The Blue Lagoon
Bamboozle
Jamie and Lucy Telfer
Tue 3 Jul 2007 08:07
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16:56.565S 177:22.005E
We seem to find ourselves on yet another movie
set! I'm sure all the boys remember Brooke Shields in the 1980's
classic "The Blue Lagoon"......well we are now anchored off that very
beach. It is not quite as deserted as one might imagine with a small hotel
and dive operation at one end of the beach and a couple of backpacker lodges
tucked away on the far side of the island but it is not exactly over-run.
The Fijian family who live on the beach is headed by a "traditionally
built" lady called Va who occasionally bakes bread for visiting yachts. We
went to her hut to place our order this morning and she told us we should
come back at "eleven" to collect it. I looked at my watch and noticed it
was already a quarter past eleven and she had not even started baking
yet. "Eleven o'clock....Fiji time" she said
laughing and heading off to light the fire!
We had a good trip up the 20 miles from
Soso although around here none of the sailing is very relaxing. The waters
are scattered with reefs and rocks, many of which, are not precisely
charted and in some cases not on the charts at all. The word "UNSURVEYED"
is written in large capital letters in a number of places along
with, disturbing comments like, "Full of reefs & coral patches"
Every trip requires good light, concentration and some serious eyeball
navigation.
The photo below shows us perched on the
rocky summit of Waya. We have finally learnt that the secret to
getting places on foot in Fiji is to take a local guide or you risk getting
severely lost as the myriad of tracks that leave the villages gradually peter
out to nothing. More than once we have found ourselves deeply lost
surrounded by 8 foot "grass" or impenetrable jungle but, this time, Api lead us
without incident up to this spectacular outcrop. Whilst we were wearing
our stout walking boots and armed with a stick he had bare feet and a huge
rucksack of water and fresh fruit. Anyway, the view was spectacular and if
you look carefully you can see Savoir Vivre tucked into the bay behind
us.
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