Gunk holing!

Ok, we are being very lazy! I admit it. Rather than scheming to move to the more remote areas and smaller atolls out there, we are pretty much hiding in the old harbour of Vava'u in Tonga, doing some boat chores and relaxing. Maybe it is the sudden realization that we have close to 10,000 miles under our keel since leaving Victoria in August of 2006. Or maybe 'racing through paradise' is just too tiring! I don't know but we have the luxury at the moment of being lazy so we are taking every advantage
of it! Our friends on 'Tarun' are down exploring the next group of islands in Tonga, the Ha'apai Group and another couple on 'Pacific Star' got itchy feet and headed for Fiji the other day. Meanwhile we had this bay to ourselves the first night, probably because the pass is inconvenient to access as you navigate with charts that are about half mile off and not completely accurate in marking reefs and coral heads. But with a small amount of hair pulling to find the small floats that mark the entrance
to it and perseverance driven from an overwhelming need to stay away from the crowded and noisy main harbour in Neiafu, we managed to get here and are quite comfortable anchored on the edge of a reef near the small village of Makave that none of the tourists seem to bother with. And today we discovered it is only a short walk into Neiafu if we really need supplies we can't get here, like tonic water to make the gin palatable.
Two other boats have now joined us in our isolation. A very small pocket cruiser, a Contessa, named 'Mamiti Vava'u' (the name of the native woman that Fletcher Christian married when the Bounty mutinied)....you all knew that though....and another young couple on 'Madeline' who have come through the South Pacific via the Panama Canal and the Galapagos. They are both very relaxed and also seem to be enjoying the solitude in this bay.
So until the water tanks run low, we intend to sit here and re-charge our batteries, both literally and figuratively and if I don't send too many updates.....well it's probably because there isn't much to say!