We’ve arrived in Fiji! It is hard to believe that the end of this leg is only a week or so away. Crazy. For those of you reading in North America/Europe, greetings from tomorrow because we passed the International Date Line somewhere between Samoa and Tonga. Its been a great/chaotic/cooler/fun-filled last few weeks since Rarotonga, where I think I wrote last. We spent 3 incredible days on Palmerston Island, a remote island of 62 people where they welcomed us into their homes to stay and we made firm friends there. It was quite moving, the extent of their hospitality and the amount they cared for us. On Aitutaki, also Cook Islands, we saw the Survivor Islands (for those of you who care… aka: Dad). From there it was on to Independent Samoa where I saw fire dancers and then the Kingdom of Tonga where I tried Kava on Niuatoputapu (thats an Island). I think I am less attached to Samoa and Tonga than I was the Cooks or Societies, but they were beautiful as well. Katie and I have spent most of our time grocery shopping it seems. We had a hilarious time in Tonga where we bought out 2 stores and made 3 or 4 trips to the market for fresh stuff. They had some of the best selection we’ve seen since Papeete, Tahiti. Now we’re in Fiji until the 13th or 14th of October so hopefully I’ll be able to get some pictures up. This leg has flown by so much faster than the others and has presented some challenges relationship-wise which have left me at times frustrated but at other times it has been good for the boat community to work things out. The Sunday Service we had last week was good for that – we re-told the story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15(? I think) with Antony presenting the younger son’s perspective, Karen was the Father and I was the older son. After that, Skipper led us in the “Forgiveness Rock” where we each took a rock then sat somewhere on the boat thought about some one we may need to forgive or a situation that was somewhat controlling and then were invited to pitch our rock overboard if we felt we could let go of it now. After that, I felt like the mood on the boat was much better and I feel like people have been getting along better since then. We finished off that day with some reef snorkeling in Vavau, Tonga. Tonight, I’m making dinner and Chase, Scott, Tav and I teryaki marinated up the 2 huge dorado we caught yesterday so I’ll cook up some baked french fries and fish and chips it will be. Maybe a huge coleslaw on the side. Tonight it is off to Lautoka, Vitu Levu, Fiji where we will be for the next week and a bit – 2 weeks. Dad arrives on Monday which I am also looking forward to! Cheers… 🙂