boat without necessary repairs. Carl and I dove into fixing an electric head that had water penetrate a bearing. I will admit it was touch or go with some tense moments due to necessary hammer work that moved the armature on the shaft, and wondering if the bearing could be pounded off. But in the end a few hours later we claimed victory. One project down, surely more to follow.
A tasty dinner and early to bed with an morning departure for Somosomo.
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