potluck in paradise

--So, what do you make for a potluck when the cupboards are bare? There are 5 boats here in the atoll and we know all of them, so we had a group dinner last night. No one has anything left except cans and dry goods, so the possibilities are limited. I made a version of tuna noodle casserole out of my "Can Opener Gourmet" cookbook, Kelly served canned chicken with Teriyaki sauce and rice, Jennifer made brownies and Becky made black beans and rice. I must say, we were all full, but I'm really excited to go to a well stocked grocery store and buy something fresh. We're all low on drinks too, so we all bring our own. Then there is the plate and fork issue. We all bring our own since no one has enough for everyone and we usually don't get to stock up on paper plates, not to mention there are no garbage cans here. We all laughed about our limitations, told sailing stories and the kids played. There are 6 kids here now, all in the range of 4-7. It's great fun, especially on O'Hana, a 50 catamaran that makes our boat look like a weekender. They have 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge salon & galley and their cockpit is about as big as our cockpit and salon combined. It's perfect for a party.

Yesterday we saw eagle rays from the beach, and I was able to snorkel with one. He gave me about a 10 foot buffer, but wasn't too shy. The visibility is good, I could just float and watch him glide around. He was about 3 feet across. Pete found a moray eel and the kids are excited to see "Bubbles and Gill" from Finding Nemo. There are no anemones here, so Nemo himself must live somewhere else.

Ellie has made a shell museum on the couch. It is a creative use of the shell collection and the kids are enjoying touching and examining all the shapes. However, I have to be very patient because the living area is so small that even a tray full of shells makes it a big mess in here. I lasted 2 days, and I think they have to be put away again.

If we do 1.5 lessons of school per day, we can be done by the end of the month. That is my goal, as we'd like to have a nice summer vacation and enjoy Tahiti with no school. Ellie is cooperating to the very minimum of her ability, but at least we're making progress. I made her a chart to check off when she finishes a lesson, so I'm hoping a visual motivation will help. I'm considering bribing her with a trip to McDonald in Tahiti if she finishes, but I heard that hamburgers are $8.50, so maybe not. Hopefully that is a vicious rumor, but it wouldn't surprise me.

We've heard from Mystic Rhythms that the shelling and snorkeling on a nearby motu are great. This afternoon after school, we'll take the dinghy over there. The atoll is made up of a ring of motus, small islands all around the crater mouth. They are coral beaches with a few plants. They are divided by very shallow passes out to the ocean and one pass is deep enough to bring in a boat. The shallow passes are great for swimming. The motus are flat and the only thing visible from a distance are the palm trees. This lagoon is about 10 miles across, so the other side is barely visible in some areas and not at all in others. The distance between the lagoon side and the ocean side varies from 100 yards to 1/4 mile. There is a village on the north side that we will take Imagine to in the next couple of days. The supply plane comes on Wednesday, so we might see what they bring. I'd also like to see what they have to trade here. I still want some large shells and maybe some pearls. The only industry here are the pearl farms and coconut.

Kellie