Location: Denarau
Hey guys, Perry here. Today was a slower day here in Fiji; however, contrary to popular belief, I am now happy to report that today is the actual last night here in Port Denarau. Right out of the gate, the day started out different on Vela today than most days, as shortly after wakeup, we were informed that we would be having breakfast onshore at the port instead of the usual anchor breakfast. This made everyone so excited because after having almost every meal planned through and through, some variety and freedom were a nice surprise. We all hastily made our way over to the port, where we enjoyed some nice Fijian breakfast (french toast and pastries) and then began to do some last-minute preparations for the 20-day passage to Palau that mostly involved running to the one grocery store at the port many, many times to grab as many snacks as we could. As we made our way back to the boat to help with some last-minute provisioning, we were unfortunately informed that Vela had a small malfunction and required a part before departing. This meant that our departure to Palau would have to wait until tomorrow. Since the galley was not 100% operational, everyone was able to go back to port to have lunch, which was so fun because we got to eat some really good food (and convince almost half the boat to get Fiji Gold shirts). After a couple more trips to the grocery store, we were picked up by Tom and Ben and brought back to Vela for our final night in Fiji. I was also so super ultra excited that we had our first Oceanography quiz today, which was so great, and everyone did amazing. After a quick seamanship class, it was time for final cabin and salon prepping for passage, where we wrapped up most things, got some work done, and had a nice stir fry dinner with another amazing sunset I am getting very used to. I’d also like to personally give a shoutout to Romeo for helping me demolish one of the best Hawaiian pizzas I’ve ever had. All that’s left for tomorrow is to get that part and clear customs, and then that’s a wrap for Fiji!