Pitufa.at

Almost 4 weeks have passed since our accident. Christian’s as good as new and I’m now also making good progress after some set-backs. My ribs and lungs have healed well (I slept lying down in bed for the first time again!) and yesterday I got the results of the MRI scan of my elbow and the all-clear to start moving it gently! So today we… Continue reading »

Yesterday we went to Suva to meet up with an NGO about the Tabu and to do some grocery shopping. We were quite astounded when strangers stopped us on the street to shake our hands and wish us well. Turns out we were on the cover of the Fiji Sun–we had given an interview the week before… Despite all the cheering and good wishes, the… Continue reading »

Yesterday I had a CT-Scan done and when I took the CD back to the Pacific Specialist Healthcare centre, experienced Dr. Delasau couldn’t believe the images. “Looking at the scans I would schedule you for immediate surgery, but looking at you walking and talking like you do, I just say, keep doing what you’ve been doing!” Turns out I have 5 broken ribs (broken in… Continue reading »

It’s simply great to have a milk-Kefir culture on the boat. Those little cauliflower-shaped buggers turn milk over night into something very similar to yogurt–no special temperature required, no special procedure. I just throw a bunch of them into a jar with (stirred-up powder) milk, the creamier the thicker the resulting yogurt. About 12 hours later the yogurt is forming, but still a bit liquid… Continue reading »

Shopping for basic things is really cheap in Suva, so we stocked up for the next few months, but then we got carried away with all the special, imported goodies at the posh supermarkets… With some searching there’s everything available here, even gluten-free products and smelly cheese Of course we also stocked up on boat repair/maintenance parts and then we did a last round buying… Continue reading »

We love exploring, but sometimes it’s good to just settle down in a comfy place and go into work-mode. We were in Vanua Balavu for three weeks and fell into our usual work routine–easy without distractions as there are no other cruisers here and the next village is miles away. Christian was working on an experimental set-up to make the Pitufino work with the old… Continue reading »

We couldn’t believe our ears when we heard barking ashore. Not a sound like a little yuppy dog would make, but a huge specimen, like a Saint Bernard dog… The next village is miles away, the islands are nearly impossible to climb with their overhanging shores and horribly spiky – had some lunatic abandoned his dog here? Then we heard more barking from the neighbouring… Continue reading »

The strange landscape here in Qilqila on Vanua Balavu is a result of the volcanos here on the Pacific rim: former reefs and coralheads were raised by tectonic activity and are now forming sheer cliffs and a maze of tiny islands. Why the cliffs aren’t all the same height (like on other raised atolls) seems mysterious–maybe there were different tectonic events over time… The spiky… Continue reading »