The people of Fulunga love to have their picture taken. Well most of them do. Much like my dear Aunt Geri, our host Tau would rather not be photographed; but the rest of the villagers love it. And they especially love it when you show them their photo on your digital camera screen. We always show the kids their pictures because they remember to ask. When I remember to show the adults their pictures I am always rewarded with a bigger smile and a hearty, “Vinaka!” Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Seta is "slightly" photogenic. Scroll to the bottom to see "Through the eyes..."

One of my favorite targets to photograph is an adorable two-year old named Seta. Seta’s dad teaches at the school and so Seta is often found wandering from classroom to classroom, kid to kid. Everyone loves him. If you meet Seta on the path you will always get a soft, “Bula”. Very gentle yet so grown up. This is a step up from last year when Seta cried at the sight of us kaipailangis. Not only does he greet you but he offers his tiny hand to shake.

Seta loves to smile for pictures. When you show him the photos he names the people he sees. “Seta!, Johnny!” He is very smart and catches on quickly. The other day at the choir competition we visitors were all invited to a neighboring house to wait while the women of the village prepared lunch. Seta came into the room and proceeded to walk from person to person (we were all seated around a large mat) shaking their hand and greeting them with his sweet “Bula”. When he got to Bob he smiled and said, “Bula Bob!” Looked and me and again personalized his greeting, “Bula Ann!” When he finished greeting everyone around the mat he came back to me, plopped down in my lap, looked around and said, “Kaipalangis!”

And Seta in church is a delight to watch. He is not like the other two-year olds who roam restlessly around looking for the perfect nap. Seta wanders in, assesses the situation and finds a comfy women’s lap to rest in. Last week he plopped down next to my friend Mata (Octopus Woman). After snuggling up close he noticed her carryall and her glasses. Seta reached in and borrowed her glasses. He puts them gently over his ears and proceeds to just chill and look around. This was the Sunday that I sat with the ladies and so I could see that the glasses Seta was wearing two pews ahead of me were covered with fingerprints. “Sega na lega” as they say here – no worries. He just continued to look around. Until I came into his view. At which point he took a double take knowing that the kaipalangis sit on the other side of the church. And then he pulled the glasses down on his nose so he could see over the top and said, “Bula Ann!” Melt, melt.

Today at church I sat with Bob and our friends Bob and Linda off of Bright Angel. When Seta looked around from a comfy lap he noticed our pew and the cute little waves that Linda was doing. Seta slipped off of the comfy lap and came across the aisle to greet both Bob and Linda, “Bula!” Sweetly and softly because we were in church. And then he saw my Bob…”Bula Bob!” And then he wiggled past Bob and promptly climbed into my lap. Where he sat happily for 15 minutes. During which he added my glasses to the pair he was already wearing. Bob said he looked like he was hallucinating as he stared around the church looking at the world with two sets of glasses on. The view through a two-year old’s eyes…very entertaining and heartwarming.

Seta and Ann in Church.

That’s my new Fijian name. As you might have read, Ann is Kailavosa which roughly translated means; “noisy talker”. OK, so need to explain further.

Mocelili (prounounced “motheleelee”) roughly translated means; “sleeps in hammock”. OK, so I DO spend some time in the hammock set up on the foredeck. The villagers think these names are hysterical and there is much laughter about our new Fijian names. I have to say I’m honored to have one.

So, when one of our cruiser friends on the radio this evening noted that by now I probably had been at Fulunga long enough to have a “bone through his nose”, he was closer to being right than he knew.

By Ann

It finally happened! I have solved the mystery. We have been in Fulunga for 8 weeks now and I have been going out of my way to meet and enjoy the villagers. Of course this is complicated by the fact that there are three villages. Helping with the health screenings in the second and third villages (we consider the village closest to the anchorage, Maunicake, to be the first village) provided a great opportunity for us to meet the great people in the second and third villages. And we have made two additional trips to the third village (Naividamu) and really connected with those folks. The choir competition the other day in the second village refreshed our contacts with the villagers there.

I have really been working on the first village, Maunicake. Maunicake is the village up from the anchorage where we have spent so much time. And felt so very welcome. I love wandering through the village and being welcomed into their homes to have tea and share stories. I love trying to figure out all of the connections; who is related or married to whom. Maybe I should have been a sociologist.

