Christmas Island - Take II

Yes, we are back anchored off of Christmas Island!

We sailed off as planned yesterday and the winds and the waves seemed to be in our favor (unusual, huh?).

We just were starting to lose site of land, when our boat buddies on Evergreen called and let us know they were having electrical/charging issues - bummer. So we all did a U-turn and headed back to Christmas. Moondance just might have boat parts on board that might help, plus extra bodies and brains that might be of some assistance chasing down the problem.

We hope that Evergreen's issues are minor and that we can start our journey south again soon.

Since we have already checked out of the country, we had to call Port Authority (Radio Christmas) and let them know that we were returning. They were very helpful and offered assistance if needed. Hope we don't have to pay all of those fees again!

It was a nice day for a sail and the spinner dolphins put on quite a show as they led us back to anchorage. Plus, did you see that moon last night? It was so clear here that, with our binoculars, the craters on the moon were huge - what a sight.

For now, we are settled into our favorite spot, with a view, and we will enjoy Christmas Island - again!

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Enjoying Christmas Island!

And we have.  Even though we have been "stuck" here because of the Independence week celebrations, it has been a great place to be stuck.

After the parade

Almost daily, we would dinghy into town to explore the villages, shop, and watch the Independence week festivities.  It has been a non-stop party in the village of London for sure.

My favorite part, the parade where all of the the school kids (pre-school through high school), plus the police, marched by the stadium and presented themselves to the town officials. 

Pre-schoolers marching - too funny!

All the schools had their individual uniforms which included shorts, sarongs, dresses, and the traditional dress of the Gilbertese people made of woven palms. 

You had to laugh at all the pre-school classes - it was like watching the teachers herd cats - colorful and adorable!

Hitching a ride

Hitchhiking is a great way to explore the island - you just stick out your thumb and cars stop.  We have got to know so much more about the island people as they drive us around, plus they are very curious about the boat people.  Are you from the yachts?  Ha!

We hitchhiked out to the village of Banana to check out the JMB (big box store) store, plus see the Captain Cook hotel.  Unfortunately, not much at the store that we needed and Captain Cook's bar was closed - rats!  But, it was a good adventure.

Sam, the Policeman, showing us his home

Sam, the Policeman, continues to be very helpful.  He even took us out to see his home and meet his extended family.  They live in traditional Kia Kia's, plus have a concrete block house.

Cooking is done outside over open fire grills under a thatched roof.  The whole family has to contribute or Sam says they have to move out.  Seems fair.

Sam's Kia Kia

Sam wanted us to sample some fresh coconut milk, so sent his brother-in-law climbing up the tree.  It was yummy, but would have been better with rum - hah.  Sam also wanted us to experience the Kia Kia - where they sleep and relax.  Very comfortable and a wonderful breeze off the ocean, but I would have missed my pillow!

Evergreen hanging at the internet cafe

Now, everyone is back at work and all of the government businesses are open.

We got fuel delivered Monday, which took most of the day.  Yesterday, we checked out of Christmas Island. $50 for anchorage fee and $50 for rat inspection (which never happened).  Very interesting.

Drinking a Budweiser?

Plus, we need to do a little more shopping.  Punja is the best store on the island, but it is a long dinghy ride away.  But, we scored 2 cases of Heinken (at $62 AU dollars - ouch), plus they gave us ride back to our dinghy.  Very nice people.

Can't find vegetables on the island, but we bought some fruit.  Oranges and pears - $2 each.  They better be good!  The locals wouldn't sell us any papayas, but they gave them to us for free.  We like that.  Helps make up for the 90 cents eggs!

Jim and Jill (s/v HooRoo)

We are going to miss our new friends - Jim and Jill on s/v HooRoo. They are heading north to Canada and left yesterday.  Thanks for sharing your internet and your fish balls recipe!

We are sailing south today.  Our destination - the Cook Islands.  We hope to make a quick stop at Manihiki - a 6 day trip.  Then on to Suwarrow.  We are hoping for a great sailing experience - cross your fingers!

And more pictures....

Moondance, HooRoo, and Evergreen

Beach by the Captain Cook Hotel

Christmas Island

Getting coconuts

Waiting for a ride

Beached at the Ikari House

Parading...

The parade on Independence Day

Smile

Too cute

Catching up on the internet

Kangaroo crossing - too funny

Transporting a Kia Kia

Championship soccer match

Doug shopping at the mall!

Wrestling match - tough guys!

Our crazy life!

We met a wonderful couple, Jackie and Joel, over Mai Tai's at our favorite place in Ko Olina - Chucks! It turns out that they love to travel and explore as much as we do - we had lots in common and enjoyed hearing about each others adventures.

Jackie and Joel have an amazing blog where they document all of their travels - great stories, pictures, and travel tips. They are exploring Greece right now, plus there is lots of information about visiting Hawaii and other wonderful places, so be sure to check it out http://www.travelnwrite.com.

After hearing our story, they asked us to send them a short blurb about our life so that they could write a post about us. Below is a link to our story. Jackie did a wonderful job of summarizing our crazy life!

http://www.travelnwrite.com/2013/07/travel-tuesday-christmas-in-july.html

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Pictures Finally!

