Our time in Fiji is coming to an end after two months. What an amazing country.

On October 10th we celebrated Fiji Day, commemorating the anniversary of Fiji’s independence from British colonial rule, with tug of war, beach volleyball, water bailing relays, kava drinking, singing and dancing.

Hazel and Leo had their faces painted and loved playing all the games.

To round out our Fiji experiences, I finally had the opportunity to try kava. We even let Leo drink a little.

Jamie describes the flavor as “tea made from cigarette butts” and we all think that’s spot on.

We really enjoyed singing with the daughter of the chief.

The past two weeks have been very low key. The kids focused on Sophie School, swimming and playing with friends. I lost count of how many hermit crabs they found. Jamie and I caught up on boat projects and of course we watched Red Sox and Patriots games. What an amazing time we’ve had in Fiji.

Many of our fellow cruisers have already departed and now it’s our turn. Fred and Frank are here to help us crew. We cooked homemade lasagne, beef bourgignon, coq au vin, corned beef, and crepes for the crossing. And the weather window looks good.

We just checked out of customs and as I type this we are heading south. Next stop New Zealand!