9 November

Then the next morning we went to Opotiki, where I finally had the opportunity to write this blog. After about 2 hours, I hadn't accomplished as much as planned, but since we wanted to arrive at Jeremy and Jess's (friends I met 5 years ago) in the afternoon, we continued on. Jeremy had given me directions that we miraculously found right away. When we arrived, Jeremy warmly greeted us and to my surprise, Benji, the son of the family I had stayed with 5 years ago, was also there.

It was so nice to see them again. We spent the evening with beer, wine, and many interesting, great, and funny stories. Then Becca and I happily and contentedly fell into a wonderfully soft king-size bed - pure bliss. Jeremy and Jess's home is beautiful, in the hilly landscape with all the sheep, 4 cats, 7 dogs, 8 horses, 3 goats, and a lot of wildlife like rabbits, peacocks, and birds.

We immediately felt comfortable and didn't want to leave.