Times up....almost...

Well our time here in Tuvalu is almost over. Day 14 is here and we fly out in 3 days...to Fiji for a week!! I have to admit that I won't be happy to leave Tuvalu. I could quite happily live here...not just because it means I would no longer be separated from Kerry....but because I love being here. Although a completely different way of life to what we have back in Australia the sheer simplicity of the way of life here is extremely appealing to me.

Anyway enough of my ramblings I have been trying for a while to get photos uploaded and FINALLY I have been able to do it....so on with the show....

Kerry and Kaitlyn beside a piece of WWII machinery left behind to rust



While standing on a wharf looking out over the lagoon I got this photo of a rain shower happening over the Lagoon.....


........yet when I turned 90 degrees to my left this was the view...... a perfectly sunny day..



Looking ocean side of Funafutti





Kerry and Kaitlyn snorkeling in the Lagoon....




A kinda "classy' pig pen.......



....and a NOT so classy pig pen!!!

The water here is beautifully crystal clear....




This is photo was taken on the causeway between the ocean on the right and the lagoon on the left......

...and this is the causeway taken while we were out on the Lagoon....

Still in Paradise.....and loving it!!

Well it's been 9 days since I wrote anything on my blog but I do have an excuse....I'm living in Paradise!!! Yup still here in Tuvalu and loving every minute!!! Things here are sooo laid back and easy going that I really haven't done a lot. We get up in the morning and decide what we are going to do. Sometimes we go out in the rec boat but most days are spent here in the compound just kicking back. We go swimmimg out the front of the compund in the Lagoon which is bliss in itself. Meal times are a bit slap happy here....breakfast about 10 am, lunch about 2pm and dinner anywhere from 7pm onwards.

Speaking of food we recently had a couple of food boats come in so we have done some grocery shopping. Amongst our finds were Tim Tams which hadn't melted into one big lump, eggs, butter, cheese, yoghurt...yes yoghurt but for me the best find was vine ripened tomatoes!!! Mmmm we only bought 2 as they are $12 a kilo and they were transported home and reverently placed into cheese and tomato sandwiches!!! You see here in Tuvalu nothing food wise is ever a constant so when you can get stuff, even toilet paper, you stock up on it. Kerry has a HUGE freezer so he is able to buy in bulk when stuff is available. Of course you won't find everything in the one place so you have to go around to nearly all the little shops and fusi's on the island to find food stuffs. There is no Woolies or Coles or anything resembling a supermarket like we are used to in Australia!!

Speaking of food there is nothing in Tuvalu along the lines of Fish and Chips, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Pizza Hut, Subway or MacDonalds. However there IS takeaway avaliable in Tuvalu and here it is:


Solomai Fast Food Restaurant!!! It doesn't look like much from the outside....and the inside isn't much better, it has dirt floors, BUT the food is good, hot, tasty and cheap!!! For around $5 you can have a choice of chicken, beef or pork cooked in several styles with rice or noodles!!

I haven't been totally non functioning while here in Tuvalu I have managed a couple of digi layouts. This one I have done for the Digi Chicks blogs challenges for this month:



This one was made with papers and elements from Sweet Blossom Designs "Birdsong" and "Butterfly Kisses" Kits. I do have another one that I have done but at the moment my net connection is really slow and posting photos is like pulling teeth and really slow so I'll post them probably later tonight when the net here isn't so busy.....

Talofa........ We have arrived in Tuvalu

Well folks we have finally arrived in Tuvalu...two hours late and minus my suitcase!!! Yup as I type here my suitcase is currently languishing down in Suva! it seems that there is no aviation fuel left here in Tuvalu so the planes have to carry extra fuel to make the return flight to Suva. In order to do this they decided to leave baggage behind so that they wouldn't be over weight. Unfortunately my case was one of the ones removed from the plane!! Fortunately Kaitlyn's suitcase was left on board so at least she has some clothing to wear!! So Kerry has been washing my one set of clothes every night for me. We are hoping that my case will be on the flight that comes in on Thursday if not it won't be here until Tuesday!! Ironically the Prime Minister of Tuvalu and his wife were on our flight and his wife's case was also left behind and word has it she is none too happy about it. We are currently awaiting a supply ship to arrive, hopefully on Sunday, with food and fuel supplies...

That little hiccup aside our trip up was pretty uneventful....not much has changed and it was nice to meet up with a few familiar people from our last trip. There is a new "addition" to those of us living in the compound since our last trip up here...."Bella" is now the resident rat catcher in the compound!! She is a gorgeous tabby coloured cat who has beautiful green eyes that look to big for her head. The boys have adopted her and now she lives in luxury by Tuvaluan standards for cats!! She is fed regularly, has someone nice to sleep and she is extremly affectionate. Of course NONE of the boys will admit to liking her that much but all three make a fuss of her when they think no one is looking. Sometimes she gets fed up to 3 times a day by them...talk about softies... On the down side being that there is no vet here in Tuvalu Bella is now expecting another litter of kittens, possibly while we are here in Tuvalu. Kaitlyn adores her and we had to go out and buy Bella a new food and water dish !!!

I'm hoping later tonight I might have a bit more net speed so I will try to post up some photos that I have taken since we have been here.....