Friday, 15 January New horizons

As lovely as it is in the eastern Hollandes, there are so many islands here it would be rude not to visit as many as possible. We were just getting ready to leave when people we'd met yesterday, Peter Turner, Mary and Debbie from Solaris, an Amel 54, and par of the World ARC rally 2010, stopped by to say hello. Peter is a charningly Englishman, in his 70s and a hoot. He lost his last Amel 54 when he hit a reef between Fiji and Australia that had been omitted from the electronic chart. They came for 10 minutes and stayed for over an hour. We gave m our boat card and hope to see him in the Pacific, possibly Tahiti
Underway we had a fast sail east to the group of islands know as Coco Banderas. More perfect uninhabited postcard islands with a dozen boats anchored. We found a comfortable spot behind the outermost island, set the hook and settled in. First over to visit us was Rob from Australian boat Bristol Rose..We met Rob and Trish in Martinique back in July. Now they are taking part in the World ARC with their two sons and Rob's brother. He invited us to join them at a barbecue on the beach this evening.
At 5 o'clock we went over with the lobster we bought this afternoon. Local fisherman in a traditional ulu dugout canoe had come past selling fruit and vegetable and lobsters.
We were able to buy six small lobsters for $6, or £4. Back to the barbecue. One of Rob's sons had built the fire and we put our foil wrapped lobsters in the coals to cook. Each of the five boats had brought a vegetable or salad dish to share and we sat down in the dark and tucked into a feast. Have you ever tried eating with a torch under your armpit to light your plate? Not easy and by the end of evening we were wearing almost as much as we'd eaten. Paradise.