On the passage down from Tongareva we expected cold weather with every degree we sailed south, but it stayed surprisingly warm. Now with the strong SE wind seriously cold air is coming up and we’re sneezing, drinking tea, wearing socks and hoodies. In the meantime the tourist boats drop snorkelers and divers outside the reef and we pity those poor guys in the water 
We have humpback whales around the boat every day, today a group of three came close to Pitufa, but somehow we can’t bring ourselves to jump in and swim with them. The water’s not even extremely cold, but just thinking of coming out again into that howling cold wind sends me into a sneezing attack…
