A Bug's Life

Close-up of a dragonfly.

Conrad has been a bit obsessed with bugs lately. His backup pet is a tarantula if he can't get a dog when we go back to living on land.

He has been getting some great shots of the many critters crawling around the Solomons. But as we struggle to keep creepy crawlies off the boat (flies, mosquitoes, and other flying pests, not to mention weevils in rice, pasta and flour that we buy), Conrad fights to keep every manner of creature that he encounters. He begs to bring aboard grasshoppers and crickets. We have an orb weaver spider on board that looks about ready to hatch a million eggs. We will have to liberate it onto land before the spider babies arrive.

Conrad is honing his macro skills.

We are getting ready to leave the Solomon Islands after nearly six months, which involves buying a bunch of fuel and food. We'll head to Papua New Guinea, where we plan to spend almost all our time in remote areas. This should be safer and nicer.

As we head into the so-called fall and winter in this area, the nights are a little cooler but the days are just as hot as ever. At least the wind is picking up, which means we're using the sails for the first time in months. We shook out a few swallow nests from our mainsail and had to grease our headsail roller furling. We'll have to order some new bearings for installation down the line. Boat equipment definitely benefits from use.

Send in the clowns

We are at a remote anchorage northeast of Gizo. It has a nice white sand beaches (digging never gets old). The diving and snorkeling are great--we have never seen so many clownfish. Even out here, our friend Samson has sailed/canoed out to offer us water coconuts and fresh produce from his garden.

The generator has gotten a lot of use due to the cloudiness and dive compressor. Matt has also been replacing a lot of pumps (refrigeration and bilge) lately. He loses about a quart of sweat every time he does one of these projects.

Easter in Gizo

When we were in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, there were so many white sand beaches that we really became really blasé about them. I felt I would be just fine if I never saw another white sand beach.

As we traveled further west, the white sand beaches dwindled. The Solomon Islands especially have had very few accessible beaches. So it was a treat to find this gem near Gizo. An island made entirely of sand. The dinghy had barely reached the shore when the boys were out running at full speed. Apparently, they have been a little cooped up.

Gizo is pretty typical for a good-sized Pacific island town. Just about every business along the main drag is a Chinese-owned shop holding various seemingly random items (many made in China, as you would expect). There is usually a Chinese person manning the cash register and a number of locals working in the shop. We have heard that the workers are paid very little and not treated very well. There is a palpable animosity between the Chinese shopkeepers and the local residents. Being Asian, I feel a distinctly different vibe towards me from some of the locals that live in these towns. It contrasts with the friendliness of locals in some of the smaller villages.

PT-109 hosts part of the darts competition.

The Easter tradition in this area is a four-day dart tournament at various venues. 20 teams compete for prizes.

We visited Kennedy island, where John F. Kennedy and his crew swam after PT-109 was destroyed. Speaking of Asians, Kennedy had to convince the locals that he and his crew were American and not Japanese. Apparently, one light-skinned man was the same as the next to the two local men. They couldn't tell the Americans and Japanese apart by looking at them.

A Taste of Civilization

The picture shows tiny Snake Island. At certain times of year, sea snakes go there to breed.

At Lola Island, the proprietors of the resort were kind enough to share their Internet with visiting yachts. This is the first 'unlimited' Internet we have enjoyed since arriving in the Solomons in November. Initially, it was a huge boon to be able to do the things we needed, such as banking and taxes. However, by the end of our weeklong stay, I was feeling vaguely discontent and somewhat anxious. A constant connection to the outside world brought me news (usually bad) and all the trivia of my favorite websites. Yet, being on the Internet sucked me in and I read fewer, played less guitar, and felt I was being pulled away from the real world. I saw the same effect on the kids as well, especially Conrad. He would rush through meals to email and e-chat with his friends. Both he and Mark were disproportionately excited about the arrive of (iPad) game day WITH INTERNET. I'm being overly dramatic but the experience gave me a glimpse of the challenges that going back to the U.S. might bring.

We are currently anchored at Malazeke Island, slowly making our way to Gizo. The village here is Seventh Day Adventist, so the villagers don't have teeth stained red and black by Betel nut. When we arrived, Billy came out to say hello, offer his many services (tour guide, boat bottom cleaner, carver), and see what we had to trade (angle grinder, generator, engine). He asked whether Matt was interested in going fishing and for help writing a thank you letter to the Australian High Commission for the water collection tanks that were sent.

Matt has continued his battle against the misbehaving freezer and refrigerator. Apparently, sealing the leaking pumps stopped the leak but made the water infiltrate the motor. Both pumps have been replaced (and new ones ordered). He has also cleaned the boat's bottom and propellers, which has given us an extra knot of speed.

The weather remains hot but we haven't seen much sun (for the Solomons) in the last week. Our water tanks are full but our solar performance has been dismal. Our generator is getting more use here than anywhere else in four years of cruising.

Lola Island

Pepe the dog loves the kids

Lola Island has everything: a friendly resort, a beach with rope swings and dozens of black tip reef sharks (they are more afraid of us than we are of them), clean water for snorkeling, and an island with skulls.

No crocs at Lola (so they say)

Here are some shots from Munda, where we spent a couple weeks. It is rich with World War II history. There are lots of relics just sitting in people's yards.

War games

There were stacks of dog tags at Alfie's museum. This
tag is for a soldier from our hometown.

Alfie goes out to the jungle every day to collect relics.

Munda's version of pink flamingos.

Back in the land of internet

The kids got to be in the water with these guys.

In honor of our first 3G for over a month--pictures! We have just been hanging out with our friends on Field Trip and Rehua, visiting villages, seeing sights, and snorkeling. The coral is healthy and there is and we are seeing a lot of fish that we haven't seen before. We would love a more consistent breeze and fewer flies but overall we can't complain.

We have seen red eyes in the mangroves at night but other
than this little guy in a barrel and some road kill, we
have only heard about croc sightings.

WWII bomber wreck in Mbili.

 

A yellow lipped krait (thanks for the ID Conrad) swam onto our transom.

Matt and Conrad helped hunt for reef-destroying Crown of Thorns
starfish with a local dive op. The group got 201 that day.

Pet hornbill.

 

Waterfront property.

The shark got the rest of this wahoo on the line but we
brought one in on the other line.

Dolphins playing in our bow wake.

 

Scorpionfish.

 

Funnel cloud close by.

Jubilation--dolphins again!

After a long dry spell from dolphins, we saw a couple large pods on our way to Nggatokae Island, including new-to-us Risso's dolphins. We got to swim with a big local pod of dolphins yesterday and today. Now we just need to get over this fishing dry spell.