That’s one of the cool things we saw today. But, it took half the day for the rain to stop so we could go into the beach and see it.

Yes, we were stuck on the boat as the squalls came through and the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. The only consistency was rain. The thing that kept us on the boat until the afternoon was that the wind went north, then west, then built from the west. West is one direction we don’t want in our anchorage. Every other direction we’re protected by the barrier reef or island, but from the west, there is a ten mile fetch to the other side of the lagoon. As we say on Charisma; “that’s no bueno”. So we stayed aboard. And read our books. And watched the wind build and the rain come down. Charisma was rocking and rolling and we almost had the bow going under water in the waves. Just in time to save the day, the wind drifted back to north and settled. Yes! Now we could go ashore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First I should briefly describe this place. It’s an Atoll-which basically is an old volcano that has sunk beneath the sea, the rim of which has been covered by coral that provides a protective barrier for the lagoon inside. The lagoon formed by the barrier reef is about 10 miles long, 2 miles wide and averages 100 feet deep. The entrance to the lagoon is at the far end and was created eons ago by fresh water erosion when this whole lagoon was above the surface. But now, inside it all was see is a white line around us which is the surf line and we hear the roar of the ocean waves breaking on the barrier reef. That’s what gives us protection. On the eastern most side of the lagoon is the only part that is above water-the island proper. It’s barely above water though and also made of coral, it’s about 20 feet above sea level with a lovely sand beach on the lagoon side. Add to that the height of the coconut trees and rainforest trees and that’s all there is. You can only see it from about 5 miles away. We’re anchored on a sandy patch on the edge of the coral a mile off the island. It’s not too convenient, but the good news is this is what keeps the island from becoming too popular. It’s not easy to get to, nor easy/safe to stay here in a boat (and we’re ready to leave on a moment’s notice should the weather turn on us). We’re a bit on the edge, but at the same time thrilled about being the only boat here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really wanted to get back to our new friends Matea and Mo. We had promised some supplies and wanted to make good on our promise, but taking our little inflatable dinghy a mile through the coral bommies to get to the island in adverse wind/waves was a non-starter, until the wind shifted. But finally, shift it did. We stocked up on stuff they needed; batteries, fish hooks, a lighter. Then we added some World Cup Rugby hats that Ann found in NZ and most importantly; sugar. They really wanted sugar for their tea. Oh and even though this wasn’t officially a village, we decided we would bring some kava and do a sevusevu. They really appreciated that and when we finally got to the beach and up in their hut to deliver the supplies, when we pulled out the kava for sevusevu they were touched. A very solemn ceremony followed whereby Mo (the elder on the island at 68 years old) accepted us and we are now not only protected by them, but always considered welcome to their island. Now it was our turn to be touched.

The supplies we brought were reciprocated in kind. After a delightful couple of hours chatting in their hut and then back on the beach, we came back to Charisma loaded down with half dozen huge papaya, two giant stalks of bananas, a large pumpkin and half dozen coconuts that they pre-trimmed for us so all we have to do is cut the ends off to get the milk and meat inside (instead of having to trim off the infernal husk). And as we were getting ready to leave, Mo presented us with the biggest, most beautiful conch shell we have ever seen. It literally took our breath away when we saw it. It’s over 18 inches long and, well, we will have to get a picture up to really do it justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and the science project. They have a huge 12 volt battery in their hut that is charged by a solar panel . The battery supplies all their electricity. The problem is, some devices need less than the full voltage. The other issue is what do you do when you want to use multiple devices, such as charge a phone (which they can’t use here since no signal, but which has photos on it so we could see their family back in Suva and a camera they use to take pictures.) The solution it turns out is akin to an old science project that I can barely remember, but which has great practical value here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The cell phone/camera cannot take the full brunt of the battery, so they use an electrolyte to reduce the amount of current flowing through the line. What is the electrolyte you ask? Seawater. They put one end of the positive terminal wrapped around an iron nail into a bowl of seawater and the other side of the line wrapped around another nail into the other side of the bowl. This lets current flow, but at a slower rate than if it went directly through a copper wire. Also their circuit board was a piece of wood into which they had pounded half a dozen nails. Want to run one device? Connect it to one of the nails. Two devices? Connect to another nail, etc. Brilliant.

It’s been such a privilege seeing how these two manage to live essentially cut off from civilization. They get some supplies from time to time from fishing boats that come by to fish the waters in their lagoon, but as I noted yesterday it’s been over a month since anyone has been here. But they live well. Fish, crab, coconuts and a number of vegetables both wild and domestic are part of their diet. They both are quite healthy based on this diet save for the lack of good dental care that we see all over Fiji (Tonga too).

So…we would like to stay here another couple of days and are watching the weather to see if it will cooperate. If it does, we’re invited tomorrow for coconut crab lunch (they are hunting for them tonight using the new D-batteries we supplied to power their flashlights). We would also like a day or two to just snorkel as this is the clearest water we’ve yet seen. Ann did a little snorkeling yesterday and was giddy with excitement about the number of fish she saw in just her short time in the water. It’s been too rough though to take the dinghy to more remote and interesting spots.

OK, cross fingers for two days of nice weather!

P.S. As I finish writing this, the moon has come out from behind the clouds and the wind has dropped and it’s quite warm. It’s looking like a “lay on the deck and watch the moon” night 😉