Wrapping Up Fiji
Wednesday, October 26th – Today, we are headed to Blue Lagoon. Doesn’t that sound romantic? We are now in the Yasawa Island Group, an island chain not far from Lautoka with daily tourist cruise boats from Nadi. These islands are must-sees when one travels to Fiji. For many, it is all they do see of Fiji. Great beaches, good diving and snorkeling, a wide range of resorts — what more could the average tourist want? We have chosen to finish up our sailing around Fiji in this most popular cruising location. We will sail south through the Yasawa Islands and then head back to Port Denarau to provision for our passage to New Zealand. As we have experienced, these islands can be windy. They are still full of reefs and not charted well, but they see many more cruising boats than the remote northern coast of Vanua Levu where we have been. Blue Lagoon, here we come!
Motoring toward Blue Lagoon, on the right, we pass the super exclusive Turtle Island Resort. Us Yachties are not even supposed to drop our anchor off their shores. They do have a very nice dock, but whatever else they offer is certainly not evident from the water. It does look like there is a very nice enclave of buildings back from the water’s edge. The First Mate tells herself that she will look this place up on the internet when they return home. She wants to find out what she missed!
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We motor past a long expanse of white beach. There’s a huge mooring block in front of the beach which is reserved for the inter-island cruise ship out of Nadi. The beach looks beautiful, but on board Avante, we cringe to think what it must be like when a cruise-load disembarks for the day. We drop anchor further on.
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“Cheetah, Cheetah, Cheetah” – Our radio blasts forth these words all day long. We eventually figure out that Cheetah is the daily inter-island ferry. Each time it comes to a drop off point, it must radio in alerting of its approach. We have seen the Cheetah from a distance, but it is in Blue Lagoon that we first see it in action. Not many of these island villages have docks. What to do if there is no dock? Not to worry. Cheetah zooms into Blue Lagoon sweeping around and through the reefs and slows down to a crawl not far from where Avante is anchored. Seemingly out of nowhere, all these little motor boats swarm around Cheetah like a flock of chicks gathering around mother hen. Boxes, suitcases and duffle bags are thrown off Cheetah into the eager boats or they are hoisted up into waiting arms. People are disembarked gingerly into the bobbing boats while others find a foothold to scramble aboard Cheetah.
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For about 10 minutes, we watched this organized mayhem. How do they so quickly know what and who goes into which boat? Cheetah never fully stops but slowly circles around the bay forcing everyone to keep up with her. When all is done, the little motor boats clear away, and Cheetah, without so much as a toot of farewell, guns her engines and heads out of Dodge. “Cheetah, Cheetah,” we hear her announce her next stop on the radio.
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There’s a dive shop and small resort on shore which we decide to explore. Nothing much is happening there, and the resort, though very nice, appears to be devoid of people.
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There is a nice view of Avante from the resort and dive shop area, but it is disconcerting that there is no one around. We return to the dinghy to head out to a near-by reef for a little drift snorkeling. The reef proves to be somewhat uninteresting. Enough of Blue Lagoon!
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Thursday, October 27th – We pull anchor just about the time one of the inter-island cruise ships pulls up to that big mooring block in front of the beach. Good timing! We are out of here.
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Somosomo Bay on Naviti Island is our next port of call. Its village, like all the others we have seen, is nestled along the edges of the bay.
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We anchor, launch the dinghy, and with Kava bundle in hand, head ashore to find the chief. As we walk up from the beach, we encounter a family group all sitting around outside their house. They want us to stay and chat, but we tell them that we have not yet done Sevusevu. They understand and tell a young girl to take us to the chief. We meander with her deeper into the village. Stopping us by another house, she tells us to wait while she goes to fetch the chief. What a surprise! This chief turns out to be a woman. We had read that women were not allowed to be chiefs, but maybe times are changing even out here on these islands. Our chief is an old crone of a woman, scrawny body, much-wrinkled face and a mouth full of missing teeth. A twinkle in her eye might have saved her, but there was none. We are invited into the house by several somewhat younger women who turn out to be her daughters or daughters-in-law. She folds herself down onto the straw mat. We and the daughters do the same. Before The Captain can make his customary greeting and offer up the Kava bundle, she unceremoniously reaches over, grabs the Kava bundle and, without so much as a nod in our direction, begins her chant. The others follow along with the usual clapping. Ceremony over, she picks up the bundle and with more speed than her age should have allowed, stands up and exits the room. We are left sitting with our mouths open. What a rude spectacle! This is their custom; yet she left us feeling like we had just gone through a toll booth. The daughters try to pick up where the old crone should have, but they are really more interested in seeing that we exit the room so that we can see the display of shell and bead jewelry they have for sale. The First Mate dutifully looks, but she has seen her fill of shell and bead jewelry. She has bought several pieces in the past, more to help these people along than because any were particularly attractive. What she has bought has usually unraveled, broken or rotted. With a very negative feeling after that abrupt Sevusevu, she is in no mood to help these women out. We end up buying a breadfruit and a papaya just so that we can get out of there. We are supposedly free now to walk around the village and enjoy the place on our own.
