Sunday in the Solomon’s

We arrived here yesterday after hanging out in the bay for several hours.Took us 5 times to get the anchor set. Got settled and took a nap. Around noon every one was up and around. We went into shore to meet the chiefs (3). Father Mike met us to welcome us to the island, one by one the chiefs appeared. Jim gave them each a Special Blend T-shirt. Beetle nut is chewed in this area. It’s a bit of a shock at first to see people with RED teeth. They remind me of the of the days at Idyllwilde Elem during the dental heath programs when they gave you all those red tablets to chew that showed where the plaque was. I fit right in with my red lipstick, thanks goodness my teeth are not red.

Last evening Lizzie called to say they had a little issue with one of the local boys. He came on board and took a chicken they had out to thaw in the sink in the stern. Father Mike came out to apologize also brought the money his chief had fined him. They were very sorry and could not return the chicken…..it had already been cooked and eaten.

Today has been a constant with the local canoes, old and young. Very picky about what they wanted to trade for. This island I think gets more cruise ships than most. Did get a couple of inserting carved things.

Had a nice snorkel, Holly I did see one of the anemonie fish with the one strip like we thought we saw in Vanuatu. Just as we were getting back into Lizzie’s dink there were some squid around us, think they might have been mating, my camera was dead but I think Asylum got movies. They water was not near as clear as our last anchorage, but had different fish.

Think we are leaving tomorrow heading on up toward Guadalcanal. Maybe making a stop or two. We need to get to Honiara to do our official check in and be legal.

Martha