Takin' care of business today.
We checked in with customs--loads of paperwork to fill out--and in Niue the customs agents actually meet you at the dinghy dock.
Note about the dinghy dock: since the island is just a hunk of coral there aren't any great places to tie the dinghy. So there's a crane that you use to pick up the dinghy, deposit it onto a cart, cart it to a parking spot and drag it off the cart to the parking spot. Nifty way of keeping the dinghy safe when you're on land.
The customs agents were easy going and pleasant. And they speak English! After French Poly and the gendarmes this is a definite plus. They were really thorough in making sure we didn't bring any fruit or vegetable waste ashore or deposit it into the ocean. Since we don't have any fresh fruits or veggies after 7 days at sea, those questions were easy to answer.
After customs we headed over to the yacht club to talk to the folks about the mooring fees and all that. They were super nice, easy going, and pleasant. We actually spent a good chunk of time there chatting with Ira and Brian about what to see on the island and how to see it.
We made some new friends heading out of Bora Bora--folks on S/V Spruce. Sue, Andy, and Spruce are from the U.K. and offered to send updates to Osprey and Dragonsbane via SSB for us. We had a couple chats with them and discussed renting motorbikes for a little bit to see more of the island.
When we stopped by the tourist information center to reserve a bike we also inquired about a dental appointment for Ben. On the passage he suffered from an abscessed tooth--which can be really dangerous if the infection spreads to the bloodstream. They had an opening that afternoon for a consultation (which, by the way, are only $18 NZ!)
On the way to the appointment the Chief of Niue Police, Tony, picked us up to give us a ride and showed us a shortcut "through the bush" for the way back. He was really chatty about being chief in such a small community (pop of Niue: 1500) and was genuinely interested in our adventures, too.
The dental appointment went really smooth: it's just a cracked tooth that will need to be fixed sometime down the road. Another plus--the consultation only took 5 minutes and was no charge.
After all this I was exhausted and ready for a nap so we went back to the boat before cocktails and appetizers on Spruce. I don't know about Ben, but I had an absolute blast getting to know Sue and Andy. We chattered non stop from 5 til past 10 when I started to fall asleep.
Tomorrow: the motorcycle!
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