It's been a fairly busy time since our last entry. After our last dive in Viani Bay we headed west, taking a pit stop overnight in Fawn Harbour. It's a very quiet place so imagine our surprise when we heard male and female voices coming from a bamboo raft drifting past the boat in the dark in the middle of the night.

Then it was up early and back to Savusavu. Most of the other sailors who will be doing the Bula Rendezvous Rally have now arrived, so we were keen to get in and start to get to know everyone. There have been sun-downers, communal meals and various events now running for several days, which has been a lot of fun. A highlight was a bus tour to the northern town of Labasa with a pretty large group of sailors. We went there via the Snake Temple (closed), the sugar mill (closed), Labasa town (open) and a wonderful lunch at nice hilltop resort that had just re-opened for us after a long closure - due to both Covid and the impact of the last cyclone that hit the north coast of this island. It is a very scenic island so we were happy to see it all again from the comfort of a rickety old bus - with no air conditioning but an excellent sound system. It was a really fun day with a lot of laughs.

Our friends on Venture Lady have now arrived in Savusavu and are sitting in the quarantine pen watching us having a delicious red snapper Thai curry lunch at the Copra Shed. We are looking forward to their release tomorrow morning (as are they!).

Our plan for the next couple of months is being formed, and we will start off by re-visiting Viani Bay. From there, our first big target is the Lao group of islands, which lie to the south-east. It looks like we could be there for about a month, and we have been told to provision for six weeks as there is very little to buy there - due to a combination of isolation and the recent cyclone. The weather will dictate when and where we go and when we leave. It sounds like a proper expedition.

What makes all this possible is the fact that there has been a relaxation of the rules here. Cruisers are now allowed to go ashore on other islands - provided, of course, that the local villagers permit it. We will have to perform sevusevu when we do go ashore - but that's another story, for another time.