(By Ann) The winds stayed away and the sun came out at just the right times today. It was a lovely day in Fulaga.

We had only hoped to get a good paddle in but were gifted with a delightful party hosted by the villagers. But that was after the paddle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took off from Charisma and headed toward the shore that we explored on foot a few days back. We were paddling into the wind, about 8 knots of wind, but very little chop so we plowed through until we were in the protected lee of the land. It was wonderful! We glided in water that was anywhere from 3 feet to one foot below our boards. The color of the water went from varying shades of turquoise to the warm browns of the bommies. The sun was behind us and so everything was lit up perfectly for pictures. And then when we turned around it was downwind on the return trip! So fun! Prior to taking off on the paddle boards we had been invited by the villagers to join them in a good-bye fish roast on the beach. We were not really expecting to go but they even sent a dinghy around to personally invite everyone. We are so glad we went!

The villagers had built a sheltered area with a palm frond roof and floor and invited us to come on in! The men had been spearing fish and diving for crabs while the women caught fish in nets. There was jack trevally, barracuda and some other fish I was unable to identify. The fish smoked on sticks over the open fire. No seasonings, just fish cooked the old-fashioned way. And the crab melted in your mouth!

Of course there were a variety of side dishes too: baked bananas, coconut and the ubiquitous cassava in the case, cooked by simply putting it on the coals of the fire. All simply made with loving hands. And to serve the food the women taught us to weave plates out of a banana palms.

We’re going to stay here another couple days as there is still much to do and explore, but we’ll probably plan to move on sometime next week. In the meantime there are some fairly high winds predicted starting tomorrow or the next day, so tomorrow we’ll move Charisma about 200 meters closer to shore to tuck in out of the wind and waves.