We sailed into Savu Savu ,on the island of Vanua Levu of Fiji,early one hot morning after a few days sail. Joey spotted Beyond sailing towards us,away and out of the harbor . We got on the radio and bemoaned our ships passing..in the day,then relay of intelligence ;we jotted down the need to knows, check in procedures,taxi drivers names, where to find the best curry,where to best view the world cup rugby.....
In Fiji the culture was so vivid and refreshing,with 50/50 Indian/ island natives . I was taken back to my India trip,with the titillating music,the colorful garb,the shelves in shops that include incense and curry and henna and lots of fireworks!! Diwali ,the Hindu holiday was approaching and there was much energy building.
We were ready to love Fiji and we did.The special characteristics of a place centre around the people and the nature. We travel in a loosely tethered community of sailors , within this migrating cluster that undulates in movements like a school of fish,we also greet old and meet new amazing people in every new port. That's a long sentence to say that together,this unfettered group unites as we step off our boats,into our dinghies and onto new land with new people with new cultures to meet. One night when we were staying at a bed and breakfast type place,these two groups really came together for me in a fun and memorable way.
David met Rod in an upholster store.Rod is an Aussie who has built a place on the island of Savu Savu,with his wife. They do a lot of missionary work in the community ,helping build church fences and such. This appealed to David who really enjoyed doing some volunteer carpentry when we were in Suwarrow( Suvarov) in August. He wanted to help and asked us if we would like to move off Rhythm for a few days. we needed regular internet and Rod who is a day trader offered that for us. It was perfect timing as the rain was regular and Joey had an infection on his feet that could only heal in a dry place. Olivia was committed to getting back to her math course, I was also still convalescing from bursitis that had been infected in Tonga. We moved in. Soon Olivia developed a high temperature with flu symptoms. Little math but lots of rest.
We relaxed,well,I actually found it very hard to relax,I still felt," the entrapment "*, however,I walked the beach at low tide, as often as possible which was on the other side of the island from where all the yachts and Rhythm were moored. Early mornings I sometimes walked to town .I found just the act of walking ,listening,seeing,smelling,talking...placed me in the world,a world of open hearted interested people who look you in the eye and I feel like they are really seeing me,or at least looking for me there. Is it just my projections? Is it different out here in " the world" because I am open, I am looking in their eyes longing to see them? I'll keep that investigation open,more on that when I catch up and get to Auckland in my blog ....
Rod had a couple of neighboring woman who would come and help him with laundry,cleaning and some cooking while his wife was now back in Australia .These woman were the essence of what would be a very excellent evening Bale,a dancer,came with her son almost daily to the house and revealed herself to be a dancer. I suggested a nights performance with the sailors. At the end of our stay,she and two other woman and two young girls came to perform .We invited our friends,we asked if we could pass the hat and that all contributions would go towards the local kindergarden. It was such a magical evening,they brought woman:mothers,grandmothers, the men were jamming with their own instruments down at the beach. The little girls were incredible,very talented,all dressed up in the traditional garb,flowers woven into coconut leaves on hips and headship and head . The woman invited the Buratynsky girls from Gromit to do the performance that they learned in Huahine. They whoop and cheer and encourage,such a lot of girl power energy.
Somewhere in there we took a bus trip across the island with Gromit to Labasa ,all day ,past pine forests and cane fields in a bus where we were the only white people. The family stayed overnight and we took our seats back on the bus for the long ride home.Many school kids hopped on as they have no individual school buses.How cool to see them in all the uniforms ,some of the older boys looking like the rugby players we had seen on the big flat screens during the word cup.
Back to Rhythm the next day to find a lot of mold! I suppose I should feel good that all my near coo coo daily ritualistic wiping down of all surfaces in cockpit wasn't for nothing.
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