I got on my plane on Monday night and suddenly it was Wednesday. As I walked off my plane, it finally hit me that I was in a place far far away from Atlanta. I could smell/feel the island air, and if it wasn't 315am in the morning, I would have seen the ocean and the green lush mountains that are so distinctly Fiji. My adventure had officially begun, but it had yet to begin at that point. It was a buzzkill of sorts to land in such an exotic place and end up sitting around in the airport for 4 hours awaiting the first bus across the island to Suva, where I would meet Salamandra and my "family" for the next month...

I thought I was so far away from everything at this point and imagined that the idyll of a South Pacific island was insulated from the real world. But I was sitting among hundreds of men, dressed in blue button-down shirts with matching ties, waiting for a flight. Waiting for a flight to Iraq. These Fijian men were going over for a 6-month stint. The world really does become small in the strangest of ways...

My bus finally arrived just after the sun came up and I boarded a what can only be called rickety bus for my 4-hour journey with the rest of the locals. I was the only non-local person on the bus, as everyone else was carrying on with the matter of daily life. It was actually a very cool way to go. The island was lush green and speckled with villages and cows and kids walking about in brightly colored school uniforms. It did feel like something out of a movie. Those 4 hours seemed long with loud clanging windows and bumpy roads and I'm surprised that I managed to nap with all the chaos.

I found my way to the yacht club and couldn't believe after so many hours traveling that I'd made my way to where I was supposed to be. Sonia was there to meet me and it all seemed really real at that point. We loaded up the dinghy and I met my family for the next month when I climbed aboard Salamandra - a BIG 60-foot sailboat floating in the anchorage. Captain Alex is a 40-something Englishman by way of South Africa who has sailed the world all his life. Sonia is a Scotswoman who came aboard his boat 10 years ago as crew and never got off. Callum is their 5-year old son and Megan their 8-year old daughter. These kids have lived their lives aboard sailboats, climbing masts, and playing with kids in the various yacht clubs around the world. Jo is a 27-year woman who's been at sea since February and with Salamandra for two months and is making her way to Australia to get a job as a dive instructor.

Once I got settled and somewhat unpacked we headed back to land to hang out in the yacht club. For all the boats from around the world, the yacht club is their lifelife. I was amazed. We ran into people that they knew from previous ports of call in Aruba, or Panama, or Tonga, or the Galapagos. Such a welcoming fraternity of people --- they seem to more or less follow each other around the world. I sat around chatting with them, amazed at what they have seen and how they have seen it. Kids, babies, old men, young ladies, couples, families all cruising the world on sailboats of all shapes and sizes. We went for a BBQ on Hans' boat that night, another South African friend that Alex has known for 25 years. Somehow they ended up in the same place at the same time without planning it! It was great to meet all these new people and experience such a different lifestyle than what I have ever known. I hit a wall and had to dinghy back to the boat for my 10-hr catch up sleep. Being lulled to sleep on a swaying boat was dreamy, though I imagine being at sea with waves and wind may be a whole different experience... Woke up early this morning to the sounds of lapping water and sunshine beaming in the porthole. After a slow morning on the boat, eating breakfast, lounging and reading, Sonia and I dinghy-ed into town, hopped a bus, and have been wandering through the markets and running errands.

This may be my one entry until we hit land again, wherever and whenever that may be... I look forward to your emails and am sure I'll have more stories to share next time!

Until then...
Judy

A quick note about life on the boat. Sonia started briefing me on the things to know and how it all works. Salt water showers at sea with half-bucket fresh-water rinses - it's all about saving fresh water when you're without land nearby. When it rains, we catch water right into the tanks and drinking water has been refreshed. Everything biodegradable goes over the side and we wash dishes with salt water that comes right into the sink with a foot pump. Rinse with fresh water before you use dishes. Night watch: 3-hour shifts each night when we're making passage, watching for wind shifts, tankers, etc. I'm happy that Alex camps out in the cockpit so he's nearby when I need to poke him awake! I can't imagine being responsible for the boat for whatever time period at this point. While I know the theory and basics of sailing it suddenly becomes all useless when you haven't actually stood at the helm of a 60-foot yacht before. Learn how to manage the GPS and set the auto pilot. Get in a few hours of steering so that I know what I'm doing when we set sail. Make sure I know how to hook into the safety harness. Can't wait to catch fish off the back of the boat and see dolphins swimming alongside the boat. So much to take in, but I'm sure that after a month at sea, it's bound to become second nature...