Lata and Flip Flops

Hello All,
Yesterday between rain showers we took the dingy 2 miles across the bay to Lata so we could check in with the Police. This is an official port of entry but due to funding they can't afford to keep a customs officer here so they have set up the police with some paperwork that they will send on to Honiara to let them know we are here. After the formalities we went to look for a place to exchange some of our money for Solomon Dollars. One of the Policemen was kind enough to show us around the town and asked in our behalf if any of the shops could exchange money for us. There is a bank here but they didn't have enough to spare. After an hour of making the rounds a kind man asked the bank for the exchange rate for our currency and helped us out himself. I had 120 dollars Australian that I got at Luganville hoping that would make an easy exchange and it worked out great. I did my research before coming here so there were no surprises and my intelligence was spot on. We looked around a few of the shops and went to look at the fresh market. It was afternoon already so there wasn't much time left. It is not a very big place but to my surprise there was more here than I thought there would be. Tobias, my crew from Germany had some good advise for me when he was on the boat, he said "Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed". It really worked for me this time. After a few hours exploring town we headed back to the boat.
When we returned we just hung out on the boat and watched a few M*A*S*H shows last night. Paula really gets a kick out of them.
Now to get to the strange header. Last night my new Flip Flops from Port Vila were stolen off of my boat. I left them in the cockpit after we returned and they were missing in action this morning. Like I said I did my research here in the Solomon's and was warned that some people here have sticky fingers. Before coming here we striped the deck of lines and things that are easy to take. I have paddle locks on everything that I sent, bolted down and we haul the dingy out at night. I have dropped the anchor 200 times in 8 different countries and this is the first theft I have had. The Pacific is a very safe place to cruise but this country in particular has had a lot of political unrest in the past and saying that, the country is very poor. It leaves a really bad taste in my mouth but it was careless of me to leave something like that out. I was warned so I can't get to upset, but still it tick's me off. The people we have met here so far have been very nice and willing to help however they can so I can't let a few thievs ruin the whole lot. Alright, I have vented so feel better now.
Tomorrow we will go to town and finish our business with the Quarantine Officer. He is suppose to be back after lunch. We will plan to leave here Saturday morning for a 200 mile crossing to Santa Ana Island in the Guadalcanal group of Islands.
That's all for now.

PEACE