We did not help with the health screenings in Maunicake but Batai, the nurse, was willing to let me see their records. I LOVE seeing names and birthdates. The rest of the information is just gravy. Add to this information, having access to the village census for January – June 2014 and I had a lot of information waiting to be addressed. It was calling to me. So I took the plunge and decided to see who I knew, who I didn’t know, and how each person was related to the others in the village.

It has taken a lot of work and some fun conversations with Tara – “Queen of all Knowledge About Fuluga”, as I like to call her. From her perspective Tara will tell you that she needed her husband Joe (fondly known by Bob and I as” Just -in-Time Joe” or “Cowboy Joe”) to respond accurately to my questions. This really all started when I talked the young girls of the village into make me a map. Next I needed to know about the people in the houses-that’s where Tara and Joe came in.

Part of Ann's notes showing the lineage of the village.

So armed with a village census, a health screening listing of those who came to be screened and my base knowledge of the village I started working on a family tree-starting with the chief. Just about everyone has some connection to the chief and I was determined to figure it out. In the process I have uncovered many interesting connections. I love it. So I found a big piece of paper and started to map it out. Boy did the questions arise. I have now had three sessions with Tara and Joe. Today’s list of questions was my smallest list and had 15 questions about people. My questions have been answered and I have to apply them to my Family Tree.

But the most exciting part about today was getting to fill in the blanks. There were four people that I just could not put my finger on because I had not met them! How did that happen? I have visited the village almost every day for most of the last eight weeks. Maybe I had their names wrong! A conversation with Tara, Joe and Tai (another very informed villager) yesterday uncovered the meanings of people’s names. And confirmed that there were four people I had not met (out of about 85) in Maunicake. Well today I met them!

After getting the answers from Tara on my 15 questions (can’t ever guarantee that is it) I asked to meet these last four folks. And my guide was Tara’s 8-year old grandson, Jone (pronounced Johnny). Jone’s English is not really strong so Tara explained the mission to him in Fijian. As Jone and I walked to the first house I discussed our route and he clearly named the four people and the order in which we were going to proceed. Things are going well! Our first stop was at the oldest man in the village, Tomu.

Tomu

Tomu was inside (of course, that’s why I’ve never seen him!) sitting in a comfortable chair enjoying the afternoon light. Jone’s English was not complete enough to introduce me so I just forged ahead saying hello. Fortunately another young woman, Uni, came in and provided translation. I had already taken some photos and shared them with Tomu. They love their pictures! Uni did a great job helping translate and Tomu was delighted to meet me. Tomu will be 98 on December 22nd. I asked Uni to tell Tomu that I also celebrate a December birthday and I received a big smile in return. I told him I would think of him on the 22nd. Wow, how do you live this long in such a primitive society. Other than lacking mobility he seemed pretty happy. Of course Uni’s 18 month old son was playing with a walker outside which may have played into Tomu’s housebound condition. How thrilling to meet the oldest man on the island. I am hoping to go back with more questions but Jone and I were on a mission.

Our next stop was at Koro’s. Koro is the wife of the chief’s right-hand man who is 72. Unfortunately there was no translator available to determine her true age. When Jone and I arrived Koro was making some pancakes. She was sitting in the kitchen house very near a hot fire, flipping pancakes. She did not seem pleased by the interruption that Jone represented and I don’t think she saw me. So I went around to the kitchen door and stepped in and introduced myself. Koro spoke no English so I went right into taking pictures. I wish you could see these people light up when you show them their picture on the back of your camera. Of course I know to say, “Dredre”, which means smile but not everyone believes me or follows the request. But Koro did. And when she saw her picture she was thrilled and smiled more. Two down, two to go.

Koro

Our next stop was Lagilagi. Lagilagi is the grandfather of one of the boys we met last year, Tua. Tua was in the yard cleaning up so I asked him to come with me to meet his grandfather —who he was named after. Lagilagi was sitting on the porch enjoying the lovely late afternoon light. Unfortunately he did not speak English but Tua has a little and I proceeded to take some cute pictures that again, thrilled a very old man. Smiles come easily sometimes. Especially when your grandson is at your side.

Lagilagi

And our final stop, Pu Leba. Pu actually means grandmother in Fijian, but Leba is Jone’s great-great aunt. And she also was somewhat confused by this silly Pailangi speaking English. But a quick photo snapped and shared brought many more smiles and “Vinakas”. Leba was sitting alone in a very clean house that she was actually sweeping as we arrived. At this point I had gained a friend, a little girl named Vuli who was happy to be part of the parade to Leba’s. So pictures here included Jone and Vuli and many smiles.

