Last night was another special time here in paradise. The guys went out lobster hunting again the night before, although I was invited and keen as heck to go the boat was full enough this time with five so I stayed home and worked on the hot water tank. It is not a simple thing this lobster hunting on the reef. You go out just before dark, miles down the lagoon to the reef proper, anchor the dinghy, hop into chest deep water and make your way a few hundred yards out to near the edge of the reef where the surf is crashing in all around you and you make for shallow water knee deep. Just right there the reef wall drops thousands of feet to the ocean floor all around you but you stand in knee deep warm water looking out at the swell way above your head before it comes rolling or crashing into the reef, otherworldly for sure. Of course walking through and on coral demands good balance and a sure step to avoid getting slashed to bits by the coral and uhh perhaps attracting some new friends, a sure way to bring an abrupt end to "the hunt" or worse, perhaps get yourself a view from the other side of the phrase "the hunt". Anyway you wait at the far end of your route until black dark when the lobsters climb up the wall of the fringing reef from the depths to feed and breed and socialize in the shallow pools where small fish and critters are suspended waiting for the next wave to come over and move them along or back out to sea. In black of dark and with a good light you make you way back to the boat looking ahead with the light and when you spot one your gloved hand must be lightning fast and you flip it into your pail and keep moving along until you are back at the boat. Hieo carry's a cut off plastic 45 gal drum with ropes for shoulder straps and flip flops he no doubt found on the beech as padding. He just walks with determination and flips them like picking up rocks and tossing them over his head into the drum. And so it goes until a couple of hours later you are back to the main boat. Then ashore the pot luck ramps up the next evening and everyone shows up with a dish or even two, our hosts the local family sets up a 30 foot table with nice table cloth and lights no less powered from their battery bank and solar array and we have an all you can eat lobster feast in warm tropical sand and a setting that would be like a group Robinson Crusoe community. In all about 40 people 11 of who were kids and families or couples from all over the world. Germany, Denmark, Holland, France Russia, Canada, US, England, St Helina, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. Too cool to describe and something you could do for weeks at a time and never get bored. As th evening closed, one couple could not find their dinghy. Everyone got out their lights and scoured the shore and out into the lagoon as far as they would shine but no luck, some walked the shore quite a ways and no luck. So out to the boats and grab lights and the search is on. After about 35 minutes, Jeff the other Canadian boat and I found it and made the owners really happy. The call came back over the vhf "open bar on our boat tonight"! Now this is after a long day and evening of party and feast but we succumbed to the pressure and putted on over for some rum and more socializing. When we got back home, Gwen says "its quarter to two" wow where did it all go. Too much fun here and no way we want to leave. A weather window looks good for Thursday so it appears we will be preparing to get underway again but not before we dig out some thoughtful and practical gifts for our gracious hosts for allowing us to share their beautiful Atoll and home for a short while. speaking of gifts we brought a brand new solar yard light along for use perhaps in the dinghy or somewhere so we opened it up and charged it before bringing it in and giving it to Mom. She was really happy especially once she got the solar part and was giddy as a kid. She even went around showing it off and later we learned from a daughter she has no lights in her "room" which I think amounted to the grass hut palm frond palapa but we did not see in side. That felt really good and we have more good stuff to leave them with and that too will fell really good.