Friday 13th June
The weather is awful .It’s Friday the 13th so no-one’s moving out of the bay and the forecast is still not good. It’s now pretty constant rain, torrential dawn ‘til dusk. We go ashore and Annie heads back to the Tropicana to continue the Ozzie passport scenario. When Ian and Stewy return to the dinghy they discover it’s punctured – possibly by one of the sharp oysters on the dock. In no time at all the “spirit of the Arc” kicks in and Ian is inundated with generous offers of help from Kealoha 8 ,Cleonie and Into the Blue (who provide the glue). A hit squad gathers on the dock and after some manly mmming and aahhing, hands on hips and scratching of chins, it narrows down to the dynamic duo of Ian and James who set to work. Annie and Johanna go to the craft exhibition, then do a bit of browsing round the few shops and the market. Mr Tui has been doing a roaring trade selling his mother of pearl necklaces and is delighted with Annie. Next stop is lunch at the Aquarius where Ian and James are repairing the dinghy, then Stewy, Annie, Norfy and Elizabeth go off in the car for some more exploring. However, although we see a few more villages, it’s pouring down with rain and as the windscreen wipers don’t work we really can’t see anything – everyone must be busy inside (according to the Minister of Tourism!) so we eventually give up and go home. When we get back, Ian and James are just finishing – we gather with Cleonie and Strega back at our (now) local , the Bounty bar ,and have another great night while watching the torrential rain outside!