Monday, October 27, 2008
Kandavu!
Now we are currently tied to an old mooring chain that James found wrapped around a coral head in about 45ft of water on the southwest end of Kandavu.
Kandavu is about 60 miles from the main land of Viti Levu and is known for it's incredible diving/snorkeling on the Astrolabe reef and for the famous King
Kong surf break on this south side where we are. We planned to only be here for a couple of days but the spot has been absolutely wonderful with the clear
water, colorful corals, & sandy beaches keeping us here for a week already. There is a village near by which we made peace with right away with a Sevusevu
and with the help of a local named Abel. He has been sort of the middle
man between us and the villagers which appears to be the role he has taken on for many years now. There is a small resort on the little island off the shore
which gets alot of tourists for the surf so Abel deals with them. Right now the resort is empty and only two woman stay on the island
for caretaking. James turned out to be their hero for he ended up fixing both their generators, two washer and dryers, binoculars, and speakers! THey were very kind and we were happy to help. Yesterday we took out a couple of our friends surf boards out and had one of the best surfing days of our lives. With only our
friends off of Madeline here with us, we had these perfect little waves all to ourselves. James and I caught the last wave of the
day together and road it all the way into shore before we had to go and attend another kava session with Abel(our 3rd one since our stay:-(, We're not such
kava fans, and sitting for hours cross legged fans) Oh well, all part of the experience. One more highlight of Kandavu was when the only other boat to visit here
in this past week, the mega yacht called Kahala Kai, invited us over for cocktails turned dinner. It was an ironic experience because this boat used to
be in the Ala Wai harbor with us in Hawaii for many years. It had a different owner at the time but same boat now in a little bay of Fiji with us! The American
owner had 2 friends aboard with him and 4 crew working round the clock creating a surreal experience. Even the owner was still in awe about what a great life
and set up he was living;2 jet skies, 2 fast tendors, 12 surf boards, 8 scuba set-ups, kite-boards, bikes, ect... We all sat around the dinner table on the
3rd floor balcony with huge gourmet steak dinners and apple crisp pie ala modes telling old sailing stories and laughing every once in a while when we'd think
about the situation we were lucky enough to be in.
Kandavu is about 60 miles from the main land of Viti Levu and is known for it's incredible diving/snorkeling on the Astrolabe reef and for the famous King
Kong surf break on this south side where we are. We planned to only be here for a couple of days but the spot has been absolutely wonderful with the clear
water, colorful corals, & sandy beaches keeping us here for a week already. There is a village near by which we made peace with right away with a Sevusevu
and with the help of a local named Abel. He has been sort of the middle
man between us and the villagers which appears to be the role he has taken on for many years now. There is a small resort on the little island off the shore
which gets alot of tourists for the surf so Abel deals with them. Right now the resort is empty and only two woman stay on the island
for caretaking. James turned out to be their hero for he ended up fixing both their generators, two washer and dryers, binoculars, and speakers! THey were very kind and we were happy to help. Yesterday we took out a couple of our friends surf boards out and had one of the best surfing days of our lives. With only our
friends off of Madeline here with us, we had these perfect little waves all to ourselves. James and I caught the last wave of the
day together and road it all the way into shore before we had to go and attend another kava session with Abel(our 3rd one since our stay:-(, We're not such
kava fans, and sitting for hours cross legged fans) Oh well, all part of the experience. One more highlight of Kandavu was when the only other boat to visit here
in this past week, the mega yacht called Kahala Kai, invited us over for cocktails turned dinner. It was an ironic experience because this boat used to
be in the Ala Wai harbor with us in Hawaii for many years. It had a different owner at the time but same boat now in a little bay of Fiji with us! The American
owner had 2 friends aboard with him and 4 crew working round the clock creating a surreal experience. Even the owner was still in awe about what a great life
and set up he was living;2 jet skies, 2 fast tendors, 12 surf boards, 8 scuba set-ups, kite-boards, bikes, ect... We all sat around the dinner table on the
3rd floor balcony with huge gourmet steak dinners and apple crisp pie ala modes telling old sailing stories and laughing every once in a while when we'd think
about the situation we were lucky enough to be in.