Pu Lemba (Pu is short for grandma)

So there you have it. I have now met all of the Maunicake residents that are currently on the island. I am hoping to take a translator back with me next week and find out more of the stories behind their beautiful faces and smiles!

We want to thank our loyal readers for the return posts telling us that someone out there is reading this. It really helps us keep up that daily posts when we know that someone is actually reading this stuff!

To Karen H. Yup, we can’t wait to post the pictures. They will tell so much yet I’m already begining to dread the process. There are so many to decide from and they are so beautiful. It will take a couple days of really dedicated time just to post them. Fortunately we’ve been “processing” them almost daily so at least they are on the computer in some kind of order and have been tweaked to adjust exposure, contrast and the like.

So…once again, many thanks to those who respond to this blog and tell us that it’s actually being read. It keeps US inspired to keep on writing on those nights when it’s late, we’re tired and just want to go to sleep…

Bob and Ann S/V Charisma From Paradise, Fiji

That’s Ann’s new Fijian name. Its literal meaning is “Noisy Talker”. (From Ann: Bob gave me this name, not my friends in the village.) The villagers were in hysterics when I made it up. Turns out they all have names like that. One is Bali which means clumsy. Another is Lotu which means “He Who Falls”. Ironically enough these two are married. Ann now has every villager’s real/symbolic name. Fascinating stuff.

I went in early today and fixed one of the longboats in the second village (Muanaira). One of the young men there ran it onto the coral and slashed a couple of three inch by one inch hole in the bottom but didn’t have the materials to fix it. Turns out he had the glass fiber mat but not the epoxy resin that cements it in place. I had the two part epoxy (resin plus catalyst) but not the mat. Well, that worked! So I walked down there and spent a pleasant hour fixing his boat. We had a dozen young boys surrounding the boat which was upside down on the beach. They were all fascinated with the process of stuffing some glass fiber material in the hole, then pouring the mixed epoxy in and laying down some matting on the top, then smoothing the whole thing. What really got their attention was when the un-used resin started smoking in the cup. They didn’t understand the chemical reaction of mixing the resin with the catalyst. Anyway it was nice to be able to help. Now John and Meli can go out fishing again for their meals. My payment? Two coconuts that the kids climbed the trees to get and then shucked and cleaned. I drank one there and saved the other to bring back to Charisma.

On the way back to the main village (Muanaicake– pronounced “Monathakay”) I was stopped at three houses and asked to come in for tea. This can mean anything from actual tea to a full meal. I was able to politely turn down the first one but had to stop at the second since it was our host family Joe and Tau. So I went and sat down in their outside kitchen. Tau poured me some lemon leaf tea and offered me some fresh bread and we three chatted for an hour. After leaving there, I walked through the village and heard another “Bula, Bob. Tea?” This was another group who were sitting around drinking tea and eating cakes. More food.

Ann stayed on Charisma making water and baking some banana bread to bring to today’s event which was a party for us yachties or as we’re sometimes called– People of the Sea. You never know what these events will really be, but it turned out we started with some kava and music (guitar, ukulele and song) then headed outdoors for games with the children. These games replicate real life. The key games were the coconut shucking contest and spear throwing. Yes, we got to throw spears. It was fun! Then back inside for more kava – but by this time the chief had come into the community hut. As I walked in, before my eyes could even adjust to the light I heard, “Bula Bob” from the chief. Nice to know the chief recognizes us. After some rounds of kava with the chief we were served more food and tea. Finally around 1730 we decided to head back to Charisma before it got dark. By this time the party for the yachties had shifted gears (as they all tend to about this time) and was turning into a village kava session. These things can go on all night, so it’s good for us to retire unless we want to “kava-drive” back to our boats across the reef in the dark.

The first part of the games was to weave a basket to hold the coconuts that were to be shucked.

Everyone except the dog was excited.

Teamwork made the day!

Most anticipated event was "spear throwing" and Mata got into the spirit.

...as did Ann.

Part of my team.

After the games, we moved indoors for kava and music.

So here we are back on Charisma with a glorious sunset after another wonderful day enjoying our Charismas.

