Fishing in Fulunga (By Ann)

Fishing…that relaxing, peaceful pastime that so many crave. Not on Fulunga! Today the yachties were invited to a BBQ on the beach by the villagers. Part of the invitation involved going fishing for our main course. The women do the fishing in the lagoon. The men spear fish in the passes.

Setting the net.

Some net fishing anyone?

Splish, splash perfectly describes the women fishing. It starts like this…five palangis (us) and four villagers. We slip into the water, send the two women with the fishing net slightly ahead of the rest of us so they can set it and then we scare the fish into the net. The biggest challenge is keeping nine women from making too much noise and scaring the fish before the net is set. Too much laughter and chatter let alone the splish splash of our sneak attack. It was exhilarating and exhausting! So fun!

Meanwhile the guys, our spouses, are wrangling the dinghies with Tai, the village go-to-guy guiding us. The village women did not need the guidance. So I guess the guys in the dinghies were there to help carry our catch. How do you divvy up 11 fish between 4 dinghies. And they were not large fish. But the fun had by all was very big. Splashing through the water with our goggles and snorkels, sometimes swimming across chasms, sometimes crawling in the sand and sometimes my big feet splashing in from shore. It is really surprising we did not catch more.

Joanna with some fish...

Jasmine with fish.

Luckily Andy (Spruce) and John (Mystic Moon) went fishing in the pass this morning and snagged a 34 pound wahoo to share. The final spread of food on the table formed by lacing sticks into a table covered with palm fronds was really impressive. The women of the village had gone crabbing prior to our arrival, the local men speared some huge parrot fish, add the cassava, spinach and contributions from eleven yachts and there was plenty to go around. Serve all this on plates of hand-woven coconut fronds and life is perfect. Finish the day with some hammock time, connecting with friends on a radio net (Hello Bright Angel!) and an amazing sky filled with stars galore and you know why we are still in Fulunga for the foreseeable future.

Prepping the fish (no need for a cutting board here).

Sena preparing the cassava root.

The crab pot.

Steaming the crab.

Crab is ready in the just woven palm basket.

The picnic spot. Some palm fronds on the ground and you're set!

Ann and Jasmine her "netting" partner (and friend).