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.

(by Ann)

You have to give these villagers credit for their fundraising efforts. Today we attended yet another fundraiser. Today’s was hosted by the youth group. The youth group here is defined as 15-35 year olds. I remember running a young adult group back home and having to adjust the age to 21 so that drinking alcohol was not an issue. I am not sure how they handle it but I have not seen the youngest member of the youth group drinking kava. We have yet to figure out at what age they are allowed to have a swig of kava.

Today’s event included long speeches in Fijian, long prayers in Fijian, silly meke dancing and kava. Oh, and a feast where the pailangis (us white guys) were served first. Huge loaves of bread made in the lovo, dahl soup and cabbage and papaya salad. Oh and sweet potatoes that they offered to all of us as we returned to our boats.

The beauty of these events is the joyful family atmosphere. I am always reminded of family picnics when we attend. The younger kids were running around playing with balloons that a pailangi gave them, the chief and his closest aides hosted kava, and a card game (which I cannot figure out) was formed. The event started at 2 pm -which means around 3 pm Fijian – and by the time they had finished the formal events the light was soft and warm and picnic-like. And of course we are all sitting around on woven mats mugging for pictures. Yep, family time in Fulunga.

This lovely fundraiser (no, we are not sure what our donation will be used towards) followed a spectacular day of paddle boarding. Initially I paddled ashore and hiked into the village to see if Tau, our host, or at least some of my favorite kids, would like to paddle board. The winds have died and the anchorage is like a mill pond. Unfortunately because everyone was busy prepping for the fundraisers I left the village with no takers. No worries (sega na lega in Fijian) Bob and I can go by ourselves.

We paddled off in a direction unfamiliar to us…towards the third village. It was amazing. We chased two turtles that did not notice us for quite some time. Then we investigated a school of large fish that were being chased by something bigger. It was beautiful. A huge ball of 9-12″ fish schooling under our boards and then quickly organizing and swimming to the right and then the left. The water was incredibly still and clear.

And it is still clear and calm. Bob just reported that he could see the Southern Cross reflected in the still water. Magical Fulanga.

PS- a quick birthday wish to my very old brother, Paul, is celebrating his 60th today. We raised our Charismas in your honor tonight! Many happy returns.

PPS-I just tucked Ann into the hammock on the foredeck. She is swinging gently to the swaying of Charisma under the stars while I’m sending this note.

(by Ann)

Fiji is known for its canoe making. And outrigger canoes can be found throughout the islands. These are the canoes that were sailed by warring parties in the early days. The canoe that was pulled out of the jungle last week will be made into an outrigger canoe .There are several of these outriggers in various stages of decay in Fulunga. But one canoe has been maintained and we have watched Mele and Graham (of Maunie) sail it around the anchorage.

Qele going out fishing in the canoe.

Well today, I participated in the attempted sinking of this very useful canoe. Not on purpose, of course. And we, Qele (appropriately pronounced Gaily) and I, saved it, without alerting the anchorage or the village to our situation.

All of this excitement took place after the morning entertainment -the supply ship from Suva arrived in the anchorage. It was about 90 feet long and belching out smoke as it anchored nearby. I had jumped on my paddleboard and gone to the beach to enjoy the excitement from the villagers’ point of view. Almost all of the villagers were at the shed on the beach, which had been loaded with items going to Suva the night before. Everyone is anxious to send things to their relatives and as I found out today there is no charge for shipping interisland parcels on these boats.

The "Liahona"

There was even a large black pig with its hind legs hobbled, waiting to be loaded on the boat. The pig is a gift from Asena, one of my favorite weavers, to her sister for her wedding. And apparently many local trades were made to attain such a prized gift. Asena was going to Suva too and had many parcels full of goodies for her family. Loads of coconuts, pandanas ready to weave, and many bags of roughly carved kava bowls were ready to ship. It was exciting.

Offloading cargo.