A quick note about yesterday. We were tired from a whole day in the second village attending a children’s church choir competition among the three villages. I can’t possibly do it justice in words. The children’s voices were angelic but the spirit was Fijian. We had a lot of fun listening and watching and then there was a huge lunch with all the participants and some of the parents in one of the common area huts. It’s always an experience at these big events sitting cross-legged on a woven mat floor with 30 other people. A long runner is placed on the floor to designate the “table” area and plates of food are put on this runner. You then dish yourself food off these plates which usually contain freshly cooked fish (whole with skin, bones and head), boiled cassava root and any number of other plates. And you eat with your fingers. No forks or spoons. We’re quite used to it by now and may never by quite as dainty about eating as we once were.

So remember, when you see Ann back at holiday time, you can call her by her new Fijian name– Kaila Vosa As for me, we have slightly altered my name since there are now two Bob’s in the anchorage. Bright Angel Bob and me. I’ve been here so long we’re now calling me by my Fijian pronunciation. “Bob” is pronounced; “mBomb”.

Simple.

But we’re so tired. Just a note to get you all to write (hint, hint). We’ll get caught up tomorrow. Today was another fun day in the village, but we were up at 0600 and it’s now 2100 and we’re beat. Tomorrow I’m going to “lend” some epoxy to one of the villagers who has a hole in his boat. He’s got glass fiber, but no resin. I’ve got the resin. We’ll see what we can do.

See you tomorrow.

The Chief of Navidamu that is and we’re going to buy it. More below, but first a description of another fascinating and fun day.

Chief Moses and the war club he's carving.

We have been wanting to get back to Navidamu (also known as the “third village” since it is across the lagoon and not easy to get to). An opportunity came up to go over on one of their longboats and we jumped on it. It was supposed to leave the beach at our anchorage at 0700, but since we’re on Fiji time it turned out there was a big catch of fish over there and the boat was working the catch and didn’t show up until 0830. We had almost given up on the day, but thank goodness we didn’t!

We had a bit of a wild ride across the lagoon. It was very windy and some good size waves had built up, but it was downwind so we didn’t get splashed, just shaken a bit. As we slid over the reef at Navidamu and onto the beach we could tell that was going to be a fun day. The women and children were on the beach cleaning several dozen fish and all were shouting, “Bob, Ann, welcome!” Talk about feeling welcome! Seems we were still remembered after our half day there a month ago.

Our main reason for going was to get to know some of the wonderful people we met when we visited last, but before we could just wander through the village we thought it best to visit the Chief and get his permission and blessing. We brought some kava and a few gifts (various canned and packaged food, balls for the kids, fishing hooks and other useful stuff that’s not easy to get way out in the islands) and stopped in at the Chief’s hut. We were not even in the door when we were greeted, “Bob, Ann, come in, come in!” We had a nice sit down with Chief Moses and received his blessing to go wherever in the village we wanted. On the way out the door a war club that he was carving caught my attention and I asked him about it. He explained how they were once used, even striking a menacing pose. I was impressed and a little intimidated and we left at that point with me wishing I had asked him more. But – we were on a mission!

Turned out that part of our mission was a real Fijian haircut for me! Long story how we got to a haircut, but as the pictures will tell, I ended up sitting on a pallet outside one of the huts with a dozen children looking on getting a haircut with comb, scissors and razor blade by one of the villagers. I pretty much held my breath, closed my eyes and relied on Ann to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. You know, it came out really well. My only complaint is that I didn’t get a lollie when it was over.

Bob's haircut (sitting on a pallet).

Haircut complete, it was time for Ann to enchant the little children as she always does. Today she brought a game of Pocket Farkel and played with them until they were in hysterics. Why hysterics? Because Ann was teaching them in Fijian! Yes, as the game progressed she would ask them how to say stuff like, “Four of a kind”, or “Roll”, etc. They would give her the Fijian word, then spell it, then laugh themselves silly as she attempted to say the word. The adults in the room were all so impressed and told me how great it was for Ann to do this since it encouraged the kids to speak English more.

Teaching Farkle

Another part of our mission today was to reconnect with Mattei. He is a very funny (and influential) member of the village. For some reason he and I just hit it off last time we were there. We had a little “back and forth” joking when we first met at which point he paused, thought a moment and then laughed and said I could not leave until I came and had kava with him. Partly it’s that we’re almost the same age. He’s six months older, but I have 29 more teeth left than he does. Anyway, after some bantering he invited us back to his house today for lunch. It was a delight and we found even more common ground. We both agreed that Fulanga was paradise. The difference is that he’s almost always lived here and I’ve been waiting years to find it. My favorite quote from him about sums our agreement up, “My brother lives in Suva and he has a nice house, a car, a television and many other things. But all these things do not make him happy. I live here with very little and am very happy”. Way to go Mattei!

