I have been so depressed, I hardly know what to write. This will not be a very happy journal entry. If I didn't have a silly Jonah boy running around, I would be drinking straight shots in a seedy bar. Jordan tries to be cheery and optimistic but it just seems to make me more depressed. Major things broke in the final half of the trip - the most critical being the transmission. The most depressing being the ac power - no microwave, washing machine, etc. Thankfully the TV is DC so the kid can be pacified. The transmission is a real pain in the ass to get to - we might have to pull the boat out of the water.

Oh yeah, the generator which we spent much time and money fixing - is not producing any electrical charge although the engine is fine. Our staysail self tacking boom is messed up - the block on the track exploded during a brisk 45 knots coming up from NZ. Jordan had a lot of fun up at the bow trying to fix it while we crashed along thru large waves.

I hate this part of cruising. Yes it happens to everyone. Every boat we meet - something is broken or just was. I don't know, it was a hard passage, really physically exhausting and I just don't have the cheery attitude to deal with all these problems. We are currently in Suva because it is the biggest city and it is has the best repair facilities in Fiji. However, it is a wretched smelly harbor. The garbage dump is nearby and the water is filthy and it is hot hot and humid. I feel like giving up. What's the point - the amount of pain is outweighing the fun.

I suppose if I get to a lovely anchorage and blue water, I will change my tune. We are going to a nearby island till next week when they can fix our transmission. It means we have to come back to smelly Suva and spend a week or two here at the Yacht club. The Royal Suva Yacht Club is a fairly nice place and the people are very helpful.

The boat is sticky and salty. It needs to be cleaned inside and out but I am not capable in my current mood. It is so hot here mold grows instantly on any damp surface.

I am just in a lousy mood and I am sure that things will get better. Its all part of the experience of traveling to stay in weird and funky places.

The only lovely thing that has happened was Mother's Day. Jordan and Jonah gave me lovely gifts. Jonah gave me perfume which I was terrified that it would be horrible but it smells great on me - Oscar by Oscar De la Renta! Jonah seems to think it smells great on him and keeps snitching it to spray it on him - I hid it finally. Jordan gave me a lovely Greenstone Maori Necklace from New Zealand. We went to a hotel for brunch and swam in their pool after. It was very nice.