2013,
01-04 A visit from Barbara and Trip to Yalobi Village, Waya Island
First on the agenda when we arrived at Waya was a trip into the village of Yalobi. Before we could tour the village or set off to snorkel or fish we needed to meet the island chief and present our sevusevu. Sevusevu is a gift of kava -or yagona as the local Fijians call it- respectfully given to the village chief. Armed with the name of the village chief from friends back at Vuda we landed the dingy and asked directions to Tai Toms bure (Grandpa Toms house.) As we walked along a well worn path through the small village people were up and about and busy with the days work. The path took us through lines of bures and past the village church towards the high hills that rise behind the village proper. We were surprise by how green everything was despite Evans recent rampage especially since the trees around Vuda were stripped almost completely bare. Once near the Chiefs bure our guide went to alert the chief to our arrival. After a brief wait nearby we were ushered inside his small house and instructed to sit down on the woven floor mat that took up most of the small room. We were introduced to Chief Tai Tom who is chief of the largest of the five clans on Waya Island. Once settled on the floor we passed over our sevusevu which Tai Tom accepted and then paused to say a prayer over the kava. Once the gift was excepted he answered a few of our questions and told us who was in the photographs that lines ceiling edges of the bure. Then with a nod and a smile he welcomed us again and gave his permission for us to freely walk the village and to enjoy the island for the rest of our stay and stated the rest of our visit was free.
The village was wide awake and at work getting ready for the evenings New
Years Celebration yet when we stepped out of Tai Toms bure we were
immediately invited into the home next door for tea. This home
seemed to be the main bure for Tai Toms clan and quickly filled with
other clan members and a gaggle of kids. After introductions all
around we were invited to settle once again onto the floor mats for
tea and bread. The ladies of the clan had been busy preparing fresh
baked breads for the celebration and there was a line of platters
along the mat heaped to overflowing with scones and slices of
buttered bread along with tea cups filled with boiling water and the
leaves from something they grow locally. Everyone present welcomed us
and asked questions while passing around the breads and a big bowl
filled with sugar for the tea. The room filled up around us as other
clan members came in to say hello and then slowly emptied again as
our celebrity status faded into the more important duties of the
upcoming party. Finally as we headed out the door to venture further
into the village we ere heartily asked back for lunch and dinner and
of course church.
After
excepting the invitation for lunch we set off through the village to
explore. Every person we met offered a hearty bula! And everyone
seemed eager to stop their New Years preparations and visit a bit.
We left a trail of balloons for the kids as we worked our way along
the village paths and stopped to talk with a couple of preteen boys
who were playing with their pet iguana who seemed happy to rest atop
one boys head heartily chowing down on hand fed hibiscus blossoms.
Next we were invited into another home to peruse some goodies offered
up for sale and Barbara had her first chance to shop for souvenirs.
We came came away with a salt cellar shaped like a kava bowl, a
handmade rag rug, a green shell bracelet and a cannibal fork. Human
flesh was -for some unknown reason- not to be touched with ones
hands. Go figure. I wish I could be there to hear the conversation at
her next potluck dinner when she brings out the new serving piece.
Next
stop the dispensary where the new island nurse was settling in
accompanied by the district doctor and the outgoing nurse. The nurse
was on day one of a three year assignment and Barbara being an
emergency room ARNP helped lead the walk to the village dispensary.
Next stop was a visit with a couple of older gentlemen who were
sitting in the cool shade. Simmi and Api chatted us up for a few
minutes while more kids were lured in by the balloons. Interestingly
Simi leaned in and whispered his wish for three balloons for himself
before suggesting to Bill that they would be happy to teach him how
they fish if Bill would be willing to pick them up in our dinghy the
next morning for a bit of fishing. With a time set up to meet for
fishing the next morning we walked on headed for the islands
elementary school.
The boarding school was currently empty -closed down for summer break- but normally is filled with 150 of the islands elementary aged children. The school is a great asset to the village as most school in Fiji comes at a price. The governments have been promising free education for years but apparently the only place that promise has come true is in some of the islands outer islands. The city folks of the two big islands still must find a way to afford tuition, books and uniforms along with room and board for those who must travel. Unfortunately for we were trying to cross the beach to the school at high tide and had a choice of wadding in up to our belly buttons or trying back another time. We decided to stay dry and instead headed back to the boat for a quick swim before lunch with Tai Toms clan.
