Sniff, sniff…

We left Naividamu this afternoon and even though we’ve only spent a few days anchored there, it was tough. We’ve been there three times over the last couple months and made some solid friendships so it was really tough saying “moce” (pronounced “mothay” and means goodbye).

We had a lazy morning drinking coffee in the cockpit and watching some of the ladies out on the reef – not very far from Charisma since we were just off the reef – collecting mussels for dinner. We were waiting for the tide to come in to make it easier to get ashore in the dinghy and we were lingering, knowing that leaving would not be easy.

We also watched Chief Moses navigate an outrigger with a 50 gallon drum on it out across the reef to Orcinius, who was anchored right next to us in the tiny anchorage. He was getting water that Orcinius very kindly offered to the village. There is a bit of a drought here and they are very low on water. Orcinius has a high volume water maker and was able to transfer about 150 gallons that Moses rowed back and forth to the beach, about 30 gallons at a time, for his village. When we wandered through the village saying our goodbyes we could see that each house now had a fresh bucket of drinking water right outside its door.

Finally a little after lunch we went in and said our goodbyes. Lisa brought a Barrel Full of Monkeys game and jump rope in for the kids and John and I got roped into one last kava ceremony. So they taught the kids to play and we played with the guys. All in all it was a good leaving even though it lasted two hours instead of the planned ½ hour.

Playing "Barrel of Monkeys" on the beach.

We are now anchored about a mile or so NE of Naividamu on the south side of a little island in the middle of the lagoon that is Fulunga.

Anchored at "Bere's Island".

A hermit lives here named Bere. He came out to the beach to wave when we got here and we said we would come in tomorrow. As he walked back off the beach he wasn’t more than a step into the jungle before he completely disappeared from view. Tomorrow will no doubt be interesting.

Anyway, we’re anchored in about 18 feet over sand. Turquoise water right off a white sand beach that’s about 150 meters long. On either side of the beach are vertical basalt cliffs formed from volcanic action millennia ago. Each rises vertically 100 meters or so from the water and makes a dramatic end cap to the beach. The island itself is only about 300 hundred meters long and maybe 150 meters wide. We have a half moon lighting the white sand making for a stunning evening anchored here in our own little paradise.

Oh and did I mention the lobster dinner? The Naividamu fishing fiber came in where we were anchored late morning with fresh lobsters. Orcinius ponied up – $50 Fijian, or about $25 US for two of the biggest lobsters we have ever seen. John and Lisa had to use the pressure cooker and the BBQ to cook them both. Once cooked, they gave the heads of the lobsters to Chief Moses who was very appreciative. The four of us did our best this evening to consume them but our strongest effort could only account for about 3/4’s of the beasts. John was talking about either lobster omelets or lobster cheese spread for tomorrow night.

Lobster anyone? (Photo courtesy of Orcinius).

Oh yes, this is paradise.