Second Wind Voyage: FIJI: The Road Less Traveled

The north coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, was one of our primary destinations this season. It is so rarely visited by cruising sailboats that in some locations we were the first vessel to visit this year, and in others we were the first they had ever seen.
Exploring and immersing ourselves in remote and beautiful places, we found what we came for.

A Month in Pictures:

Women in the village of Naviqiri spending a hot afternoon weaving mats for their homes.

When we played for them, the woman on the far right (also pictured above) got up and started dancing.

There really is one in every crowd!

We arrived during a “trade wind surge”, with winds much stronger than normal. Shallow anchorages with mud bottoms were good for holding the anchor securely, but we still left our anchor alarm on all the time and did not even leave the boat for a few days. (For geeks: the inner “smudges” are from the first night, leaving marks where our boat had floated. When wind increased, we reset the alarm distance then let out more chain, which left marks further away from the anchor location.)

Despite the wind, skies were clear—and the timing was perfect for outstanding sights of rising and setting moons and suns. We were also able to consistently observe four planets trace one arc across the night sky. I don’t know what I’d say about watching grass grow, but watching the world turn is truly satisfying.

The village of Naqumu is literally up a creek. To get there, one can plod through mud at low tide,

or wade out nearly waist deep at high tide. (For skeptics: no, it’s not possible to time all coming and going at mid-tide only.)

After the church service we attended, the adults stayed inside for a meeting.

The children followed us outside, joined by the village chief—all in their Sunday best.

We found we could sing along with the hymns! With a grasp of Fijian pronunciation and an ear for harmony, it was easy to join in—plus a couple of the tunes were already familiar. A photo of a hymnal page shows the notes, written in solfege. (For musicians: you, too, can read and sing along!)

The next morning we played at the Qumusea Province Primary School, which combined children from four villages. This photo was taken by Sean, a Peace Corps volunteer who assists with education and environmental projects. We were very impressed with him; and given glowing reports from Fijians about other Peace Corps workers, we are glad to see the organization still ‘doing well and doing good’.

Some kindies ( kindergarteners) wanted to pose around the lali.

These drums are still almost universally used as village clocks, calling people to school/church, lunch, meetings, etc.

Naqumu children get to school along this road. High tides can cover the track, hence the logs and rocks.

Children from other villages arrive by boat. After we played for them, the passing “school boat” would come close to our boat in the morning, cheering and waving! (For the observant: the poles move the boat along when the water is too shallow to use the motor.)

Kia Island lies out at the far edge of Cakaulevu, the Great Sea Reef.

Daku village, tucked onto its west shore, was one of the most picturesque villages we saw anywhere.

Many of the young men would spend hours standing in the surf, catching fish for dinner and also to sell in Labasa.

The water looked enticing but it was full of jellyfish! We tried swimming but didn’t stay in long.
Us: “Do you ever get stung by the jellyfish?”
Kids fishing: “Yes.”
Us: “Does it hurt?”
Kids: “Yes.”

If you want to eat, you get stung. Part of life.

There was no school here, but it was fun to hang around and play for the adults.

Here’s the one in this crowd! (The woman on the left, not me. Oh wait, I guess I’m probably in that category now too.)

I find it truly remarkable that everywhere we go, aging women have no inhibitions; they get up and dance, with very suggestive hip and eye movements. Everyone finds it hilarious, with much laughing and whooping and clapping along.
(For older adults—no, for all ages—there is a lesson here.)

Labasa, one of the largest towns in Fiji, is the focus of administrative and market activity on Vanua Levu.

It’s a working town, built around an enormous sugar mill operation that opened in 1894.

When we took a bus from the nearby anchorage into town, we passed miles of trucks loaded with sugar cane.

Labasa is also primarily Indo-Fijian, and the Indian influence is felt everywhere from food and dress to temples.

Not far out of town is the Nagigi Naag Mandir, or Snake Temple.

This rock formation is shaped like a cobra head and has reputedly been growing for decades. When I asked if it was permissible to take a photograph, the priest offered to take a photo of both of us…

...then posed for a photo himself.

I don’t need to post a picture of our curry meal, but shop windows full of Indian clothing are worth seeing.

We happened to show up on the last day of the Crime Prevention Festival, celebrated by a parade complete with brass band, floats, and a large crowd. Ironically, someone pickpocketed Art—at the Crime Prevention parade, no less.

Fortunately he didn’t lose anything of much value, so we just found the irony amusing.

The market and bus station area was more than crowded:

it was a jumble of people, packages, people, bundles, people, vendors, people… there was barely room for us on the bus back to the village where our boat was anchored, which made the ride even more festive.

A turning point: Art celebrated his 65^th birthday!
Twice, in fact.

July 8 on this side of the date line,
we bought a tub of ice cream in Labasa and shared it at the park-like area along the river.

July 8 on the USA side of the date line, we played for the small village near where our boat was anchored.

It turns out Fijians have the same birthday song, so everyone sang to him!

When we left, the kids carried our dinghy back into the water for the “old man”. There are way worse ways to turn 65.

The weather at that point was calm enough that we felt it would be safe to anchor at the edge of the Great Sea Reef.

I haven’t posted any sunset photos in ages (too many? too predictable?), but I couldn’t resist this one.

(For the curious: there are a few too many clouds on the horizon to see the green flash, but we did see an unexpectedly terrific one several days earlier. One of these evenings I may get a photo to prove it…)

The few lights near the reef pass we had seen from a distance turned out not to be navigation lights, but a couple of small fishing boats parked overnight. They use hooks and lines—very ecological—so when they offered to sell us one,

we were happy to support them. It provided four terrific dinners!

Though there was no village at our Vatudamu Point anchorage, people travel between villages by water and it turned out the Point was an intersection of sorts, with several boats passing by every day. We loved having them stop by to introduce themselves and chat! Our presence was an event; people wanted to ask questions, and to see us and our boat up close.

A dinghy trip up the Wainikoro (“Water of the Village) River rounded out our adventures along the north coast. It started out fairly wide,

though soon was more narrow and curved.

Occasionally the thick mangroves parted to reveal a tunnel. If some random object was tied at a tunnel entrance,
it meant something was up that creek:
in one case a village, in others access to an inland road.
This tunnel held the local school boat.