Nuie

I can't remember the last time we stayed on an island for less than a week. We make plans to just stop somewhere as a reprieve from sailing, and then inevitably the sights suck us in and we stay on and on. Sometimes our delay is due to weather, most of the time it's due to dawdling. I always think that the chances of coming back to some of these places is so slim we need to make the most of it now. I wouldn't say that I regret moving slowly. We seem to have found a rhythm of life that works for us, with not too much sailing and just enough sight seeing. Some of the boats we left Mexico with are two countries ahead of us already, but I'm sure we're having just as much fun.

I imagined Nuie as being flat, brown and fairly barren. The only description we had, made it sound like a huge lump of coral sticking out of the water with a handful of people living on top. What a pleasant surprise to see lush green trees and flowers. Nuie is an independent country with only 1,100 current residents. Most of the 22,000 citizens have moved on to New Zealand or Australia for education and jobs. The result is a slow paced, friendly community where everyone smiles and waves to friends and strangers alike.

Nuie rises about 200 feet above sea level. It's all limestone, composed of fossilized coral which has risen out of the sea by volcanic activity. Caves and chasms dot the shoreline. Very few beaches can be found, and those are very small. No lagoon surrounds the island, so it's much different than the atolls we've visited lately. As Pete said, we rented a 15 passenger van on Thursday and did a day of caving, swimming, picnicking and walking. Swarms of mosquitoes marred the day slightly since none of us brought along repellent, but the photos opportunities never ended. The trails through the protected rain forest are littered with coral chunks and fossils making it slow going. Carter fell twice, giving his legs a good scraping. All the boat kids hike like troopers though. From the littlest, Jack (4) to Sophie (11) the whole group of 8 kids kept pace and even out climbed the adults. Seventy five foot ladders, small cave openings, swimming in chasms, 30 minute jungle walks, nothing daunted them. After lunch we went for a much needed swim in a chasm, 200 feet tall and 75 feet wide. A fresh water stream runs in creating a layer of cool fresh water on top of the warm sea water underneath. What a treat to swim and not get salty. The kids saw stalactites and stalagmites for the first time.

Besides the mosquitoes, the only black marks against Nuie are the giant spiders and sea snakes. Spiders as big as Ellie's hand make webs like fishing nets all along the trails. Sea snakes can be seen swimming in the anchorage. I must admit I'd forgotten about them when we swam in the chasm, but maybe they don't like freshwater as much as I do, because we didn't see any.

Today we'll have a half day of school and an afternoon of grocery shopping and chores. Saturday is "Show Day" where dancing, craft booths and BBQing will entertain us all morning. Then if all is well, we're off to Tonga for our last month of the tropics before New Zealand in November.

Nuie has free wireless internet access, which we can get from the boat. If you care to send a message on the imaginecruising account, we'll to answer you right away.

-Kellie