We had been asked to keep watch for the boat and let the village know when it arrived. There were boys up on the highest ridges keeping watch too. But it was the sound of the engines that gave it away. It was loud. It took about an hour to unload the goods for Fulunga, along with passengers. The teamwork that goes into unloading 50 kg sacks of flour, rice, onions and other goods is wonderful to watch. I sat with Tau, Joe and Jasmine on a piece of cardboard and enjoyed the show.

Afterwards I headed back to Charisma on my paddleboard. Qele had pulled away from the shore just in front of me on the canoe. She had no help. Just Qele in her full length skirt with a slip underneath, goggles on her head, woven baskets at her feet, a fishing net on the bow and a pole in her hand with which to propel the canoe through the shallows. She was going fishing. Since I have previous fishing experience I was sure my services would be useful so I paddled up behind her and offered to help.

Qele and Ann setting the net.

Well, they caught one fish that time. Better move the net.

And so started the great canoe sinking adventure.

Qele is one of the most playful villagers and so I have always been drawn to her. I knew this was going to be fun. But this is about dinner too so somewhat serious. So I was doing my best to follow direction, not giggle too much and help sneak up on fish. Our first try netted three fish. And I do mean “net”. You paddle to a likely looking spot and slip off the canoe, in shallow water, with the net, make a semi-circle with the fifty foot net and then splash the water trying to drive fish into the net, all the while closing it. If you’re lucky, there’s fish!

We were set for a great day of fishing. Bob showed up on his paddleboard bearing my goggles and snorkel so now I was really ready to go! Our second attempt netted a 12 inch fish. Yay! Good teamwork. That’s when Qele decided I could ride on the canoe and we could put my paddleboard on the outrigger portion. Sure! If she wanted to pole me around the lagoon I was game. About 5 minutes after we loaded the paddleboard we realized that we needed to reposition it so that less weight was on the outrigger….which was sinking.

Well, we thought it was settled and Qele instructed me to climb aboard and off we went. Until 5 minutes later Qele cried, “We’re sinking!” And we both leapt off the canoe. Too late. The 2 ½ foot deep canoe had started filling, well truthfully – filled, with water. Oh no! Bail, bail! We were near a motu so we tucked under it and took turns bailing and holding the back of the canoe up out of the water. After 30 minutes we were making NO progress.

From our position, I could see the sandy beach where we had burned our trash (and where Mata – octopus woman – was sitting) and the anchorage with Charisma and Bob in his hammock. No one seemed concerned. I finally convinced Qele that we should float the outrigger with my paddleboard and get to the beach so we could get the water bailed. She suggested that I take the net and the fish in the baskets to the beach first. Off I went.

Qele had started trying to swim with the sinking canoe toward the shore as I got back to her. We quickly buoyed the outrigger with the paddleboard and swam across the channel to the beach. Slow going and finally I realized Qele was walking. And laughing because I was still swimming and tugging the canoe. Our plan worked. We pulled the canoe up on the sand and proceeded to bail. And bail and bail. I even went over to Mata and borrowed her bailing bottle (a used plastic bottle with the bottom cut out). As Qele and I pushed the canoe toward shore we called to Mata for help. She just sat and laughed. I think she knew we would be fine.

And we were. We finished bailing– I counted at least 500 scoops of water from each of us before the canoe started to float and we could continue fishing. Exhausting work. We did catch a dozen fish before I could tell both of us were exhausted. It was 4:30 by the time I returned to Charisma after almost six hours of fishing, tired, happy, glad to have had so much fun.

Thanks Qele!

Ann and I went into the village today, each with an agenda. Mine was to carve another bowl. The last one was such a success and so much fun, I couldn’t help myself. Ann’s was to do some more weaving with “her girls”.

After walking in, we split up. Ann stopped at Koro’s house for the weaving and I found Joe who was going to mentor me again. Joe was waiting under a big tree, so I sat down with him…to wait…for something. Not sure what, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Suddenly there was a big THUNK! and a coconut hit the ground. Looking up I was surprised to see a young boy about 20 feet in the crown of the tree knocking off coconuts. THUNK, THUNK, THUNK! Then he scampered down and the other boy scrambled up the next tree over. It took him about 10 seconds or less to go straight up – barefoot – the 20 or so feet into the crown of the tree and start knocking down coconuts. It was the mid-morning snack time. I heard Joe call something in Fijian to one of the men and thought I caught my name in there somewhere and sure enough after some sharp machete hacking one of the guys came over and handed me a lovely coconut with a nice one inch round hole in the top ready for drinking. Ahhh, it tasted good. And you know what? I wasn’t hungry for the rest of the day. In fact, I was surprised on getting back to Charisma at 1700 that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, but still wasn’t hungry.

