Palmerston Atoll in the distance...land ahoy! On the third day after leaving Rarotonga and two nights of seasickness, little sleep, cracked heads and shins on the exposed hatches of the never ending rocking “rust bucket”, little food and increasing concern about the seaworthiness of the vessel, we glimpsed a sliver of land on the horizon. Palmerston! We crowded onto the upper deck to view the sliver increasing in size as we got closer. The captain had briefed us previously that the islanders of Palmerston knew nothing about tourism and he had had a nasty alteraction previously with one of the elders, Simon, about the visitors going to the island. It seems that Simon also had a long memory. When we were finally shipped ashore by the islanders who greeted us with huge smiles, hearty waves and much excitement, Simon addressed the passenger group as a whole, explaining that the captain was not welcome on the island…but that we wer...