We are anchored a little south of the main island of the Haapai group off the shore of Uoleva. There are several miles of beach; we're told it would take 5 hours to walk around the island and you would be on the beach the entire circuit. Think of the beach at Kailua in Hawaii without a soul on it.

We ran north with the dingy for a ways and then walked to the northern tip where we found this coconut full of shells. In reality it is a large group of hermit crabs feasting on the coconut. They "adopt" found shells on the beach and live in them. Clearly there is a "Hermit Crab AIA" because these guys had gathered the nicest shells to be found anywhere along the beach. I wonder if they have "design review?"

An American woman, Patty, is in the process of building a resort here; she has brought in a half dozen frame structures that were pre-fabbed in Bali for rooms and the main building. It will be very nice when it is done, but one wonders in this climate how long it will last.

We plan to head for Fiji on Monday, a 500+ mile crossing that will take us 3-4 days depending on the weather.