A collection of pictures from Hawaii through Fanning Island.  We will try to post some from Christmas Island before we leave.  Enjoy!

Moondance anchored in Fanning

Laundry day

Sunset at Fanning

Taro farm

Tabata shredding coconut

Jo Jo and Agnes

Dolphins and tourists at Pokai

Ko Olina send off

Sailing canoe

Tabata picking breadfruit

Rescue at sea

Leaving Steve at Fanning

Walking the lagoon

Cooling off

Bruno, Tabata, and gang

Carol sewing the jib

Fred and Mike's fish delivery

Evergreen and the Kwai

Island ferry

Beautiful Kara and Aaron

Hawaii's volcanic sunset

They call it a Bash!

We have been very fortunate not having to do too much Bashing since we started cruising in 2008 - it is not much fun!

But, our trip from Fanning Island to Christmas Island was a Bash. We weren't able to sail, but had to motor into 15-20 knots of wind, 2 knots of current, plus waves coming from all directions. Moondance was bouncing all around, but handled it well. Captain Doug kept changing our course to keep us all as comfortable as possible, but still trying to make Christmas Island before dark. He did a good job! Sleeping was almost impossible, but I did find a very comfortable spot on the sole/floor of our cockpit. Good thing I am short and flexible!

We were happy to finally drop our anchor and pop a nice cold beer - just at sunset. Friends on s/v Mala had shared their waypoint and we were able to find a great spot to rest up.

At Christmas Island, you anchor outside of the lagoon - not inside - but are very protected as long as the normal trade winds are blowing. Hope they hold, cause we are going to be here awhile! We just happen to pull into Christmas (or XMS as they use on their license plates) during a week long celebration of their independence from England. It is a big deal and all government offices are closed - except the Police.

We have gotten to know Sam, the Policeman, very well as he has helped us track down vacationing Custom and Immigration people to help us get checked in. We are getting closer everyday. Plus, we are making a new friend, which is always wonderful. Sam drove us around the village today looking for the Custom's lady - no luck - we will try again tomorrow. But, Sam did chase down a young boy to climb the coconut tree to bring us some good coconuts - very tasty - I promised cookies in return. Sam also invited to visit his home, which we hope to do. It will be good to learn how the islanders live.

Plus, the all the XMS people have been very friendly - always waves and Mauri/Hello or Hi or Howdy (not sure where that comes from). Also shopping. I think they have at least 10 very small grocery stores (with almost identical product) here and we have checked out each one. No vegetables - but some fruit - and $1.00 per egg (ouch).

We also met a couple of cruising boats. Jill and Jim on s/v HooRoo (direct from Australia) and Doug and Elena on s/v Windcastle (long time cruisers). It was wonderful having their assistance as we acclimated to XMS. Cruisers are wonderful - making friends easily and sharing everything. Tonight, we are going to HooRoo for more sharing. Looking forward to it!

So, we are probably going to be here all next week for the Kiribati Independence Day celebration - July 12 - until the government offices reopen and we can officially checkout. That will give us lots of time to get diesel, figure out the internet (hopefully), and enjoy the daily celebrations that lead to Independence Day. Sounds like lots going on including music, volleyball, track races, a beauty contest, and more. Should be lots of fun.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Sorry I wasn't able to figure out the phone system here yet, but will keep trying. Love you!

PS: Did you know that you can get liquor out of a coconut tree? The locals have figured it out. A very interesting process - plus totally free. Amazing!

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Safely anchored at Christmas Island on the 4th of July

How strange is that? But, we are very happy to be here.

Tomorrow, when we are rested, I will sum up our trip. Did I mention that we were very happy to be here? Well, we are!

Hope all of our family and friends had a wonderful and safe 4th of July celebration - miss you!

Love Carla and Doug

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Christmas in July?

Well, Christmas Island that is. Fanning Island has been a great place to hang out and work on projects, but it is time for Evergreen and Moondance to get moving again.

Christmas Island is southeast of us and only 160 miles away (1 overnighter). It is supposed to be fairly calm weather this week, so we might end up motoring. That's ok too. After our wet and bumpy trips to Fanning, an easy trip sounds dreamy.

With all of the projects we have been working on, we haven't explored Fanning Island as much as we would like. Hopefully, we can squeeze some fun time in before we leave, plus we need to say goodbye to Bruno, Tabata, Fred, Mike, and the rest of the gang. They have been very good to us, plus we have enjoyed their company and hospitality.

Jib and cockpit enclosures have been restitched. They won't win a beauty contest, but they should get us to Fiji. Doug has been busy re-bedding our leaky mast pulpit, turtle (hatch enclosure), and anything else that might leak, tuning up the generator and dinghy engine, and more fun stuff. Laundry is done and the boat is cleaned and organized (kind of). We still have to check out of Fanning, and stash and stow everything, but that's it.

So, we are checking the weather and should be out of here Tuesday or Wednesday. We are ready to roll (and not rock)!

Hope everyone has a wonderful July and has a big celebration on the 4th. We are thinking of shooting off a couple of old flares, but that would probably get us in big trouble!

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