Mattai and Tua in their home.

Once we finished lunch it was time to make the walk back to the main village and then on back to Charisma. Why walk? It got so rough no one wanted to drive the boat and we didn’t really want to get soaking wet. But, before we left I was feeling like I might have been able to buy the war club the Chief was carving. I was concerned I might offend him so instead I asked Mattei – he is close to the Chief – and he said to go ahead and ask. Actually his exact response was, “Yes, go ask him now, you just gave him kava! Good time to ask!”

So I did.

It turned out the Chief was very flattered and then went on to tell us about how he has been carving for over 35 years (to put his kids through high school and university) and then gave us a history of how the war club was used and even demonstrating it, showing us how if he missed with the club he would use a separate throwing club. Whew! I wouldn’t want to make him angry. Anyway, he said he would complete it by next week and we could come back and have it. Wow! Our own war club made by a Fijian Island Chief!

Quite a day.

Yes, we spent another entire day in the village of Maunicake (pronounced “Manuthaki”) in Vuluga (pronounced “Fulunga”). What a delight!

For my part (Bob), I spent the day with my mentor, Joe finishing the carving on my bowl. He is confident enough now to let me do all the carving. He just sits and watches with an occasional, “Vinaka!” which means (in this context) “Well done”! This bowl is a 12 inch by 6 inch bowl with seashells inlaid in the four “corners” and Fijian carving pattern between them. It looks pretty good for a first try. Several of the carvers have examined it very closely and noted that no one has ever used “this kind of shell” to make carvings. Ann and I are pretty sure this design will now be replicated as part of the island repertoire!

As before, the most fun part of doing the carving is the camaraderie. People come by, stop, look, talk and then move on. You tell a joke or two, everyone laughs and it’s just fun! Bright Angel Bob and Linda were part of the group today too. Lucy, who is the wife of one of the carvers (Niko) was preparing pandanas leaves for weaving. It’s an exhausting process that starts with taking the sharp edges off, then rolling them up, boiling them, drying them, etc. Linda is going to learn some weaving and wanted to start at the very beginning and dropped in to help Lucy roll the pandanas into rolls that will fit into the pot for boiling. Just that part of the process took most of the afternoon! Bob is interested in the anthropological aspects of Fijian life and was asking about a number of the ceremonies and sayings of Fijian life. In particular he asked a question I hadn’t thought of — “What is the significance of the pattern that Bob is carving?” Both Joe and Niko shrugged and said, “Our grandfathers taught us these patterns.” So there you have it. I’ve become part of the history of Fulunga by carving what their grandfathers taught them. I couldn’t be more proud!

Ann continues to work on the genealogy of the village and to say people are fascinated and thrilled by the attention she is putting into this is an understatement. More on this going forward as it gets finalized but she could at this point easily be mistaken for a village elder not because of her age but because of her knowledge of the village relationships. She has tracked folks back through great – great grandparents and the process is getting a LOT of attention.

We just heard that tomorrow we are going to be able to go to Naividamu (also known among cruisers as the Third Village, since it is mostly accessible by boat across the lagoon). The only issue– the longboat is showing up at the beach at 0700.

OK, time to get to sleep. Stay tuned for more.

Ann and I spent the day in the village today. For me, carving my second bowl. For Ann, helping to teach the ladies how to sew dresses.

Orcinius John and Lisa brought a new hand-crank Singer sewing machine and a bunch of fabric. Ann knows how to make dresses, so the combination was a hit! Linda from Bright Angel joined in as well with her expertise showing the ladies how to deconstruct an existing dress to make a pattern. Between everyone a new dress was born! Uni was the proud recipient because the dress was about a size 12 and she is just about the only 12 in the village. I think tomorrow they are going to have to work on “sizing up” considerably for most of the rest of the ladies.

