Alison and Sam Crew Calla Lily!
BULA TAVEUNI! We saw Alison and Sam waving through the window before they disembarked. Ready or not for our life on water, we taxied to our dinghy Millie on the beach, loaded luggage and bodies, pushed off and buzzed out to Calla Lily at anchor. It was their first time aboard! Minds blown that we have been at this progressive project called cruising for going on three years… and we are thrilled when friends and family can come aboard to travel with us for a bit.
Bouma Falls is a must do on Taveuni so we contacted Harry as our day driver. Harry! What a hoot!! He has lived many lives for all the types of work he’s done and places he has traveled but Taveuni is his home. He seemed to know everyone we encountered along the way; smiles, jibes and laughter flowed. Harry was happy to stay at the Boama Falls center while we hiked up to Third Falls and down again. Spongey mud trails, stair-step climbs with rope hand holds gave us a fair workout in a tropical paradise. We were entertained by a tiny but fierce gatekeeper at the side on the trail :: A purple crab on a tree! He literally launched at Sam as Sam tried to pass.
Sailing is familiar to Alison. Distantly familiar because she last sailed on my dad’s Norseman 447 out of San Diego in the late eighties. But then she piped up about “cotter pins” when she came aboard, and we started laughing. (It comes back!) Sam is familiar with sailing principles from his windsurfing days, so for him crewing was a cool learning curve but things were transferable and familiar too. It was such a wonderful fit of familiar references, joy of being on the water. The trade winds gave us some sporting days which only enthusiasm for all things Fiji has to offer.
Fiji IS the people. And the people of Fiji are an amazing mix of cultures. Sugar planation laborers were brought over from south India during colonial times. Ecological /Environmental refugees from atomic testing and destructive mining forced many I-Kiribati and Tuvaluan people from their island nations to islands in Fiji. We headed around and up to the top of Rabi Island where the I-Kiribati were transplanted. With respect for the Kiribati culture, Alison and I donned tiibuta, a top for women that is point of national pride (and SO comfortable to wear) and is defined by the smocking with needle work at the neckline. We all came ashore with the greeting of “Mauri!”. Music was booming near a potluck feast among families and a kava tent. I think our invitation to the kava circle followed our Kiribati greeting (and because they wanted to know where we got our tiibuta!)
The snorkeling at Albert Cove rivaled some of our favorite locations to date! It was truly amazing. Alison and Sam were gob-smacked by the brilliance, variety and richness of reef life. Mike commented that his “eyes almost broke on that one”. The most unique aspect of this was an apparent city of anemones! An area on a reef wall, maybe 3x6 meters, was covered with anemones and their clownfish residents. It just went on and on! Weve never seen anything like it before. The protected cove within a reef also provided a lovely calm for paddle boarding. We stayed for a couple of days to indulge in the beauty above and below the waterline.
Back into tall seas, Calla Lily sailed to the east end of Rabi Island on the lookout for a designated Manta cleaning station. The wind and seas precluded that stop so we went on to Kiowa Island, the Fijian home of Tuvaluans. Our anchorage was protected but not near a village so snorkeling and dinghy exploration was the order of the day. We had a thrilling encounter with a curious moray eel. He was quite large and stayed out of his lair to watch us watching him. Again, soft corals and colorful fishes never cease to delight us.
Our final anchorage, before arriving at Savusavu, was Fawn Harbor. We’d been there before last season with Channing and Sarah. Our experience there was a big draw for us to come back to Fiji. We were excited to see Enid and Arthur Pickering again; excited to introduce them to more of our family! And we met more members of their family.
David, a nephew, was our guide to the hot springs. He was so energetic, enthused and talkative… we had a blast chasing him up the path as he primed our curiosity with stories about mining history and plants used for traditional therapies. He encouraged us to come visit his land home which was three bays west. (Another trip, but Deal!)
Savusavu has a place with draft beer! Savusavu has a cacao plantation providing tours and tastings! Sweet way to end a cruising experience with loved ones… we shared thrills, amazement, good food, train games and laughter.
Our hearts were filled with the love of family in FIJI.
