Experience is the Only Thing

Experience is the only thing you can call your own.  So said the wise sage who bought me my second beer this afternoon at the yacht club.  Jim and I ventured out by bouncing taxi to fill the 20 pound propane tank at a facility out of town and then took the same cab to drop off the tank at the boat and head into town.  At a telecommunications office, a lady named Ruth set up the "connect" stick so that my laptop will now access the internet.  Then to the Customs office as Jim had yet to check in after our brief trip to Wainunu River.  The plan is that we may sail again Monday if the battery passes an overnight test for holding a charge.  So Jim had to check in before he could check out again.
I was to attend a school this afternoon with the local Peace Corp volunteer as they celebrated the most fun Hindi holiday of the year, the Celebration of Colour.  However, when the volunteer discovered that Lynda's friend was a male, I was uninvited.  You need to be specifically invited if you are male.  The Peace Corp volunteer said obviously I didn't know much about Fijian culture.  There are major differences between men and women don't ya know.
So I met with Alfie this afternoon yet again as he examined the house batteries and thought we could use them. I was directed to switch the charging leads to the strongest batteries so that the weaker ones will not overheat.  I also attached a safety line to the rat line steps before we ventured off with the propane tank.  That lead us to the "Yacht Club" where a beer is $3.50 Fijian which would be about $2 Canadian.  Lynda joined us totally pumped about her visit to the school and the celebration there.
Then the clouds rolled in, the lightning flashed, thunder crashed, rain poured.  Screens came down on the yacht club deck.  The rain passes, skies clear but the lovely sunny day turned into evening dinner with drop in friends on the harbour deck overlooking Savusavu Bay.  The dock cat begs for handouts.  Glad that I took in the laundry and closed the hatches.
Try as I might, I cannot upload photos anymore.  I am experimenting with Dropbox.
Now Thursday evening.