We are at Lautoka, Fiji to finalize our preparations for the 1700 mile trip north to the Marshall Islands. We plan to stop in Kiribati (a mere 1300 miles away) for 3-4 weeks. So our next supermarket opportunity might not be until January.

Here's how we get ready to leave Fiji, where most food items are available and the exchange rate is favorable. We have refrigeration, but no freezer and we hope to catch fish along the way.

Here's the list:

2 loaves of bread for our first 5 days, then 20 lbs of flour to make our own
10 lbs basmati rice (the only kind I can get in Fiji)
24 tins of tomatoes
24 tins of beans (black, kidney, chick pea)
5 lbs coffee beans (this situation could get critical but not much was available)
Assorted tins of soup, cup-o-soup, and ramen for any rough days when no one wants to cook
Lots of 8 oz. packets of cheese - feta, mozza and sharp cheddar
Stick salami which keeps forever and really jazzes up a homemade pizza
Assorted canned fruit which, chilled and paired with ginger snaps, makes a nice dessert.
Lots of dried split peas and lentils for making dal - our new favorite dish.
Alfalfa seeds and mung beans for making fresh sprouts
20 green tomatoes wrapped in newspaper which I hope will last 3 weeks
2 butternut squash
20 lbs potatoes (regular and sweet)
50 onions
30 heads garlic
5 dozen eggs
20 bananas (that will most likely ripen at the same time!)
Pineapples, Papaya, oranges and apples
Lots of carrots, green peppers, green beans, eggplant, cabbage, ripe tomato, lettuce and cucumber
1 whole chicken to cook on the day we leave
10 packets of roti (flour tortilla) because who really wants to make bread while sailing? And we love breakfast burritos.
Lots of hot sauces and spices
Best (aka Hellmans) Mayonnaise
Cookies, crackers, peanut butter, and Vegemite to get Bruce through his night watches. The vegemite is something new, but 20 millions Australians can't be wrong!
And, for a treat on week 2 in Kiribati when we realize that we can't get anything more interesting than tinned mackerel, 2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts, 4 jars of kalamata olives, 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes, and 12 bottles of red wine.

The only thing missing from the list is CHOCOLATE but we decided we need to go on a diet.

Oh, and we've also stocked up on diesel fuel, water, and engine oil. We've done a rig check, scrubbed the bottom, packed ditch bags, updated our medical kit and loaded up our Kindles. Tomorrow we'll look at the weather forecast, toss a coin, and....

GO!