Pitufa.at

When we were out on the little island Matuku, we asked what they did with their rubbish. The headman explained that they know that burning rubbish causes pollution, so they are filling up sinkholes instead.
They would like to reduce their amount of rubbish by recycling, but don’t know how to achieve that. I therefore promised to look into options on Viti Levu, the main island. We found Fiji Waste Recyclers LTd. who are separating and recycling all kinds of materials. They are interested in offering this service to little islands as well and we agreed to work something out together.

When we got to Vuda Marina we were shocked to hear that they “used to separate rubbish, but have stopped to do so”. Walking out on the road we saw heaps of rubbish–people simply chuck whatever they’ve just consumed out of the window. I felt like giving up for a while, but then we got to Denarau Marina where they have separate bins for plastic, cans, bottles, paper, etc. and it’s the same in Musket Cove Marina.

It takes a long time to change people’s minds and I know that there are some efforts underway, they just seems awfully slow and late, given the gigantic plastic pollution problem our planet is struggling with.

When we were in Austria, we did some PR for our books and on October 5 one of those interviews will be broadcast. On LifeRadio in Upper Austria at 5.45 UTC+2 at 7.45 UTC+2 and sometime in the afternoon.
Here’s the link to the station

We published the book about our journey aboard SY Pitufa last month and it was immediately available in the US, but there were some initial delivery problems in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Now it’s available for all our fans and readers on their local Amazon site!!

Musket Cove Regatta is happening this week here on Malolo Island (Fiji) with a variety of events and we’re in the middle of it, taking pictures and writing an article for Boating NZ! Great weather, tons of boats and lots of fun!

We flew out with hand luggage only and return with lots of goodies! All went well despite our bulky, creatively packed baggage (even though we got asked a few times whether we were transporting a headless body)

We’re in San Diego now to visit friends and hurricane Kay has picked the same week to visit… It’s not a strong storm, but still the closest we’ve ever been to a hurricane. Fortunately we haven’t sailed here, so we don’t have to worry about preparing the boat! Pitufa’s safe and sound in Fiji

After having spent so much time away it was great to see the beauty of Austria with the eyes of a tourist. Historical towns, mindboggling mountains, clear lakes–Austria is indeed a wonderful place
View of Salzburg:

We’re spending a week on my Dad’s powerboat in Croatia! Beautiful bays and stunning historical towns–yesterday we visited lovely, little Rovinj…

The first orders are coming in on Amazon. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it! I kept adding chapters as we were travelling along to have a direct, fresh narration of our adventures. You can read the first two chapters on Amazon to see if you like my my style!

We took a direct Austrian Airlines flight from L.A. to Vienna (good service, but no masks on the plane–not even the flight attendants!!) and spent a day there (thanks Gerdsch!!).
Austria’s capital with its beautiful historical buildings is quite impressive when viewed with Pacific islander eyes

Pitufa remains in Fiji, but her crew has gone walkabout! We’ve just spent two program-packed days in LA, doing aaaalll the tourist fun locations. Thank you Kristi for being such a wonderful host and tour guide!!!

The book about our first years cruising aboard our Pitufa is now available as paperback, ebook and hardcover. Come aboard and read about our beginner’s mistakes, fun adventures, wonderful encounters–experience the ups and downs of the cruiser’s lifestyle with us! 331 gripping, entertaining pages
Click here to see more info and to read the first two chapters.