Friday 12 August Vunisea market



Flat calm in Galoa Harbour

 For the last two days we've enjoyed clear skies and sunny days. We were awake early this morning to get into market before all the best produce is sold but just as we were putting the dinghy in the water, Philip a local man, stopped by for a chat and to help David put more petrol in the outboard tank. He had to step on board as did his friend but after our experience a few days ago when our sunglasses 'disappeared' after the young men from Ngara village on Ono had visited, we were not letting anyone step in the cockpit. The old adage of 'locking the stable door after the horse has bolted' comes to mind. The upshot we arrived late to market and there were slim pickings; enough but not the cornucopia I'd hoped for.
Vunisea is an interesting village; one road running along the seashore and one coming over the hill from Galoa Harbour side to meet it outside the market hut. To ensure smooth traffic flow of the six vehicles in town the powers that be built a traffic roundabout at the junction of the roads. It looked nice with the sides painted in black and white directional arrows. There are a couple of general stores, both smaller than our cockpit, one with the bakery attached. The bread from this small place is delicious, in fact bread in Fiji is a delight and with wholemeal readily available.

Galoa village creek

This evening we had a romantic celebration dinner; the barbecue was pulled out for the sacrifice of a piece of sirloin and the screw cap broken on a bottle of wine. Why? It's three years since we sat in Greenwich and got the confirmation Jackster was now ours. Three years and the other side of the world. I think I can say with confidence we've come a long way in our sailing career – 17,000 miles and exponentially in terms of skill although there's still a long way to go...