"We're off. We left Tonga, heading for New Caledonia. We had had a fantastic time in the Vava'u islands, spending most of our time underwater, admiring the area's aquatic riches. The particularity of that zone is that the islands are full of grottos, faults and underwater caves. I even had the wonderful experience of stroking my first leopard shark in the wild (they're very cute) We explored the surrounding islands for the next three days.
Another curious local feature is that everywhere you go you see pigs. Small, big, pink, black etc. They roam freely all over the islands. Each inhabitant has at least two or three pigs pottering around outside their house. The strangest thing is that some people are obliged to fence off their house so as not to be bothered by the pigs, and remain in their "enclosure" whilst the pigs go about their business beyond.
A few days later after we had crossed the 180° meridian (where we had a whole day stolen from us!). Our dress code changed from swimming gear and no shirt, to fleece, jeans and socks. As we dropped down towards New Caledonia, the less warm it became. Did they lie to us? Does it get cold down here? As the grumpy Smurf would have said: "I hate being cold!"
Vincent on board the Cata Quatre
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