I spent the day sitting cross-legged as per usual in Niko’s carving area with my carving mentor Jotele Kororua who is known to us as Joe. His name in Fijian means “Of Two Villages”. I have worked with wood since I built my first sailboat – an eight foot El Toro – when I was 14, but Joe has taught me some things about carving, not the least of which is patience. I tend to cut too fast and too deep wanting to get to the final shape as soon as possible. Joe, on the other hand, roughs out the shape he’s looking for and then refines it several times until it’s down to the final size. In the long run his method is faster and more pleasing as any mistakes he might make can be corrected whereas if I “miss” it often means I’ve gouged into the final shape. It’s also more fun “Joe’s way”. It’s kind of zen-like; so enjoyable to sit here and chip away at something while it takes form in front of your eyes.

In the meantime, while we’re sitting there carving, the whole village at one point or another during the day, passes by. Everyone stops to chat, have a look at what you’re working on, expresses an opinion and then moves on. What a great way to pass the day while getting to know everyone– so much better when it’s an informal setting.

My anecdote for the day is that at noon, the large village drum, the lali, gets beaten in a call to worship. It’s not as formal as the Muslim call to prayer, but the drum sounds four times/day and those who choose to stop a moment and say a prayer. For me it signifies mid-day and several minutes after the drum I heard Joe call Samu, the younger of his two sons, and give him some direction or another. A few minutes later Samu showed up with three coconuts. Joe expertly sliced them with his machete and we each had a long, cool drink of refreshing coconut water. Once finished, we gave the coconut back to Joe at which point he sliced it open so we could eat the meat and relieve our midday hunger. Once I was done with my coconut, I set it aside knowing the cycle was not yet done. Something would come along and finish the last bits. Sure enough a few minutes later a passel of baby chicks (five or six) came peeping across the wood chips in the carving area, crawled across my crossed legs, ankles and feet to my other side and proceeded to strip the final sustenance from the cut coconut.

Nothing goes to waste here.

Talk about the circle of life. We’re living it here.

So, our good friends Linda and Bob on Bright Angel and John and Lisa on Orcinius showed up in Fulunga on the same day! With them were real, live greens not to mention wine and beer. We went down to half rations on wine and consumed the last drops of wine on board Charisma the night before they arrived. The only greens we’ve seen in the last month or more have been cassava leaves that you have to boil into submission. Tonight Ann and I feasted on a real salad of lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Wow, what a treat.

It was coincidence that both boats ended up here at the same time. We’ve been hoping to see them here and have stayed this long partly because we hoped to have some time to “play” in paradise with them, but Orcinius was in Suva and Bright Angel in Savusavu, so we had no idea whether either could find a weather window that would allow them to get here. Neither was positive they would be able to catch favorable conditions to sail here, so we split our list of hoped-for-food and gave half to each in the hope that some fresh food would make it here. Bonus – they are both here! Now, besides resupply we’re going to have fun with folks we have sailed with since leaving Mexico so many miles and years ago.

So, it’s been a great reunion and we’re looking forward to some fun over the next couple weeks. Yes, we’re staying another couple weeks to enjoy the new company. But, we’re starting to plan our voyage back up to Savusavu since it seems my back account is overdrawn (thanks to my parents for covering that while we’re here playing), my health insurance needs to be renewed and several other things that we can only do with the help of internet access which we do not have here (I’ve mentioned before that we post these messages via shortwave radio using a Pactor modem).

Today being Sunday in Fiji was of course Church. The difference at this point after being here over seven weeks is Ann is now sitting with the Fijian ladies who have adopted her (from Ann- it is a totally different perspective and I even got to sing the Fijian songs as my friend Qele pointed, word by word, to guide me. I loved it and even helped corral the loose child wandering in hopes of a new lap to sit in.) There’s even talk about her being accepted into one of the clans here (“She is Mataqali”! which means “She is part of our clan”). Ann has made quite an impact, but no surprise there.

For my part, the men have been impressed with my wood carving abilities and there are many jokes about how my bowls (I’ve made two at this point – although one is not finished yet) are better than the ones made by the village and I join the joke offering to sell them to the top village carvers to put in their stores. It has been a rare experience though, sitting all day out by the banana trees under a jury rigged corrugated tin roof – crossed legged on a mat on the ground among the wood chips – chopping and carving away with the other men, all of us carving one thing or another. Neither Ann nor I will ever forget being accepted so completely as part of the village and being able to freely participate in their daily life.

So that’s our update for now. The weather is a bit on the cold and windy side. We’re wearing sweaters at night. Very un-Fiji like. We’re looking forward to a change so we can go diving and snorkeling again.

Oh well, such nice problems to have.