Atoll and Lady Musgrave Island

We enjoy four days of fabulous weather, diving and explor-
ing on the atoll and one small island called Lady Musgrave.

Noddys nest here along with several other species of birds. 

This marks our sad farewell to the Great Barrier Reef

 This is the narrow beach where we land the kayak.

When we leave for the next anchorage we pass through

another algae bloom.  These are common on the GBR 

this year.  Other than visual pollution no one seems

concerned about it and the fish suffer no obvious detriment.

Some time passes. I don’t know how much.  What am I, a watch?  All right, Kalliope leaves Brisbane, Australia for Vanuatu, an island nation about 1,000 miles NE.  We clear in with customs and immigration at Port Vila and take a leisurely tour of the islands.  Why visit Vanuatu? People, friendly welcoming and generous people at every landfall, every village.  Not everyone speaks English but you are never far from someone who does.

 Marie takes us on a guided tour around the island of Efate.

Albert is a friend of a Adam who we met in Alaska twelve or fourteen years ago.  We don't show Adam's picture but Adam spent two Peace Corps years in the tiny village of Mbenenvet, Vanuatu teaching home economics to village girls.  We give Albert the shirt with the logo from Dillingham, our home in Alaska.  We take this pic and send it to Adam who now resides in Switzerland.  Is this a little confusing? 

Norman is the Seventh Day Adventist pastor who was Adam's 

good friend when Adam taught here ten years ago.  I think Pastor

Norman is everyone's friend.

Albert's Mom is anxious to model the traditional costume of her village.

Lena is the first to welcome us to Lamen Bay on Epi Island.  

She takes us to pick pomplemouse in the garden then carves

and shares it with us.

Deb overcomes her shyness to get acquainted with these women passing

the time after church service in Lamen Bay on Epi Island.

The school bus from Lamen Island to the school on Epi Island.

Schoolkids walk across the shallows from school on Malakula to their homes

on tiny Avoka island.  At high tide they paddle dugout canoes.  They know

their tides well.  Hope you can see them in the distance.

Greta and Joseph operate a bakery where we buy two delicious 

familiar looking loaves.  Not those anemic baguettes popular

in this former French colony.

Coomera is between Surfer's Paradise and Brisbane in the middle of Australia's E. coast.

While in dry dock in Coomera, Kalliope’s fading green paint is renewed by a team of professionals.  This is a big deal requiring moving her to a big paint shed to prevent the paint from contaminating other boats.  To go in the paint shed, the mast must be removed and while the mast is off, why not replace the wires that hold it up?  Done!  Did I mention that we must bring in a boom truck to lift the mast?  

With mast and hull painted, almost the last task is to apply anti-foul paint to the bottom.  We look for anti-fowl paint for the topside but haven’t found any so birds and their droppings continue to be a problem.  Three sisters from Mountain View taught me not to worry about matching socks, so why worry about matching gloves?

The last task is to lift and carry Kalliope to the water with another truck called a Travel Lift, capacity 70 tons.

When Deb is happy with the results we go explore the Islands of Moreton Bay.

All Around the Town

Bristol, Vermont, USA

We are visiting Deb's sister Virginia who is restoring a nineteenth century house in Bristol and works at Middlebury College in the town of ?  You guessed it: Middlebury.  As we are here for more than two months, we are trying to get the full small town experience.  Deb joined the gym, Gregg joined the church and the Old Farts that gather for coffee at he the Café every morning.  Virginia indulges us by taking us as far as Plymouth, MA and Platteville, NY.  We attend music productions, dance performances, shopping, movies and good restaurants.  Here is a walking tour of downtown Bristol.

This is the view from the morning coffee venue.

Morning coffee venue as seen from the bank.

Baptist Church seen from Central Park.

Home of the historical society.

Typical Main Street scene.

This place even has linen on the tables.

If we ever go we will post a review.

OK, so this one is not in Bristol but

it is a cool example of the architecture.

An example of the buildings

found on Middlebury College campus.

So, we are having a grand time, making new friends, learning the local history, gaining weight, freezing our toes in minus five degree temperatures, attending potlucks, checking out the local bakeries. Yum, wish you were here.

Plymouth, MA

In late November 2017 Deb and Gregg fly to Burlington and meet Deb's sister Virginia who lives in Bristol, VT and works at nearby Middlebury College.

Moorings in the Plymouth harbor.

American Indians interpret the artifacts at Old Plymouth Village.

And no visit to Plymouth is complete
without admiring Plymouth Rock.

Visit USA - Houston

In November 2017 Deb and Gregg leave the boat in Tonga and fly to Houston to visit Gregg's sister Cathy.  Younger sister Victoria arrives from Italy via California to join the reunion.

L to R: Victoria, Cathy's son Mark,

Cathy and Gregg at a sport field where Mark's

son is playing football.  Mark's wife and

daughter are nearby.  Sorry, no photo.

We spend many happy hours at Cathy's house
cooperating on meals and reminiscing.

During this time we also see nearby homes with hurricane damaged sheet rock piled in the front yard for disposal.  Fortunately Cathy's home escapes without damage.

A day of Snorkeling and exploring the Kingdom of Tonga

Deb persuades Gregg to join her in the water and here is some of what we see.

Sea urchins and some

funny little fish.

More fish - still little.

Colorful scenery

This rascal is called  Crown of 

Thorns and is blamed for eating and

destroying corals.   I'm no scientist

but I believe it is a starfish.

We sail for Vakaeitu Island

Seeing psychedelic rocks along the way

Meeting David as he prepares to host

a group of tourists for dinner.

No this is next week's Tongan feast.

We don't touch her,

But paddle home into a special sunset.