Leaving Suwarrow

Well, life in Suwarrow continues... this is the most social place I have ever been. If there's not a cocktail hour planned, there's a poker game or a potluck to go to. There's another kid boat here now with an 8 year old boy on it (with his two older sisters) so Jake finally has someone to play with. There are now 17 boats in the anchorage...it's a regular cruiser village.
A few boats put in a VHF radio for the rangers so they've started a morning net to make their announcements and welcome new boats (and tell the few that have left, bye).

Yesterday there was a big cook out that turned into an impromptu potluck. One of the rangers, John, took the time to give everyone a little class on the varying stages of coconuts, how to shuck them, how to crack them open, how to shred them and then ultimately, how to squeeze the milk from the shredded pieces. We all brought our coconut milk recipes and a few folks cooked theirs up to share. It was really nice. We had a few curries, some fried fish and a few really nice thai dishes.

We're thinking of leaving on Thursday. Word is that the winds are going to be light (maybe too light) but we decided we would rather have that than the trip we had getting here. It should take us 4 days to get to Pago Pago, American Samoa so we should be there on Sunday (so all of the family reading, we'll try to give you a call Monday or so, whenever we figure out their internet system).

We're going to miss our days of fishing, snorkeling, diving, volleyball and laying in the hammock, but it's time to move on and make room for others to enjoy this beautiful place. Fortunately, lots of the boats we've come to really enjoy are going to American Samoa too so it's not goodbye, it's see ya later gator.

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