August 11 Bon Jour! Can you believe it? We are still in Wallis, and still at Halolo anchorage. ...and still very much on the "happy train". We never would have thought that we would stay nearly 3 months here, but we have. My French is now quite servicable for survival purposes and for non-complex conversations. Slowly and simply is what I ask people. If they are kind and comply, I understand quite alot. I am slow to form my sentences and I do notice that some people get impatient with it, but I press on. Elisabeth, on the other hand, is truly conversant - not quite fluent, but very conversant. Bravo Elisabeth!!!!

So, it is now time to leave, and we are very sad to be doing so. We have checked out and are waiting for the weather to be kind. Right now there is no wind, but with rain. The forecast promises to clear up and bring some wind,, so we expect to leave by the weekend. Meanwhile, we have had a couple of going away parties given to us by different friends here. Last night, our friends Pasicale and Dominique made us a wonderful dinner at the Bar de Pirates. We had expected that the dinghy would be uninflated and stowed, so a friend Sabastien picked us up in his boat. We all had a great visit and there was much hugging and wishes that we will all meet again.

Thierry and the lovely Soisig gave us another send off party. Soisig makes wonderful pizza, and after going to hear Thierry and his band play one more time, we all gathered at their house to share this great time. We shall miss them very very maximum. Thierry knows what I am talking about here. (c'est un petite blague que nous partageons ensemble). But, earlier in the day, before we had the pizza party, we shared a last pique-nique together at one of the little islands that ring Wallis. Of course our transport to the island was Thierry's trusty Fijian long boat. This is, in itself enough for a memorable day anywhere.

Then, there was a send off at the Bar de Pirates that the public was invited to. Many attended, Thierry and I played a little music, it rained like crazy (remember that the bar is an open-sided island structure and the rain was fierce for a while). All good adventure. Truly wonderful people. Pasicale had decorated the place, in our honor, with many small Americain flags, and had made up special diplomas for us. He is the diving instructor, remember? These diplomas proclaimed that we were "Pirates d'Honneur" of the Bar de Pirates. Pasicale told us that only his diving students had ever received these diplomas. Did I say we were overwhelmed by all of this warmth and love?

Two weeks ago, Elisabeth and I gave a presentation at the local Junior High, showing films and slides of some of our adventures. The students all gasped at the sight of the San Francisco shoreline and the high rise buildings. I think the highest building on Wallis is four floors. Last month, we were filmed and interviewed on the local TV, so when we go for our walks, we get many waves. Great fun.

There is so much more to tell. Pasicale has a number of dogs guarding the place, and they all are good friends of ours now. We shall miss them too. We have met a few people who actually have vacations planned to visit San Francisco this winter, and they are now going to have people who they can visit - us!

But for now, we set sail soon. We intend to sail for the Marshall Islands. We may or may not stop at Tuvalu. Watch this space.

Merci Wallis!! Be Excellent to One Another, Rod and Elisabeth, "Your Rock and Roll Argonauts"