We are here in Fiji. I apologize to anyone who was concerned that we were lost at sea….we arrived in Lautoka Harbor on May 9th as planned. A major portion of our arrival day was spent in Customs and Immigration. The rumors of how the process was to work were all wrong. Number 1) Do not give them an itemized list of all of your alcohol, unless you have a wallet full of Fijian money to cover the exorbitant duty (rumor had it that they would charge a bond of $500.00 and then only charge duty on what was consumed during your stay in Fiji - WRONG!). Better yet, don't go fully stocked. All of the paperwork that you present to them 48 hr in advance of arrival is only a formality, once you arrive in the office, you have to fill out the same information on four different sets of carbon paper forms and you have to make a trip to the bank for more money and even at that, you will still have to make arrangements for external cruising permits after everything else is said and done at another location. The "process" is under reform, but so far, it is a whole bunch of checking in and checking out and everybody has a different story to tell. We finally made it to Port Denarau for about 5:00pm. We all quickly cleaned up and headed up to see what good things we could see in the marina shops and offices. Dinner out was welcome indeed - Me - the cook was needing a break. Fiji Bitter Beer was voted the best choice for drinking off the boat, or wine, as the mixed drinks do not contain any alcohol - too expensive! (Wonder why?) So we all had a good time stretching our legs on land and seeing the near sights.
Tuesday was spent washing the boat - of course - and we found out where to get our cruising permits and kava - dried roots that are crushed and mixed with water to form a slightly narcotic drink that the Fijian Chiefs like to be presented with so that we the cruisers may obtain permission to visit their land and oceans - this is called "sevusevu".
Oso Blanco made it in to port 5:00pm and the whole gang of us went out for some very delicious Indian food.
Wednesday we headed out to Waya Island and spent a lovely afternoon anchored in a quiet bay, swimming in the "Oh So Lovely and Warm" water and walking on the white sandy beach. No villages were close, only some deserted resorts (old). The evening was calm and warm (hot) being on the back deck is fun again.
Thursday we motored over to Naviti Island and anchored up in Soso Bay. Abbie and John took the dingy and found themselves some snorkeling grounds while Glen and I donned our dive gear and dove under the boat to check out the zincs (maintenance stuff) and scrap tiny oysters and barnacles off of the heat exchanger panels. Pesky little guys. After we all got de-salted, we dressed in our best skirts (boys too) and packed a package of kava, hopped into the dingy and went to shore where there is a village. We have reservations to tour the village and present kava to the Head man (and drink some too) we got to buy souvenirs from the women (kind of felt obligated) then we had a traditional dinner and were treated to singing by the men who had gathered to drink kava while we ate (a feast) and finally the traditional dance group performed for us. We were included in one dance too. There was just the four of us, so we felt rather like royalty.
Being in a new country, means that for the next little bit we are going to be doing a lot of exploring, so there will tend to be a bit of day to day "what we did" recording. As well, we are trying to cram as much sight seeing as possible into a few days for John's benefit as he flys back to Canada on the 15th.
Friday, we motored back south to Malolo Island and the Musket Cove Resort. It has a bit of a tricky entrance according to the chart, but in real life, the channel is quite wide and has good depth. It is also well marked for day time travel. We met up with a catamaran that we knew from New Zealand - "Carinthia". They had been in the anchorage for a number of weeks so gave us the scoop on the place. We all dingy'd in for a beer at the yacht club and after a few, we had a bit of a wander around before heading back to the boat for a pasta and seafood dinner. This Cove can be quite an action spot once the majority of the cruising boats get into Fiji. We are a little bit early in the season, so it a quiet for now. We will come back here though.
Saturday - John, Glen and I suit up to do a dive called the Pinnacle. It is out side of the reef a bit and is a free standing rock, jutting from the ocean floor. There are tons of little fishes swimming around it and masses of soft corals and anemones. Very colorful. At the base of the rock there is a tunnel to swim through. It is a really nice dive. Once back and after a big breakfast, we put all of the gear away, hoist both of the dingys up top and then we pull anchor and head back to Port Denarau. We have a Jazz and Blues Festival to look forward too at the marina tonight and we have a day planned in the town of Nadi (Nandi) tomorrow. John flys out in the evening (Sun). So lots of fun to "do" yet.