Mbengga!
Now we arrive at Mbengga only 10 miles off of Pacific harbor. Mbengga was a very beautiful and peaceful island with only a few sleepy villages hidden within the
dense forested valleys. We made the mistake of accidently stumbling upon one of these sleepy villages without our Sevusevu offering, which we found was NOT
a very good idea. The Sevusevu is a traditional custom of bringing a kava offering to the cheif of a village where ever you are staying. The offering
is basically a request to stay in an anchorage, use the water, hike the land, ect...We would have happily complied with this custom had we not given
away all of our kava to the dive boat guys but now we had nothing to give when the village
children basically drug us into the higher elders kava session that was taking place right when we walked through. Of course the men invited us to take a seat
with them indian style around their Taloa(wooden kava bowl), but when they found out we did not have the sevusevu, their eyes went to the floor and they
shook their heads at us in disgust. Awkward minutes of silence passed before we asked if there was something else we could offer them and "cigarettes" was
the answer. We were directed to about four of the different village homes before we were sold a few packs to bring back to the chief. Upon presenting them
the scowls at us had loosened up a bit and after a few coconut shells full of kava, we were told we could stay as long as we liked. We learned a very valuable
lesson about the importance of the Sevusevu!
dense forested valleys. We made the mistake of accidently stumbling upon one of these sleepy villages without our Sevusevu offering, which we found was NOT
a very good idea. The Sevusevu is a traditional custom of bringing a kava offering to the cheif of a village where ever you are staying. The offering
is basically a request to stay in an anchorage, use the water, hike the land, ect...We would have happily complied with this custom had we not given
away all of our kava to the dive boat guys but now we had nothing to give when the village
children basically drug us into the higher elders kava session that was taking place right when we walked through. Of course the men invited us to take a seat
with them indian style around their Taloa(wooden kava bowl), but when they found out we did not have the sevusevu, their eyes went to the floor and they
shook their heads at us in disgust. Awkward minutes of silence passed before we asked if there was something else we could offer them and "cigarettes" was
the answer. We were directed to about four of the different village homes before we were sold a few packs to bring back to the chief. Upon presenting them
the scowls at us had loosened up a bit and after a few coconut shells full of kava, we were told we could stay as long as we liked. We learned a very valuable
lesson about the importance of the Sevusevu!
Viti Levu times
Bula everyone! Once again the time has snuck by us and it's almost been a month since last updating this thing. We left Savusavu shortly after our last entry
and made an overnight passage down to Fiji's largest island of Viti Levu. It is a HUGE city in respect to anything we've seen since leaving Hawaii so walking
along the crowded and conjested streets after not sleeping at all the night before was a little intense for us upon arrival for check in. Despite dodging crazy buses and wheel barrel men flying down the
side walks, it was fun to be in such a booming place again. Our friends off of Madeline also treated us to an Indian cuisuine in town so we were happy travelers.
Once we loaded up the boat with fresh veggies and fruits from the incredible produce market there in town(five pineapples for $2.50 American), we moved Mai Miti
about a mile out of the diesel slicked Suva harbor to a clean water anchorage called Bay of Islands before continuing our way west around Viti Levu to Pacific
harbor.
We had our eyes set on Pacific Harbor to hunt for Rob, the owner of the Nai'a charter boat whose crew we had met in Tonga. We had been in
contact via email for the last couple of months so we were eager to meet the man behind the screen.
Before actually reaching Pacific Harbor we made an overnight stay outside a little town where our highlight was some kid kayakers. Fascinated with seeing a boat,
they circled around us singing and laughing for what seemed like hours. Then with some courage they'd come to the boat and ask James a bunch of questions
before laughing and paddling away again. They wanted us to visit their homes the next day but with Mai Miti bucking like a bronco in the unprotected anchorage
we left the next morning.