They use the young boys to climb the trees. Very difficult.

In the crown of the tree.

Anyway, carving my second bowl was a kick. I’m learning so much just watching how Joe wields the adze. Whack, whack, whack and then, “Your turn”. Tapitty, tap, tap from me then he says, “Change” and grabs the bowl back. It goes like that and after about four hours of carving we again have a lovely oval-shaped bowl that I’ll spend the next six or so hours sanding until it gleams. More fun that it sounds like.

Ann ended up at Mata’s house weaving baskets. Mata is the octopus lady (we have told her that’s our nickname for her and she laughs). She told Ann that she is going to take her octopus hunting. This I can’t wait to see!

Very experienced hands.

Oops, Lavinia does a "photo bomb"

OK, that's better. Ann with Mata and the completed basket.

Ann also mesmerized the children (as usual) as she brought in another Farkle game. She’s got them all playing it and they love it. Of course they like her more and follow her everywhere.

At the end of the day as we were getting ready to leave Mata’s house our friend Tai came by and told me to follow him to his plantation whereupon he dug up a half dozen cassava roots, cut a bunch of bananas and half dozen passion fruit. His neighbor Soku then came over and gave me a bunch of plantains. I think they all think that being here this long we must be running out of food. Even Mata asked Ann about our food supply and gave her a beautiful pumpkin that fit perfectly in the basket they wove. Well we are out of fresh food, so these gifts are much appreciated.

Sharing. Food, fun ,laughter, joy. It’s the Fijian way. We love it.

Sundays here are pretty low key. We go in to church at 1000, it’s over by 1100 at which time we go to our host family’s house for Sunday feast. No games, silliness or work is allowed. Once the feast is over we head back to Charisma – usually by around 1330 or so and spend the rest of the day on our projects.

Today for us was garbage burning day (OK, yeah, yeah, cruising is not all blue water adventuring – sometimes it’s even a bit pedestrian) . Even though we don’t have a lot of packaging it’s surprising how the rubbish adds up. We dinghied over to a deserted beach at low tide, dig a hole, start a good hot fire with sticks and such (OK and I admit to using some gasoline mixed with diesel to speed the process) and once it’s going well, start putting the garbage on the fire. We separate organic (which goes to the fishies and turtles) from plastic (which goes back to the mainland in itty bitty pieces- cut up by Ann- for proper disposal) and only burn paper type product. Once we’re done it’s all only ashes and after the tide comes in and out you’d never know we were there, much less our garbage. We’re getting pretty savvy here too as we are now able to get coconuts down off the trees and open them for drinking (with my machete) and the once drained, cut open for a snack off the meat. I think we might be going native here. Besides the coconuts, Ann weaves mats, I carve bowls and fish in the lagoon and we’re making dinner using the local veggies – cassava and pumpkin, although tonight we were pleased to add some eggplant and carrots courtesy of the care package sent by Bright Angel care of Caps Tres. Cruisers really take care of each other.

Tomorrow, more weaving (Monday is the big day for weaving here) and I’m going to start another bowl. The last one has been the talk of the village and I’d like to do one more. I have an idea of setting an inlaid sea shell in each of the four sides. We’ll see.

Today’s highlight was the village circumcision. Well, not really a highlight, but that was today’s big event.

