Hi Maria, I sent this to Davis, he hasnt been replying so Im not sure if he shares them with you guys. Below. Had a busy day installing computer fans inside cowl vents pushing hot air out of the boat. The vent in the galley was not very effective until now. To test, Melinda baked a pizza with Onions, garlic, red peppers, artichoke hearts, black olives, Shitake mushrooms and cheese. Normally it would be HOT in here. Now its like having an exhaust fan. Absolutely beautiful. Will be pizza more often. There is a Garden on this island that is government funded which sells its produce once a week. Melinda arrived there at 4:30 in the morning the other day and was #62 in line. The pickings were slim yet she managed to get a few tasty papaya. You would like this, to get anywhere on this island, one has to walk across the runway. 2 times a month a Propeller driven cargo plane from Fiji lands, sometimes having to circle for 2 hours waiting for the pack of dogs to get cleared from the landing strip. At night, youll see hundreds of people dragging bedding from there homes and sleeping on the runway. The runway is one of the windiest places on the island. The temperature is hot, so they find respite in sleeping there. This place has a special beauty about it as the people havent been influenced from the outside world. Some seek to find other countries to live in only to return saying life is too fast there. There is no running water here on the island. The government of Australia has given each household a swimming pool like tank so they can catch rain water off there roofs. A few stores to shop at ranging from the size of your bathroom to the size of your kitchen stocked with flour, sugar, rice, and a few canned goods. To get diesel for the boat, we brought our jerry cans to land, and had them filled by taking fuel from a 50 gallon drum. To fill the fuel the man working puts a hose down the opening of the drum and inhales deeply, siphoning fuel into a bucket which is marked with a line scratched on it (used to measure how much is in there). Then pulls the hose out and then funneled into our cans. First, before the pouring process one needs to pay, which is a long walk down the block. Remembering to bring your own pen so they can write on a piece of scrap (to you and I) paper a receipt. The process for 10 gallons of fuel took all of about an hour and a half at 8 dollars a gallon (ouch). Grateful for our wind generator and 5 solar panels so we need not run the engine too often to charge batteries. The freezer onboard Mischief stuffed with Chicken Breasts from Fiji and Locally caught Tuna. Our water maker running every other day producing Lots of water. Electricity to run the Vita Mix for daily smoothies, and any power tool imaginable. The ability to send and receive email all the while swinging on anchor. Our vessel sitting just in front of there village has more aboard in terms of convenience then the entire village combined. Amazing. Some History, for the Buff you are. In 1911, Sir Edgeworth David of Sydney Australia bored a hole in one of the inlets of Funafuti (this is where we are). This was to prove Darwins theory on the evolution of atolls. The bore hole went to a depth of 1,100 feet and revealed only sand and coral formation, a finding that was accepted as further proof of Darwins theory. Prince William and his wife Catherine visited this Island less than a year ago. We were told the local people spent months preparing. I am wondering what political gain that was for Great Britain. The Sale of Postage Stamps to international collectors is a major source of income for this small pacific nation. When we walked into the post office to see these stamps it was like walking into a Time Capsule. Scattered across tables, on the walls were all remnants of the past stamped to postage size pieces of paper. 1000s of them waiting to be purchased. For the Local people, the currency on this island is traded by coconuts and fish. For Melinda and I and the very few tourists a year it is traded by the Australian Dollar. Just before leaving Fiji we traded some USA dollars for Australian Dollars. The one and only bank located on this island in the entire country has working hours based on if the bank manager is fishing or collecting coconuts for the day. A little frustrating as we have sat for a few days in front of the bank (which is a Hut) waiting to exchange money. In the end going back to the boat without ever getting it done. Another lesson learned from this tiny country. Even the Bank Manager trades by local currency, fish and coconuts. No one here has ownership to anything, possessions are all communally passed around from house to house. Making crime non existent. The other day Melinda and I came back to the dinghy after a walk on shore to find twenty plus children using our dinghy as there play area. Having so much fun. One boy who spoke simple English saying to me How Soft while pointing and pushing at the tubes. When I unscrewed the air fill valve and depressed it for a second all 20 plus kids jumped in shock as the sound of the air released. Telling them through that action The boat is filled with Air. The look of bewilderment filled each of there faces. Not understanding, I pointed to all of them, I told them through my body language, using my hands as guides to all breath in and exhale big. Then pointed to the valve and pushed it again. I did this three times until two of them understood. Those two boys shared in Tuvaluan language what it was in the boat, the AIR they were breathing. It was price less, more than half of these kids were still taking deep breaths and exhaling when we were waving goodbye. So here you have it. Life in Tuvalu, the third smallest country in the world. Position 08 31.6 South 179 11.2 East. Read this to my parents. With Love, Darren ------------------------------
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:54:11 +0000
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