Walking back through the village, we return to the house of the first family we had met, and they once again engage us in conversation. The Captain notices that the men are working on making a new wooden machete handle. They tell him that the tricky part is not splitting the new handle when they try to attach the handle to the blade. The Captain replies that he has just the thing to get the job done — his battery-operated drill. He will go back to the boat for it.
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One of the men accompanies us back to the dinghy. He mentions to The Captain that he could sure use some gasoline because he has none at the moment and wants to run his small generator. On the return from Avante with the drill (and some cookies for the kids), The Captain brings an empty water bottle to siphon off some fuel. We can spare a little right now as we know that within a few days we will be back in the metropolis of Nadi where gas is readily available.
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Back at the family compound, they are waiting for us. The Captain pulls out his drill. While he sets up the drill, the men align the new handle. Everybody stops to watch as The Captain drills. The man who wanted the gas holds the machete handle while The Captain drills. Done! The First Mate decides that if they were ever to return to the Pacific, tools like pliers and screw drivers are what she is going to bring to trade or give to the villagers. This is not the first time we have helped an islander with a tool he does not have. One of the first times was back in Tonga (Kava? He wants Kava? 2010) when our pair of needle nose pliers unraveled fishing line from an outboard’s propeller shaft.
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After the machete is successfully repaired, the family invites us for refreshment, and we are taken into their one-room home. There is an arrangement of several woven mats on the floor which we sit upon, for there is no furniture in the room. This is interesting because outside there are tables and chairs, but here, inside the house, there is nothing. We suppose this would be their main room, their living room. Our host is the man who needed gas. Tea and breakfast flatbread is served, and once again, we are the only ones served. A young toddler walks in, and we are pleased to see that she is eating one of the cookies we had brought. After a while, we take our leave, but not before they have given us a nice papaya and some limes. What a contrast our visit with this family was to our reception by the old chief and her daughters. There we were expected to give and buy. Here we were able to offer our help and even though we were asked for some fuel, they found a way to thank us and reciprocate.
Friday, October 28th – Our next stop in the Yasawas is Drawaqa Island. It is a pretty island that is supposed to have some interesting reefs and sea turtles. We decide to pull out the kayak, blow it up and paddle around the island. The First Mate is delighted that The Captain will even consider this. He himself pumps the thing up and secures the plugs. Perhaps it will be remembered what was written in an earlier blog about the necessity of checking and rechecking those plugs to make sure all the threads are aligned. It appears that The First Mate neglected to inform The Captain of this. Halfway around the island, The First Mate notices that we seem to be listing to starboard. We must not be balanced she thinks and attempts to move around a little. In doing so, she presses on the starboard side inflated tube. It is definitely soft, much softer than the other side. We are losing air! The Captain blames it on the dumb Sea Cow, but The First Mate forcefully reminds him who blew the thing up and secured the plugs. In silence, we continue paddling. Fortunately, it is a very slow leak, and the island is a relatively small island. We make it back to Avante, wallowing but still afloat. Will he take to the sea in the Sea Cow again? Maybe, but she will check and recheck those plugs. Oh, and by the way, we did not see even one turtle!
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Saturday, October 29th – Waya Island is our last stop in the Yasawa Islands before we sail back into Nadi. We have a delightful sail there under blue skies and in excellent wind. Along the way, we pass a lump of rock whose dragon-like shape catches The First Mate’s eye. (NOTE: When one is surrounded by nothing but ocean for miles and miles and hours and hours, one’s mind will grasp on anything for a little diversion!)
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In the distance, the eye-arresting island of Waya begins to take shape. We are going to Yalobi Bay where we will drop anchor for the night.
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We enter the bay and follow our usual routine: drop anchor, launch dinghy, grab Kava bundle and head to shore. This Sevusevu ceremony is wearing a little thin, and after our last reception, we feel more like we are paying dues rather than paying respect.