The tough part is that it’s boys 8-12 years old. Yipes! If I were them I think I would have run away and hidden in a cave if I knew what was coming. These kids did pretty well though. There were a lot of stoic little boys in the village when we came in around 1300. The doctor had arrived on a longboat from the next island chain north of here and he lost no time setting up shop at the nurse’s hut. Ann and I (mostly me) couldn’t bear to watch or listen so we went for a long walk down the beach. When we came back a couple of hours later they were just finishing up. We saw a couple of very sad looking boys being taken away by their fathers in…wheelbarrows. Yup, that’s the equivalent to a stretcher in this part of the world. I should add that one young boy really toughed it out. He refused the wheelbarrow – said he would walk and then veerrry gingerly walked toward his house holding the gown they gave him (his mother’s sulu rapped around him and tied behind his neck), between two fingers out in front of him. Oh well, a local rite of passage.

The other thing we discovered today is the dreaded cassava root actually fries up in coconut oil (and salted) into a great potato chip like thingy. They eat a fair amount of cassava here and give it freely to “friends”. We of course have been gifted with the thing and don’t want to waste it but…it’s a little tough to love. If you take a potato, make it denser, starchier and blander you come close to the cassava. The villagers typically boil it into submission, which really doesn’t bring out any gastronomic value, and serve it at every meal. But, we now have a way to love it. Fried as above it tastes like something between potato chips and popcorn. Great with Charismas at sunset.

(Comments from Ann) Batai, the nurse, repeatedly offered to let me come watch the circumcisions. Really? He said I could photograph it if I wanted. On behalf of my two boys, I respectfully passed. And thanked the US medical system for circumcising my boys in the hospital before I got them home!

By Ann

Turtles are a big deal around the world. After all, they are endangered. Heck, people tattoo them all over their bodies. I have always felt that loving turtles was a “band wagon” thing. You know, everyone loves turtles so I should too. I have resisted. I am always delighted when I see one in the anchorage or swimming under my paddle board but that was the best I could do. Today I love turtles.

We were sitting in the cockpit with our morning coffee when we heard Graham, off of Maunie, hailing a sailboat outside the Fulunga passage. We are always interested in new arrivals but today the new arrivals were much more important. Why? Because Linda and Bob on Bright Angel were shining again. We have been hoping they would come join us in Fulunga (a repeat destination for them too) but many issues, including weather have kept them away. They have offered to ferry “copious amounts of beer and wine” – exact quote – to Fulunga for us to extend our stay not to mention fresh veggies. Another good reason to wish for their arrival. But weather has kept them away.

Meanwhile a few days ago in Savusavu, where Bright Angel currently resides, several other boats were heading to Fulunga. Our Bright Angels took advantage of this fact and packed a care package for Charisma! We heard about it on the Bula net (a cruiser’s radio net) last night. They asked about a specific boat, Cap Tres, that we heard from yesterday’s new arrivals, had given up bashing to Fulunga and headed to Vanua Balavu instead. That’s when Bright Angel Bob told us about their precious cargo. We were thrilled by their thoughtfulness and were heartsick that it looked like Cap Tres had been unable to make the delivery.

So this morning as we listened to Graham hail the sailboat off of Fulunga we both looked at each other wistfully wishing it was Cap Tres. In fact, Bob turned to me and said, “Pray woman! Make it so!” And I prayed. And imagined wine, beer and fresh vegetables that were not cassava root. Where is the turtle in all of this, you ask? Well, as I finished my prayer I looked up and straight into the eyes of a turtle about 10 feet off of Charisma. It was talking to me. Telling me good things….”Yes, that is Cap Tres!”, the turtle said. And he was right!!!!

Yay! Beer and wine (and some food). Thank you Bright Angel Bob and Linda!

As I told the village chief this afternoon when I took in pictures of the canoe launch, the turtles in Fulunga have acted as special messengers for me, often giving me reassurance while moving anchorages. The chief liked that idea. And we loved our care package! Wine, beer, eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, smoked salmon, eggplant, carrots and cabbage. Happy dance on Charisma! We love you, Bright Angel!

Vinaka vaka levu! Many thanks!

From Bob: Yes Ann went into the village by herself today while I worked on a slide show we’re putting together for the village. She went in by herself on her paddleboard. Nice. When she got back I asked how it went. Her comment: “Oh, I had kava with the chief”.