Finally got to civilization (sort of) and located another internet cafe. Here’s the first installment of photos from Tonga posted on the Smugmug site.

We are in Neiafu in the Vava’u Group of islands, moored in the main harbor. This morning Mike and I are taking a taxi to the airport to meet Peggy and Jon Rowley, who are arriving from Arizona to go cruising with us for a bit. We have shopped the entire town from one end to the other – most of the best buys are Tongan hand woven baskets which are very attractive and well-made. We have added several to Raven’s interior for storage. In the saloon they are full of fresh fruit from the markets, and in our cabin they are full of camera gear! We even custom ordered a pair with specific dimensions and got delivery the following day.

Raven is starting to look very homey now. When we first arrived in March in New Zealand, she was looking a bit bare as Jan and Signe, the previous owners, had of course taken all their personal stuff with them including artwork, rugs, etc. As we cruise we keep our eyes open for good additions. Rod and Anouk both have an artistic eye to accompany their other talents, so between all of us we are coming up with a very attractive (we think) new interior. And of course as we add items discovered on our travels, they have even more meaning for us as fond memories.

I finished my PADI Open Water Diver certification and am now official.  Got 100% on the written test (I read the textbook three times over) and finished the last of the instruction dives. Now we will start adding individual courses heading towards the Advanced Certification. These include photography diving (I have a nice digital camera with an underwater housing now), wreck diving, fish identification diving, navigation (with compass) diving, and some other stuff.

Well – time to cut this short as Mike is hanging over my shoulder antsy to go to town. We are having generator problems (an ongoing saga) and he and Rod are working on a fix – as the generator is needed to make fresh water!