June 4 Bon Jour! It has all turned out very well. When we found the problem with the engine, we went to check back in at the Gendarmarie and were attended by a guy from the part of France that is almost German. He and Elisabeth had lots to talk about, (in German) and we explained why we weren't leaving. We asked if he know a really sharp mechanic, and he did. He gave us the name of a guy, we went to his house, and another French friend we had met, (Chris, the Harley guy - his office is next door) went with us and explained our problem. The mechanic was intrigued and interested in the job, and he made an arrangement to meet us at the wharf at 2:15. At 2:15, he was there, tools in hand. On the boat he examined the problem,and agreed that the broken bolt would be a challenge. He agreed to try and we got to work, with me assisting, and Elisabeth with the French/English dictionary in hand. Jean Yves spoke no English. We all worked happily together, and managed a few laughs along the way. At one point, Jean Yves needed to go back to his shop, so we took another semi-wild dinghy ride together. Remember that we were in a very exposed, rock and roll, hobby horse anchorage. By the end of the day, the fix was done. Complete with the broken bolt extracted, and new ones put in. Fiji will not be necessary.

Jean Yves' charge was amazingly reasonable. Only problem was that we had checked out of the country, so we had no money. We arrived at the bank to find that the bank machine was not in service. Wonderful. Jean Yves was very understanding, and didn't mind waiting until (hopefully) tomorrow. Meanwhile, the door to travel to Majuro was again open. But now we had decided to stay a while and enjoy Wallis. Another dilemma, although a pleasant one. We decided that we would stay here and enjoy Wallis for a few weeks. We would move the boat to the east side of the island to Halalo where we would find a more protected anchorage. We also decided that if we were to go to the Pacific Northwest this season, we would only be able to make Vancouver/Seattle area. Alaska, and the coast of Canada, would be "closed" by then. Our travel plan then, is that we would leave Majuro in the spring and get to visit Alaska and Canada when the weather was nice and relatively warm. This plan allows us to stay and enjoy Wallis for a few weeks.

We moved the boat today. The sun was shining, and the trip was simply breathtakingly beautiful. The reefs were a vibrant turquoise color, the deep water was deep blue, and the trees very green. Stunning. The passes were like a snake, but easy to see, so navigation was a pleasure. We put our hook down in 40 ft. at 13 20.413S, 176 13.510W. It is very protected, but far enough out such that we get a breeze. The dinghy ride is dry. A big change from yesterday.

There is a dive school on the beach run by a man named Pascal. The school is his house and he lives there with his wife, two nieces and three daughters. He lets us park the dinghy with his boats, and he also runs a little beach bar called the Pirate Bar. It is very low key and he is very cool and very helpful. He also seems to be a guitar player so there may be some joint music in the future. This seems to be a spot where we will meet people, and we are trying to keep as much of it in French as possible. And not doing too bad. That then, is our current status. We are, back on the happy train!

Be Excellent to One Another, Rod and Elisabeth, "Your Rock and Roll Argonauts"