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The location of this village is one of the most dramatic we have seen. Steep, rugged mountains backdrop the village buildings that edge along the sandy shoreline. It is not until we are in the village that we can see there is flat land for more houses and fields going inland.
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From our first step on shore, we have a good feeling about this place. We do not see the usual contingent of people sitting on a log. Instead, we see and hear children playing happily along the beach. Two young women are laughing and refreshing themselves in the cool water. They smile at The First Mate when she waves hello.
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Walking toward us is an older, well-dressed man with a friendly smile who greets us in the best British-accented English we have heard in ages. We are astonished. Tui is this gentleman’s name. Where did he learn to speak English so well? He told us that he had left his island home to serve in the British army. Retired now, he has returned to his home island to live. His children and grandchildren are here which makes him happy. His wife prefers to live on the mainland, but she comes over every once in a while.
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Tui offers to take us to the chief for Sevusevu, and we follow him inland past mostly well-maintained little homes.
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He leads us to a home where a woman is sitting outside plaiting a mat. The First Mate is fascinated by this work. Though she does a lot of handwork herself, she is not sure she would find this particular craft very enthralling. For one, the work position would be a killer! That does not keep her from being impressed by how neatly and tightly woven the work is or how much time it must take to make one of these mats, but then on these islands, time is something they do have in abundance.
Tui tells us that this woman is the chief’s daughter and that she will conduct the Sevusevu ceremony, for the chief is off fishing right now. We are guided inside to sit on a woven rug with an intricately designed border. The First Mate asks the woman if this is her work, which it is, and tell her that it is one of the best pieces she has seen. We commence into a proper Sevusevu ceremony with The Captain’s Kava bundle being graciously accepted. She chants the words with Tui providing the clapping at the appropriate places. On the way back, I ask Tui how much Kava our bundle would make. Enough for 3 large bowls for the whole village! That’s quite a gift we are giving!
Tui tells us that he had spent the day helping his daughter make shell necklaces. He forgot that today is Saturday or rather that tomorrow would be Sunday. Normally, he would have gone out fishing so that he would have fish for dinner tonight and for Sunday. Tomorrow, being Sunday, he is not allowed to go out fishing. Would we have any fish? We do have some of that big mahi mahi that we caught in the freezer and can give him some of that. Also, do we have any books or magazines? He so likes to read, especially adventure books. There are no books on the island so he reads the same ones over and over. A new book would be so nice. Here’s an amazing fact: We have been asked by islanders for many things (rope, food, toys for kids, sugar, etc.), but never once have we been asked for something to read. Fish, books and magazines we gave him, and we were delighted to do so. The First Mate even added a can of chicken. He had never seen canned chicken and was pleased when told to use it just like canned meat.
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As we stood there on the sand talking to this personable man, children began to collect around us. Some of them were Tui’s grandchildren, and he was very dear with all of them. Obviously, a photo op was called for before we headed back to Avante.
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We had asked Tui if there was a trail to the top of the mountain. If so, we would maybe like to hike it. Tui shakes his head. There is an old trail which connects Tui’s village to one on the other side, but it is very long and not many people ever use the trail anymore. Almost everyone now just motors around in a boat rather than hike over the mountain. We are surprised and disappointed, but after the precarious trek back from the top of that mountain with our guide Ben, we are not about to try out another trail that we have been told would be difficult to follow.
Waya Island is at the southern end of the Yasawas. We are wrapping up our time in Fiji. Now, we will head back to Port Denarau Marina to get ready for our upcoming passage to New Zealand. Before we can go into the marina, however, we must go to Lautoka to check in with the customs office for this island district. We want to do that first thing on Monday so we leave Waya Island on Sunday to sail over to a little bay near Lautoka.
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Monday, October 31st – Back into Lautoka we head. This is the third time that we have been here, and we know where we are going. Back to the same soot-laden dismal harbor and slimy dock steps. The same official is at the table, and though he recognizes us, he still takes down the same detailed information. This is as boring for him as it is for us, but once done, we get out of the bay and head to Port Denarau Marina as quickly as possible.
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We certainly have had our adventures here in Fiji! Hours of winding through poorly charted reefs, aching teeth, dinghy outboard problems, near sinking boat (and kayak) — but all of that is part of cruising. There is not a sailor out here who cannot tell a goose-bump raising story of some frightening misadventure. “Like child-birth,” thinks The First Mate. All that will be forgotten, for it is the good times, the beautiful places, the fascinating people we have met and seen that will rise to the surface of memory. Bula, Fiji. Bula! Bula! We have enjoyed our visit here.