We
had been told that lunch would be from 12 to 1 which evidently meant
that it would begin sometime between 12 and 1. We arrived back at the
clans biggest house at about 11:45 where we found no one seemed to be
remotely ready for lunch or for visitors. I managed to committed an
obvious faux pas by peeking in the door way and stepping in when we
saw a few of the people we had met that morning. We had returned
with a bowl filled with orange slices and a jug of juice to share and
so I stepped inside with a friendly smile and outstretched hands.
No one spoke and then I noticed the look on Tai Toms face. There
were no words to understand but the look was obvious, a major faux
pas. I should not have stepped inside so we whirled around again and
out the door. We stood there a moment sort of shuffling our feet and
trying to interpret what we had just done. It caused a tiny ruckus
and soon we were escorted across the grass to a nearby home and
instructed to sit on the porch with a one legged man who was sitting
in the shade watching the village go by.
We
waited there on the covered porch sitting cross legged on a mat with
our back up against a pile of lumber waiting and chatting with the
man whose porch we were apparently occupying. Eventually lunch began
to appear and clan members turned up. The women began bringing out
big pots of food and someone brought a table cloth nd spread it out
in front of us then brought plates and silverware. Eventually
serving dishes of food appeared. We all three just sat there trying
to read what was expected of us until I couldn't stand it any longer
and went over to offer up the juice and the fruit and offer to help.
Reluctantly they allowed me to carry over a plate of food and then we
were encouraged to serve the food around. Evidently we were eating
with the one legged man and everyone else would be eating across the
way under the porch of the clan house. We were served smoked fish,
rice, curried potatoes with tinned fish, creamed taro leaves and
stems and lobster in coconut milk. Eventually a few other men came
and set at the end f the porch but their only real interaction was to
ask Bill for a jug of diisel to fuel the village generator “to pay
for our nights at anchor.”
We
left lunch feeling a bit awkward but with another invite to attend
the 4pm church service which it was our intention to attend but back
on the boat we swam and rested from the heat and hemmed and hawed
over whether or not we would go back for church. The night before
while at anchor we had heard the church service in action. The
village generator was cranked up to power a microphone and the
resident pastor was in high form. Between periods of lovely singing
the man spent several hours yelling and screaming at his flock and
quite frankly we were all inwardly hoping to come up with some excuse
for not attending. So once the subject was open it became clear that
since no one had their hearts set on attending we would quietly sit
this one out. We all swam, I managed to whip up some pretty
authentic chicken khorma with rice, roti and chutney and Barbara had
a bit of time to break out her drawing pencils and get a bit of
sketching in. Yes I'm sure the services would have been an
experience but it was one we just couldn't throw any enthusiasm into.
At
eight the next morning Bill set off to pick up Simmi and Api for some
reef fishing leaving Barbara and I drinking our morning caffeine and
happily chatting away the next few hours while we waited for the
dinghy to return so we could get in some snorkeling. The fishing was
going to take some logistics though with first a pick up of the boys
in town then a trip back for a tour of the boat and some orange
drink some fishing gear and the gift of a baseball hat for Api.
Surprisingly the guys didin't return for several hours but they had
three nice fish with a fourth set aside for bait. We took a fillet
off the walu (Spanish mackerel) put the bait fish in the fridge and
sent the rest home with Simmi and Api with plans to meet again at
dusk for more.
Barbara
and I were off to snorkel s soon as Bill returned from dropping off
the boys and we were in or a great treat. The snorkeling at the pass
between Waya and Wayasewa was the best I had seen since Fakarava. The
fish were abundant, the coral was alive and colorful and the
visibility was decent despite Evan kicking things up. I have been
surprised and alarmed at the state of most of the coral reefs I have
seen during this trip. I am no scientist and have little to make
comparison other than Bill and my 2003 trip to Tahiti where we were
enchanted by the colorful coral gardens. But everywhere we have been
the majority of the reefs have been dead or dying. At times it felt
like the whole worlds ocean are nothing but a giant dust storm of
gray covering reefs and rocks. Fakarava being the one exception.
