We had a rainfall this afternoon, and as the clouds cleared, we enjoyed this beautiful view of the island's volcanic spires. These sharp peaks are ancient columns of lava which have cooled, and, being harder than the surrounding material, have withstood erosion over the centuries, leaving these fantastic vertical plugs.

We ventured into town to do provisioning for our 4 day passage to the Tuomotus Islands... we need to purchase not only food for the passage, but for the next month, since very little is available on these islands, with fruits and vegetables being especially lacking.

Our last venture was to fill our jerry cans with gasoline to run our generator and outboard motors... to our surprise there was no gasoline availabe anywhere on the island, at least until the next supply ship arrives. Luckhy for us it arrived this evening, so we shoule be able to refill our jerry cans in the morning, and be on our way.

Refilling the jerry cans, by the way, is no small task. We have to carry three 5 gallon cans from the boat, ashore, and then walk about a mile inland to the only store in town that sells it (at $8 per gallon). Then we have to lug the jerry cans another mile back to the dock (each 5 gallon can weighs about 30 lbs). Well, at least we are getting our exercise.