Holy smokes we're tired! It was especially hot and humid today and we're anything but accommodated to the conditions. We certainly didn't drink enough so at 1500 we called it and came weaving back to the room. A few glasses of cold water and a sit down in the air conditioning (yes, a major reason for renting a room) rejuvenated us a bit. We're swilling Fjij Bitter beer at the resort's outdoor bar but the island's Internet connection is down and I have no idea when this will be posted.

We're disappointed! Many of the items of work that we had requested that Yacht Help complete have not been done, or not obviously been done. Damn! Yes, some tasks had been done, and many done well, but we've opened the battle with Yacht Help about what work we received for the dollars that we've paid. We requested that they have our dinghy repaired and returned to the boat. We paid for that service but the dinghy is not aboard. Is it stored somewhere? Is it sitting in the sun somewhere? Did it sprout legs? It's the situation that every cruiser dreads.

Another big problem is these damned New Zealand power plugs. They don't make a marine style that locks into place and is relatively watertight. Oh, no, these are 240 VAC plugs that just slip into place. We have some US-to-New Zealand adapters but they are not sufficiently strong to keep the plug in place with our heavy US 120 VAC cords. We get intermittent power but the batteries are now in deplorable condition since they've not been charged for 10 months. We don't yet know if they can be resurrected but hope that they can. It was not a situation that could be foreseen and we're shooting from the hip for solutions.

No battery or AC power means no lights or fans below decks, no music, no testing of new gear, no electric drills for installations, we're at a standstill until we get that power problem solved. We worked on what we could today, any task that could be completed without power. Installing the new toilet was in that category, but the mounting holes for the new unit didn't match the old ones, so all that I could do was remove the old one. I'm sure that ten minutes with my power drill would have seen the task completed.

Tomorrow is Monday in Fiji, and we'll get some kind of solution for the power situation and start our battle with Yacht Help.

We fetched some canned and packaged food for tonight, but might get railroaded by the resort's Sunday meal of pit-cooked food. They dig a pit, dump in river rocks, heat them with fire, and prepare the food. When the fire is out and the rocks are hot, the food is lowered into the pit and covered with banana leaves. They remove it by timing 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Voil
a! I've never eaten food prepared in this way but we might forsake packaged Mexican for it.

Showers, a good meal, and early to bed: that's what we plan.