Even the exact reefs we experienced in Tahiti ten years ago didn't
hold a candle to the memory we carried of them. Some of that might
be faulty memory. We remember the Tahitian islands of Huahine and
Raitea being gardens of color swimming with fish. Were they really
that much better then or have we just experienced more of both great
and not so great reef diving and snorkeling? Perhaps some of both
but Fakarava and now Waya renewed my belief that there is still some
amazing places to see. On the other hand sadly it means that our
worlds reefs are being wiped out at an amazing rate by nature -such
as cyclone damage- and by man from pollution, over fishing and too
much contact. OK off my soap box. It was great snorkeling there
even if we didn't see a single reef shark -much to Barbara's relief.
That
evening after fish tacos Bill gathered up his fishing gear careful to
search out a few lures and flashlights he wasn't going to regret
leaving behind. Simmi nd Api were showing him how they reef fish but
as most Fijians they were not shy in asking for things as gifts. So
he packed up some gift lures he felt we could live without, a couple
of flashlights (torch in Fiji) we could spare to loose and measured
out the gas to be sure we would have enough one for a final morning
snorkel trip and set off to pick up the boys. With torches in hand
they set off to the outer reef at seven and didn't return until ten!
They had a bag full of fish and Simmi and Api seemed happy as Bill
ferried them back to the village with new flashlights in hand and all
the fish. A long day for everyone so we were all off to bed with
plans in mind for a final 8am snorkel then back to the boat to weigh
anchor for our five our trip back to Vuda.
The
next morning suddenly our plans were changing -as plans often do. A
bleary eyed Bill climbed out of bed to go to the loo and was
astonished to see Api sitting atop an odd plastic kayak/raft. It was
7am, Barbara and I are both still in bed ( I have been awake
aproximatly 90 seconds now) when I heard Bill say “ummm do you want
to come aboard?) Api it seems was on a mission. He was patiently
waiting outside for us to wake up so he could ask a question: would
we be willing to take Lucy back to the mainland with us as she needed
to return to work in Nadi. No problem. But almost before Bill could
finish saying yes to Lucy coming with us for the five hour passage he
was asking if we could also bring her daughters. OK, change of
plans.
Now
for any of you who don't know all that well I am NOT a morning
person. I have been known to become a little ….umm...grumpy when
changes are thrust on me. So here I'd been awake for about 90
seconds thinking first that company was suddenly coming aboard and
then hearing that we are taking strangers on as crew for the passage
home.
A
five hour passage in Fiji is pretty much paradise for us: but it can
be hot, really hot. We would be sailing for five hours in the blazing
sun with just so much shifting shade available and no groceries put
in for the trip and no juice, no soda, no plans period for doubling
up our crew list. OK, it took me a moment or three but I can get on
board with this but OK, regroup, new plan.
First
on the list our snorkel trip: a bit shorter maybe but one last chance
for Barbara to experience our Fiji home with mask and fins. Then back
to the boat to gobble down cereal and complete a rush job on
preparing for passage while Bill heads in to the village to pick up
our passengers where surprise, surprise, Simmi has decided he would
like to come along too.
I
now have four extra guests for the day none of whom have ever been on
a sail boat and all of whom are soon lounging comfortably in the
cockpit. Simmi settles in with an air of..........entitlement.....as
if it is his castle. He takes one of the two cockpit cushions and
stakes out the shadiest bit of cockpit where he stayed while we got
underway. Once the getting underway work was done -boat tours for
all, lessons on flushing the toilet, dinghy on davits, ladder up,
fenders up, anchor up, everyone settled, gates closed and sails up- I
sit down on the combing with the sweat dripping down my face while
Simmi turns to me and informs me that Lucy needs to be in Nadi by 3pm
for work. But it was 11am and we were still four hours away from the
marina and another hour by bus away from Nadi. I explained that I
was sorry but it would be a five hour trip and that there simply
wasn't anything we could do about the timing. He frowned and scowled
and explained that the power boat the villagers usually make the trip
on only takes an hour!
With
no shade left in the cockpit I retreat below to the dinette to cool
down and stretch out on the cushioned dinette seat while Simmi sits
staring down at me through the companionway. Once I cool down it's
time to try to pull something together for lunch. An hour or more of
passing things up and down to the cockpit commences as I begin by
pouring cups of orange drink, peeling and cubing a pineapple and
making up a platter of tuna salad sandwiches. Poor Bill must have
winced when he innocently asked me if we had any of those brownies
left while I was trying to juggle the line of dishes returning to my
sink, refill the drink glasses, clean up the pineapple juice on the
counter and grab the last half a tuna sandwich while the sweat poured
into my eyes and I began feeling the telltale signs of being seasick
wash over me. I barked at him and told him the brownies were going to
have to wait I needed to come up for some air!
