The picture is of a visitor we've seen fairly often where we are anchored. We are still on the north west side of Raiatea. Honestly getting a bit tired of the place. We've been here for more than three weeks due to some repair and maintenance stuff. And stupid things keep getting messed up. For example we scheduled a haul out with one yard, then waited for our date, then learned while in the slipway that they couldn't haul us. So we had to reschedule with another yard and then wait. I sent a leaky fuel injection pump back to Papeete to be repaired and it took 10 days for it to be returned, only to discover that they had messed up the timing in the pump, so the engine wouldn't run right when I installed it. So it had to be sent back. It arrived here at the airport last night, so I arranged with the yard to pick it up at the airport myself this morning so I could install it today and sail to Bora Bora tomorrow. But someone from the yard, went and picked it up themselves before I got to the airport. But the yard is closed until monday so now we have to wait again. This is a nice place but we have a few thousand more miles to sail before hurricane season start here, so we are losing time to visit other islands like Maupiti, Maupihaa, Aitutaki, Palmerston & Niue which are all located between here and Tonga. We may be forced to sail north to Suwarrow instead due to timing and weather (timing problems means less flexibility to play the weather to get into these other places which can be tricky....) At least there is a lovely restuarant called Snack Mimosa about 100 yards from the dock with a big plate of Sashimi & Rice or Grilled Tuna and Fries for about $11, and cold 500ml Hinano's for $3.50 -- both of which are among the best deals in polynesia. Prices can be very strange here. Baguettes are 60 cents. Sandwiches on a baguette are about $2.30. Gas is about $8/gallon. A jar of Peanut Butter is $8. The grilled tuna and the sashimi are among the best in the world as this is where it is caught, and it is as f resh as can be. Also strangely, the haul out price was about half what we paid in panama and about 30% less than what we usually pay in the U.S.

Tonight we are just eating on board, relaxing and having a quiet night. Stephen & Rivers cleaned their cabins today so they will get a bit of internet time tonight. And Amy and I will probably watch a movie.

Its been pretty windy so we haven't snorkeled or spearfished much. But tomorrow morning may be good for both.