July 5 – 19, 2010 - Musket Cove, our favorite Home Away From Home in the South Pacific!

It did not take us long to fall right back into step at Musket cove.
There were so many activities for us to participate in that we just
jumped right in and started having fun. Each morning we took a long
hike over the hills of the little island. I got into Aqua Aerobics in
the mornings after our hikes, and playing cards with the girls several
afternoons per week at the café. I learned to play Baja Rummy and
Shanghai.

Frank spent a lot of time with the boys mulling over boat repairs and
leaks. This is a very social activity for them. They diagnose, then
have a few beers. Later on or the next day they start on the actual
work and then have a few beers. Then they would plan the next repair
and have a few beers. Because Frank was enjoying his repair time so
much I didn't feel terribly guilty about spending so much time with
the girls exercising and playing cards.

The World Cup (soccer) was being televised at 6:30 AM at the resort,
so Frank would awake early on those days to join Paul and Gloria
("Scallywag"), and the rest of the soccer fans to watch the matches.
Not having grown up with soccer, hence knowing nothing of the game, I
took a pass. However, I have become a fast and furious All Blacks
fan. The Tri-Nations rugby matches were going on during our stay and
so on the evenings of those events I joined the mass of humanity that
crammed into the media room at the resort to watch. Fortunately I had
Leanne and Gloria to explain rules and plays to me during the games.
It was exciting stuff indeed.

Most of our cruiser friends came and went on a daily basis to visit
other islands and would return with the timing of sporting event
telecasts. Then there were the steady-eddies among our friends who
stayed around for general R & R like us. We enjoyed a considerable
number of dinners, games and walks with "Bold Spirit" and "Mokisha",
and met lots and lots of new friends. We partied away most nights at
the Island Bar BBQ, sharing potluck dishes with other cruisers.
Sometimes our group was so large we took over the largest tables and
occasionally several tables. We had dinner and played games on each
others' yachts and watched our $2 "first run" movies that we'd
purchased in the video store at SavuSavu. This was the most social
time we have had since leaving the USA in 2008. Neither of us wanted
it to end. But as times passed, so did friends. "Scallywag", "Just In
Time", "Avant Garde", "Mahurangi" all had visitors and so they set off
island hopping with them.

On the 19th, we hugged and cried a lot as we prepared to leave for
Port Denarau. We knew that we will not see some of our friends again,
or that if we do it will be a long time until then. Some were
planning to sail back home to the US, some back to NZ and others to
who knows where. Once again, we left a piece of our hearts behind.