After lunch (and brownies) I looked down to see Simmi stretched out on the cushy dinette seat below. No problem one less body in the cockpit was a good thing. A bit later I went below for another lesson on toilet flushing and Simmi informed me while wearing his own baseball hat and holding on to my last remaining custom embroidered Peterson 44/Island Bound baseball hat that he would like a baseball hat of his own since we had given one to Api. I explained he couldn't have mine it was special to me but scratched one up for him from our cabin. He accepted it with resignation then napped while I moved outside. After the nap I found him staring at me again and went below to find out what he was up to. He explained that he would also like to have one of our solar panels so he wouldn't have to rely on the village generator for light. At this one I almost laughed but he went on to explain that since we were heading for Vanua Levu and the town of Savu Savu in a few months he would like a ride there with us and we could perhaps bring the solar panel then.
Now
first let me explain that when we leave the island of Viti Levu after
cyclone season it will be our first opportunity to explore Fiji's
other big island. When we go we will want to explore the parts of the
Yasawa Group we can't make it too this season and the northern end of
Viti Levu and so will meander our way to Savu Savu over weeks. Sorry
Simmi you're not coming with us. I will also state that I have no
problem sharing with people and in fact we came to Fiji prepared for
this part of their culture. But as I found myself making a mental
inventory of what we had given away in Yalobi and wondering what I
was really feeling inside about the gift giving experience I started
to understand the fine line between the Fijian normal of asking for
gifts and those who take it far past that norm.
That
inventory? Two baseball hats, the 2L pitcher I took to lunch filled
with juice, a Rubber Made collapsible bowl, 4 lures, 2 torches, a
tank of premix (plus two tanks for fishing,) all the fish save for
one fillet, lunch, a pan of brownies, five packets of juice and four
free rides to the main land. Plus he asked for the solar panel and
the extra dinghy we have stored on deck. Simmi had the whole thing
down to an art and simply asks for whatever catches his eye expecting
and knowing that if he keeps asking eventually something is likely to
trickle down. I explained that since the panels are special marina
panels and couldn't easily be replaced we simply couldn't do without
them. He pouted and went back up on deck. None of the things we gave
away could we not live without. And yes we were able to say no when
we needed. On one hand it felt good to be able to give something to
people who we know do not have a lot. In fact we had planned for it
with purchases of rice, canned goods, school supplies, hooks, soap,
laundry powder, lolly pops and balloons for the kids purchased just
for our time in Fiji. But when the fine line was crossed giving to
Simmi began to feel..........creepy to use Barbara's term.
We
made it back to Vuda without incident and grabbed the center buoy
instead of our spot at the quay so we could offload everyone via the
dinghy to shore. We were worried that offloading people and bags
over the bow to the quay would be too difficult since it often
requires tightrope walking and some pretty big jumps or climbs. SO
pictures all around and lots of waving and they were off to find
their way to Nadi.
Honestly the day turned out to be an adventure. And in between conversations
with Simmi it was a grand opportunity to ask questions and learn more
about Fijian life and village life particularly. All of our guests
spent at least part of the trip napping in the heat (they explained
they had all been up late drinking yagona for New Years the night
before) which opened up time to talk one on one with everyone at
least a little bit. Lucy explained that she likes living in Nadi
and would never consider moving back to her home village. She likes
being a city girl and being able to flip a switch for alight, watch
tv and shop whenever she wishes. Her daughter Tupo lives with her
mom in town, works and has her friends on the mainland. Both
explained they grow bored after a few days in Yalobi. Maggie was
most interested in knowing we were hoping to go to the Lau Group in
the spring which brought tears to her eyes as she explained she
hadn't been back to her village in over ten years. She gave me the
names of people we can look up when we arrive which will be a great
way to break the ice there. Simmi I could do without seeing again
but since we are likely to go back to Yalobi I will have to learn to
love.
At
dinner a few nights later our friend Grant on Lochiel shared his own
experience in Tonga: he had been asked to take one man to the
mainland and maybe one of his friends but arrived to pick him up to
find 12 giant Tongan men waiting for him. They were so big he had to
take five trips to his boat to get them all aboard! I just hope the
next time there is no one floating around our boat for an hour in the
wee hours of morning waiting for one of us to stumble to the loo.
Kat
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