Fiji, finally!

After about 46 days since leaving Tahiti, we made it to Fiji. Fiji is a wonderful place, sort of. It is very hot, dirty, tons of people around, and probably not the safest of Islands, as they frequently have Coups, but we are docked in Lautoka, which is about a 4-5hour drive from Suva (a more dangerous and unpredictable place). Lautoka is on the North-West corner of Fiji, and is where we will be until we leave on Leg 4 next week (October 14th). As usual, it is quite busy once we hit land and especially at the end of a Leg. Our work days are Sunday and Monday, so Gillian and I have a third of the trainees to help clean out the Fo'c'sle, Hold and Galley, and scrub and scrape everything clean! The others will be with the Watch Officers to do sanding/painting the hull, deck work, and rigging for the two days. As the exterminators are "blasting" the boat during our days off (Oct. 11-12), we can't do our big grocery shop until the 13th, so the first thing Leg 4 trainees will be doing is stowing all the food! Yay! We have to clean out everything and take all the food up on deck where it will be for about 2 days while the boat is exterminated. But because this is such powerful stuff (the same thing Saddam Hussein used), it will kill every living thing on board - no survivors)! Hence why all the food has to come out, along with any toilettries, since they absorb into the skin, nobody can be on board for 2 days, and we have to do another clean after it is all done (washing dishes, wiping surfaces, etc). But I am positive and hopeful that we will have no more bed bug or bug problems from now on (cross my fingers). Our Leg end dinner will consist of all of us going to a nice hotel for a catered buffet meal. Halleluliah! Gillian and I don't have to cook or clean, everything is paid for within our budget, and we can all sit and relax, in our own rented room, with a slide projector included so we can view the Leg end photos that Jose has put together for the final slide show! Fantastic! That will be on Monday night (Canadian Thanksgiving), so we will be having Pumpkin soup, which was our choice for the soup option, in an attempt to have some sort of Thanksgiving food. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for! Safe travels, health and happiness, good weather, wonderful memories, and more to look forward to! There have definitely been hard times as well, but it's all a learning experience, and I have learned so much in these last 4 months, and have grown immensely because of it. 8 more months to go! I am counting the days. 252 days until Offshore is done, 80 days until Christmas, and 7 days until Leg 4 begins. Carolyn and I spent the day in Nadi yesterday, went to a few stores, spoke with a tourist info lady from Quebec, got waxes, and went out for a lovely fish dinner. We have the "luxury" of free cold yet refreshing fresh-water showers on the dock, but it's really just a hole in the wall where the water comes out of (and if the men's showers are on, the water just trickles down the wall), the door doesn't close, the drain doesn't fully drain all the time, and basically the whole bathroom is a bit sketchy, but we don't care. We go in pairs, and so love the running fresh water! It's wonderful! I shower every day now! We will be staying at a resort in between Legs for 2 days, while the boat is fumigated, so hopefully that will be a nice time to rest and relax. It's been very busy and hectic lately. There is a lot going on and much more to do while we are here. ONce again, I will be glad when we leave - being on the water is much more peaceful and less stressful than these big cities and smelly, hot pollution. I hope that everyone is doing well at home. I miss you all terribly (as usual - what else is new?) but I am staying strong and having the best experience that I can have. It's my highlight to get a letter, a message, an email, or a little note on Facebook. That just makes my whole day, my week, my year! Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers! They mean so much!

Love to you all!
Love always, Katie Popeye Neale