With a name like Pacific Harbor you'd
imagine it had just that, a harbor. What we found was quite different. The harbor was nothing more than a very narrow and shallow mouth of a river that the
dive and paanga boats went in and out of. Luckily we did see a couple of run down sail boats side tied to the mangrooves up the river, so we went in to do
the same. However we ended up side tieing to a dive/delivery boat that the Fijian divers on the shore directed us to. After walking around the very
fancy and nice resort right at the end of the river mouth, we were then invited to hang out with the same Fijian divers that night on the boat we were next
to. They all came aboard Mai Miti as well to check out "the little boat" and once inside they must have decided that she needed more color, so they
decorated the entire boat with flower and butterfly stickers! After that night, we were all officially brothers and sisters according to them! Seems like
everybody is related in Fiji!
We did finally meet up with Rob who gave us some good local information. He was a very busy man so we didn't get much time, but it was still nice to
meet him in person and thank him for the wonderful time his crew showed us in Tonga. with that mission accomplished, we stocked the boat with some goods and
left the following day for the outer islands of Fiji, Mbennga and Kandavu. I should mention that before leaving we almost ended up with a furry, slobering,
third member aboard Mai Miti. A third member who only had three legs who we named tripod II(tripod I is my dog Sandy at home in Colorado). This dog took
a real liking to James and I and wouldn't stop following us everywhere we went. She even followed us into grocery stores and the fancy resorts. The workers would
give us the stink eye thinking it was our dog (which was hard to convince them otherwise with the way the dog followed right by our side:-). We felt horrible
leaving her at the dock sitting there staring at us, but we had no choice and we sailed on. We wish you the best Tripod II.
and made an overnight passage down to Fiji's largest island of Viti Levu. It is a HUGE city in respect to anything we've seen since leaving Hawaii so walking
along the crowded and conjested streets after not sleeping at all the night before was a little intense for us upon arrival for check in. Despite dodging crazy buses and wheel barrel men flying down the
side walks, it was fun to be in such a booming place again. Our friends off of Madeline also treated us to an Indian cuisuine in town so we were happy travelers.
Once we loaded up the boat with fresh veggies and fruits from the incredible produce market there in town(five pineapples for $2.50 American), we moved Mai Miti
about a mile out of the diesel slicked Suva harbor to a clean water anchorage called Bay of Islands before continuing our way west around Viti Levu to Pacific
harbor.
We had our eyes set on Pacific Harbor to hunt for Rob, the owner of the Nai'a charter boat whose crew we had met in Tonga. We had been in
contact via email for the last couple of months so we were eager to meet the man behind the screen.
Before actually reaching Pacific Harbor we made an overnight stay outside a little town where our highlight was some kid kayakers. Fascinated with seeing a boat,
they circled around us singing and laughing for what seemed like hours. Then with some courage they'd come to the boat and ask James a bunch of questions
before laughing and paddling away again. They wanted us to visit their homes the next day but with Mai Miti bucking like a bronco in the unprotected anchorage
we left the next morning.
With a name like Pacific Harbor you'd
imagine it had just that, a harbor. What we found was quite different. The harbor was nothing more than a very narrow and shallow mouth of a river that the
dive and paanga boats went in and out of. Luckily we did see a couple of run down sail boats side tied to the mangrooves up the river, so we went in to do
the same. However we ended up side tieing to a dive/delivery boat that the Fijian divers on the shore directed us to. After walking around the very
fancy and nice resort right at the end of the river mouth, we were then invited to hang out with the same Fijian divers that night on the boat we were next
to. They all came aboard Mai Miti as well to check out "the little boat" and once inside they must have decided that she needed more color, so they
decorated the entire boat with flower and butterfly stickers! After that night, we were all officially brothers and sisters according to them! Seems like
everybody is related in Fiji!
