We are still in the Tuamotos, at Apataki, and have moved a grand 10 miles to the sheltered side of the lagoon. This bold move was motivated by a wind change that put us on the downwind side of the lagoon. As the wind built we had a sleepless night with three foot wind waves and white caps rolling and pitching past our boat and crashing onto the beach behind us. After about an hour trying to unravel our chain which was wrapped around the coral 50' below in a creative knot, we motored sailed across the lagoon. Last night was bliss; we are sheltered by the reef and the palm trees and the water is perfectly smooth again.

Our lives here are starting to obsessively revolve around food. We talk endlessly about food, we spend hours and hours making every thing from scratch, and we eat. The day starts with a very small selection of breakfast options, if there is Mary's bread we are in luck, if not it is hot cereal again. After breakfast, we do school with the kids and talk about what to have for lunch. At lunch we typically plan an activity, and talk about what to bring for a snack. While playing on the beach we can talk for hours about what we would order at each of the restaurants we have ever visited. "Would you rather have the blackened salmon ceasar salad at the Lock Spot, or the combination plate at Louisa's..s?" "If you went to Ray's and we had the calamari appetizer, would you order a cold glass of white wine or a beer ?" After this huge build up, we crash back to earth and talk about what to really make for dinner. Back on the boat, we spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to get our dwindling supply of canned stuff and dried beans into something interesting and edible. Mary sometimes thinks she spends the entire day thinking about food, talking about food, or eating.

The depths so far were reached when we actually tried to eat a moray eel that the boys and I caught on the outer reef. We had mixed expectations, but carefully cleaned and barbequed an eel the size of my arm. Yes, it was vile! What were we thinking, trying to eat a snake? Fortunately, we had "heart of palm" salad to go with the inevitable can of beans. The center of the shoots that grow out of the fallen coconuts are edible, while not green they are as close to a vegetable as we can find. There are enormous coconut crabs here that are reported to be edible. It is called a coconut crab but is looks more like a lobster than a crab. Imagine a purple lobster with bristly hair that lives in a hole in the ground and climbs trees. Hmmm .. we might try and catch one of these next.

Once we figure out what to make for lunch, we are going to go ashore and beach comb for a while. We are out of nuts - maybe bread and nuetella for a snack, but then be out of bread for breakfast tomorrow - best to take some of the dried peas from Mexico instead; wonder if we could put coconut on a pizza; boy Zeek's pizza sure sounds good... by Red Mill burgers - yeah where they have the great shakes ; which shake would you order?...

Mary has promised to take me to Tahiti for my fortieth birthday. She is the best!