Gifts

It's my birthday and I have been given many gifts.

Today, I wished upon tiny sherbet orange seastar. A fat white tip reef shark joined our snorkel prowling beneath us, reminding us that she was simply there. White antennas extended into the milky blue, leading us to the crays' hiding places. And brown and white-feathered head-dresses waved at us, revealing where two magnificent lionfish were sleeping. These were my gifts from the sea.

Dripping wet, I walked by a Fijian woman working in a restaurant and I was struck by how perfectly her lipstick matched the flower behind her ear. I complimented her. Anyone who knows anything about Fiji knows it is the Fijian way, when complimented to give it away. I forgot and was given the best gift.

After much protest she gave me her flower and then her eyes sparkled as she told us, "I get so much more than I give, I give my things, my chains, my earrings and I get so much more. I have something for three months and then it is gone, I give it away. When I give my heart is more full and I receive so much more. You do not even know how lucky I am; the more I give away the more it just keeps coming. The only thing that is important to keep is my heart and that I keep on filling."

This is coming form a woman who basically has nothing but a couple of gold fillings, enough food to eat, and a poorly paying job. Give it away and you will keep getting so much more in return. This is a precious reminder and an important gift to remember.

Here in Fiji I find myself still holding onto the sweet memories of our time with dear friends in Colorado. Since returning from the mountains, we have been immersing ourselves back into our watery world. After a couple of days in Vuda Point Marina where we nursed our friend hangover and my cold, recovered from jetlag, washed our dirty laundry, and re-provisioned we headed back out. Destination, Musket Cove.

We have been on a mooring in Musket Cove, a well known and historical cruiser hangout and watering hole less than 20 miles from Nadi, Fiji for over a week now. This place is its own little tourist village. Hibiscus flowers line the paths down the island, bursting out in every color and kind Fijians stop to say Bula everywhere. There is a little grocery store, more than 5 bars and just as many hotels.

Those of you who know us may ask, why did we come and what are we still doing here? We came to take a 5 day Rescue Dive Course and have stayed, forcing ourselves to be grateful, do what we need to do for our boat and ourselves and to slowdown once again.

For us, Musket Cove has been another gift. We have been able to leave our boat for the entire day and sleep through the night without worrying about the wind shifting or our anchor dragging. We have gained important dive skills, have been able to work on the boat and get some badly needed coats of varnish on, and will hopefully have the opportunity for Gar to get some kite-surfing practice in.

Reflecting on our lives under cloudy skies and freshening trade winds, we are grateful for all of our gifts. We are so lucky to have our health, each other, amazing friends and family, and the opportunity to do this in our lives. We will aspire to keep on giving more than we get.

Team DK lands in Suva

After almost 8 days at sea, the salty-ass dawgs dropped their hook in Suva harbor. Couldn't have really asked for a better passage, considering this one can be a scary and testy stretch of water. Not to downplay the reality of wave after wave breaking in our cockpit and keeping us hunkered down under the dodger for protection from the cold and wet dousings. Plus the beamy seas that constantly rolled us from side to side with often intense violent swings for days on end...not the peaceful rocking chair kind at grandma's house. Nikki battled with sea-sickies this run, which is really unlike her, but thanks to my best friend, Stugeron, I did really well.

The good things, however, outweighed the bad multifold: we are still healthy, we slept a lot (always a great thing on a passage), we ate well, we stayed warm, and the DreamKeeper machine came in relatively unscathed, albeit some sail stitching we need to do on our headsail.

Arrived to Suva in some thick clouds and serious rain squalls, but managed to find our way in through the coral reefs and drop our hook in the quarantine area of the bay just after sunrise. We spent yesterday running around in the pouring rain doing our officialdom business shuffling between the health office, quarantine office, customs and immigration. After returning to the boat we celebrated with a huge plate of nachos (what can i say, we miss Mexican food) and a movie in bed before passing out at 6 p.m.

So we find ourselves in a new country, a new culture, and excited for new adventures. Thanks to you all who were thinking about us and sending your blessings to the ocean gods for our safe passage. The love is felt, even if across the sea.

A new year, a new beginning...

Welcome to the Salty Dawgs new blog site. We are creating this space so that we can upload some journal writing and photos from our sat phone data connection when we are in places without the internet. Looking at the reality of being in countries like Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea this year, internet will be a scarce commodity.

Hopefully this will be a smooth process. We are excited to keep you all in the loop when we are in all these remote places. Stay tuned.....