We did finally meet up with Rob who gave us some good local information. He was a very busy man so we didn't get much time, but it was still nice to
meet him in person and thank him for the wonderful time his crew showed us in Tonga. with that mission accomplished, we stocked the boat with some goods and
left the following day for the outer islands of Fiji, Mbennga and Kandavu. I should mention that before leaving we almost ended up with a furry, slobering,
third member aboard Mai Miti. A third member who only had three legs who we named tripod II(tripod I is my dog Sandy at home in Colorado). This dog took
a real liking to James and I and wouldn't stop following us everywhere we went. She even followed us into grocery stores and the fancy resorts. The workers would
give us the stink eye thinking it was our dog (which was hard to convince them otherwise with the way the dog followed right by our side:-). We felt horrible
leaving her at the dock sitting there staring at us, but we had no choice and we sailed on. We wish you the best Tripod II.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Bula Fiji!
Five days on the ocean heading West and next thing we know, we're on the island of Vanua Levu, in the country of Fiji. THe crossing was full of extremes,
ranging from hours of 50kt gusts and side ways rain, to days of lake like sea conditions, with absolutely NO wind. Overall, beautiful sail though!
We are here in Savu Savu, a small city that has one street full of Indian trinket shops, delicious and cheap bakeries, and a couple REAl supermarkets. The land
is beautiful with it's steep and jagged tropical mountains, much different from Tonga that basically had no elevation. We took one of the local busses over the island
to a town called Lambasa. After a two hour drive up and over the mountains, we got off the bus only long enough to get two icecream cones before we had
to board the last returning bus back to Savu Savu! We didn't mind our short stay in Lambasa though, because the view out the bus windows over the land is what we went for
anyway. We were amazed at how user friendly the bus ride was, making bathroom stops, and snack breaks along the way:-) It was great too because at various stops, there
would be vendors who would come right up to the bus windows selling curry burritos, peanuts, juices, ect...Not a bad way to go:-)
Fiday night we managed to get an invite to the reopening of a bar/restaurant called The Decked Out Cafe thanks to our friends off of Spectacle.
After the original building burnt to the ground last year 2007, the owner rebuilt the restaurant which was also her home, from scratch through
the help of the community. It was an incredible party and We almost had to be rolled out of there after eating so many of the fancy appetizers!
We are waiting for our Fiji cruising permit now and once we recieve that we'll be heading down to the big island of Viti Levu.
ranging from hours of 50kt gusts and side ways rain, to days of lake like sea conditions, with absolutely NO wind. Overall, beautiful sail though!
We are here in Savu Savu, a small city that has one street full of Indian trinket shops, delicious and cheap bakeries, and a couple REAl supermarkets. The land
is beautiful with it's steep and jagged tropical mountains, much different from Tonga that basically had no elevation. We took one of the local busses over the island
to a town called Lambasa. After a two hour drive up and over the mountains, we got off the bus only long enough to get two icecream cones before we had
to board the last returning bus back to Savu Savu! We didn't mind our short stay in Lambasa though, because the view out the bus windows over the land is what we went for
anyway. We were amazed at how user friendly the bus ride was, making bathroom stops, and snack breaks along the way:-) It was great too because at various stops, there
would be vendors who would come right up to the bus windows selling curry burritos, peanuts, juices, ect...Not a bad way to go:-)
Fiday night we managed to get an invite to the reopening of a bar/restaurant called The Decked Out Cafe thanks to our friends off of Spectacle.
After the original building burnt to the ground last year 2007, the owner rebuilt the restaurant which was also her home, from scratch through
the help of the community. It was an incredible party and We almost had to be rolled out of there after eating so many of the fancy appetizers!
We are waiting for our Fiji cruising permit now and once we recieve that we'll be heading down to the big island of Viti Levu.
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