Entering Fiji was a breeze! Waitui Marina answered our hail on the VHF radio and directed us to one of their mooring balls. There was a man in a boat (Daki) who met us and escorted us into the marina. He then orchestrated all the officials, and taxied them out to our boat, for our official check in to the country. As we always do, we offered all the officials Oreo cookies and a soda while we competed their forms. This seems to break the ice and we ended up chatting it up about their families, getting local info on provisioning, and good places to visit or eat. Daki of course got multiple sodas and cookies as he had to make several trips to fetch each official and deliver them to our boat….lucky guy : )
Waitui marina used to be an old copra shed…a place where they would dry the coconuts….it looks a bit “rustic” but the hospitality was amazing! Our friends SV Terrapin recently made landfall at Waitui and Daki said he remembered us…..Hopefully it was all good memories : ) We stayed for only $15 Fijian dollars a night which is about $7-8 usd..pretty decent price.The anchorage and mooring balls at Waitui marinaSlow Flight on our mooringThere was a restaurant in the marina building which served fish and chips for $2.50 usd!!!!Also in the marina building was a fish store….we saw these for sale! Never seen such colorful lobsters!Sitting on our boat we saw what looked like smoke…however it was steam! We asked the locals and they said there were thermal hot springs and vents on this side of the island. Right at the beach we walked over to where the steam was and boy howdy…the water was scalding and standing on the rocks you could feel the heat though our flip flops!A meat store was also available which sold meats and cheeses at the marinaWe thought this was pretty funny
Savusavu Town-The day after we checked in, Mayo and ourselves toured town of Savusavu.
Touring around town…the new beer…Fiji Gold and Fiji Bitter…sold in an area near you! Or us : )Trevor talking a stoll to find a place to buy a sim card for our phone
I love the color in this photo…A man with his daughter with an umbrella for shade walking up to “home”?Trevor got his new scuba gear fixed here…new valves and pressure tested. Regulator reattached…he’s ready to go deep!We needed to take Mayo off our crew list so when we visited customs/immigration I saw this device : )Ahhhh..Kava! This store sold only Kava, root or ground. We purchased some root to be able to present to local chiefs when we anchor in front of villages. It is customary here in Fiji that all land is owned by someone and you have to “ask” permission to be there…even in the water. Therefore before you are able to adventure on thier lands, you present the Kava root and go through a Sevusevu ceremony with the chief and the villagers. Long story short….there is a whole set of “rules” (you never drink from the chiefs kava bowl, men sit crossed leg while women sit knees together at one side, always wear something that covers knees and shoulders) to consider. We have yet to partake in this ceremony as it is only customary to do this in smaller villages than a major town or city but we are excited to experience this old ritual!New flower…comes with a beautiful caterpillar.Say WHAT?!!!! Trevor’s birthday is on Fiji Day? who knew?
The Market- Wow!!!! new smells, new spices, new veggies, lots of Indian influence here in Fiji.
Ok obviously i can read the english but defintely a new language on signs here in FijiAll I can say is the aromas were spectacular in the market!A little bit of everythingSo in French Polynesia, we couldn’t find a tomato for the life of us…now it’s no problem….thank goodnessHOT!!!!These leafs are a similar taste to cilantro….tacos here we come!This is a nut….named Ivi I believe. I guess you boil them and they are in season right now. I went back to the market to buy some and nobody had them…lesson learned when you see it…buy it!Jack fruit….. a local staple hereInside a jack fruitThis is the product of tearing the jack fruit up and you can buy it in bags. You can of course buy a whole one and shred it yourself…we took the easy route. Lots of locals use this in their curry.
Dinner with Kam- Wow AGAIN..what a spontaneous and fun time we had with Kam! He owns a store in town in Savusavu that sells gifts. We all purchased something and the next thing we know we are invited to his house that night for a curry and rice dinner…. The Fijian people are incredibly generous and kind and we were blown away at his hospitality!
Kam’s store frontWe all rushed around after visiting Kam’s shop to gather the fish to cook and to provide beer and wine for the evening. We all went to the store to fetch beer for 8 people…Briley (middle) was pulling her weight : )Kam waving on his front porchKam’s living roomKam’s front porchThe view from the porchJill and Mayo hanging out near the kitchenJill (left), Kam (middle), and Dan, Kam’s friend we met at his store (right) . Dan would walk around with a glass and fill it with beer for everyone to drink from….Here it was kam’s turn!Kam was married and has children but now is a bachelor : ) You could tell by his fridge (lol) we provided the beer… you catch my driftJill wanted a photo of her holding a Fiji water bottle…… opps maybe too much wine?Ahhh…got it ; ) Heart you Jill!Mayo with Kam’s cat, Nancy…there is a story behind the cat’s name..something to do with Kam’s neighbor who is gay and a party….?!Trevor said I could buy him a Lavalava in case we needed to go to a village and present kava to the chief. A lavalava is a skirt that men wear and is worn in similar situations as men would wear slacks in the US…. it’s a formal/business type wear. I bought the most “manly” sarong I could find..at least it’s not pink! Here is Trevor wearing his Lavalava with the cat, Nancy…I think they are both wearing the same face : )Dinner’s up!Kam and Dan wanted to have a bonfire so we walked to the beach and burned anything that would burn. What a totally unexpected experience and wonderful to hang with the locals and listen to their stories about the land and the people. We saw Dan the next day and he said “ok so we meet you guys again tonight? 4:30?”…We declined as we were leaving the next day.
Food!– The restaurants were really good…. and relatively cheap. We got to try new things!
The curry and Roti (like nan bread/tortillas) was amazingA fern salad? YummmmPotatos, steak and this little guy to top things offWe even found a Korean restaurant! Bibimbap, hot sauce and a Taro shake, with a little sugar in it.
Sushi- Mayo stayed on Slow Flight with us the 4 days were in Savusavu before leaving on a ferry to the southern island so she could find a boat to take her to Vanuatu. SV Me Too had lived in Japan for a few years and so we decided to have a Japanese lunch on Slow Flight of sushi with fresh tuna SV Me Too caught and miso soup! Thank you Mayo for the inspiration and assistance in our wonderful Japanese lunch before you headed off of Slow Flight.
The boys in the kitchen!!!! The ladies loved it….it takes lots of love!The final product…with good wasabi too, it was amazingGroup photo! (From left to right: Mayo, Clay, Jill, Briley, Trevor)
See you later Mayo– We were sad to see Mayo leave but we understand her need to find a boat to take her to her next adventure. Having crew changes the dynamics of the boat, for better or worse, and this was for the BETTER! Trevor and I so enjoyed her company and all her stories. We laughed a lot and really overall, it was a great change for Trevor and I to experience sharing our space with such an amazing individual!
Mayo, we miss you and hope to stay in touch and share our travel adventures again, face-to-face : )
Next up….our trip to the Southern island of Viti Levu in Fiji, Arriving at Vuda Point Marina and the boat yard!
