As we arrive in the Solomon Islands, we decide to stop in Utupua in the Santa Cruz Islands. It is a beautiful place with a very protected anchorage surrounded by one of the last kaori forest. The villagers have always refused to have any logging on their island and have hence preserved their trees. It is absolutely stunning. One of the activities an anchorage is crocodile spotting: they often reveal themselves as a big log travelling across the bay but against the current! It is a bad idea to go and check your anchor. A Swiss yachty unfortunately was snapped few years ago.
The villages at the entrance of the lagoon are very pretty and we felt extremely welcomed by the inhabitants. We could only stay for a few days which was unfortunate as there are plenty of activities to do there with the locals. This is one of the few places in the Solomon Islands where we still found very strong traditions and powerful local chiefs. The population is a mixed of Polynesian and Melanesian origins and one feels it in the way they freely come and speak to us as well ensure we do not leave the village empty handed on our first visit. We receive a nice collection of pumpkins to feed the family for a while. We will try to return in the future as we strongly feel we missed something.
As we arrive in Lata, we are welcomed by our friends Margaret and Titus who seem thrilled to see us. They do remember the boat and especially the boys. We will cause a huge disappointment as we need to leave after one day, Margaret was already planning to prepare a feast with coconut crab for our dinner.
We continue our journey stopping in known places, in Marau Sound, Honiara (which looks and feels far worse than two years ago), Russel Islands and Western Province. In every place we visited two years ago, the kids remember our pirates' name and our two boys feel like heros!
After a few days in Peava where we are greeted by our old friends, Kelsy and Caroline, Eva and Lily we decide to head to new grounds.
M'Bili is just a few nautical miles away and is the beginning of the Marovo Lagoon. It is a safe place for most weather conditions and the water there is amazingly clear. We have a turquoise pool just a few minutes from the boat. This is an ideal place for swimming and a good playground for the boys. We organise a carving show to avoid the permanent visits of carvers to our boat and the few relations we have with the villagers are very friendly. The bad surprise for Marc is the serious decrease in the number of fish and sharks where he used to go spear fishing. We hear reports of shark fining in the area and clearly it shows.
After dropping our crew, Maxime, in Noro (he is heading to New Zealand for new adventures), we head to Ringgi Cove which used to be the local harbour for logging. The place is now beautiful as they have replanted teak tree all over the hills. There are plenty of rivers to visit with the dinghy and the locals are charming offering more fruits, vegetables and flowers than we can eat. We decide to spend Christmas there and enjoy watching the surprise of the villagers' faces as they discover our Christmas flashing lights. The easy access to the small islets of the Vona Vona lagoon makes this anchorage an ideal spot. There are also plenty of kingfish on the reef just outside of the cove (a dream fish for sashimi lovers).

The next step is Ghizo. We fill up the boat with items to trade in perspective of our next destination : the remote island of Isabela.