6 Months at Sea and a Village Visit

Today, 10^th of July 2022, marks the 6-month anniversary of our departure from Antigua on this “voyage of a lifetime”. We have ‘tasted and tested’ much in these past 6 months and feel so very fortunate.

On the 5^th of July we waved a teary goodbye to Quinn, Heidi and Liz. They left on the afternoon ferry from Musket Cove on Malolo Island, to catch their flight to San Francisco from Nadi (pronounced Nandi) International Airport. It was a wonderful 6 weeks with the 2 girls, bringing feminine, youthful energy onto Irene IV. Then with the addition of Quinn, Ignaz and George, the balance moved male-wards again, adding quick witted commentary and conversation.

Readjusting to more space onboard Irene IV, with 5 able bodied seamen and woman left, we set about readying to leave.

At 11:10 on 6^th of July, we slipped lines from our dock at Musket Cove and set sail with gentle southwesterly winds to Monuriki island. Monuriki Island is part of the Mamanuca group of Fijian islands, lying northwest of the mainland and Musket Cove. By 14:00 we arrived, dropped anchor, and together with the crew of Seabird, who had accompanied us all the way, we swam ashore. This tiny uninhabited island was the set for the 2001 movie “Castaway”, starring Tom Hanks. Having explored the island, we swam back aboard, grilled some burgers, and settled down below to watch the movie. It was exciting to recognize parts of the island that we had just visited that day, on the screen.

Unfortunately, Louis has succumbed to the Covid curse, with a nasty chest infection. He is masked, but not silenced! Quinn too, back in San Francisco, has sadly tested positive.

Next morning, 6 of us from Seabird and Irene IV, were dinghied by Rob across the bay to Yanuya Island to visit the local village of Lautoka. Visiting a village in Fiji has its protocols. Modest and respectful clothing must be worn, with women covering knees and shoulders. The head is considered sacred, so hats or sunglasses on the head are discouraged. We presented ourselves appropriately. Sevusevu, gift giving, is expected. Visitors are asked to call on the chief of the village first and present gifts, he will then welcome the visitors to explore the village. The customary sevusevu is 3 kava root bundles, which we had in tow. Additionally, we brought make up for the ladies, 3 solar lanterns, and an Irish leprechaun for good luck. In this case the chief was away at a chiefs’ conference in Suva, on the mainland, so we were greeted by a member of the chief’s clan. He sat silently until we presented the kava. The sevusevu ceremony involves clapping and chanting, which only a chief-clan member can perform. Rara, from the fisherman clan, was our “tour” guide. He explained that each village member belongs to a clan, chief, fisherman, builder, teacher, pastor, farmer, etc. Land in the village is not owned, but is communal, there are no fences. Land can be leased, but never sold. Fijians are very religious, mostly Christian and Methodist. This island of 700 people has 5 churches. The pastors live side by side in a special spot on the island, comfortably housed and well fed by the villagers. Each morning at 04:00 a drum is sounded; all 700 villagers plod to church for matins returning to bed afterwards before work starts at around 08:00.

Children roam freely, happily skipping, playing wrestling, like children everywhere. However, not a mobile phone in sight!

Rugby is a source of pride in Fiji, and it starts with the kids. The village school has a very large playing field with boys practicing their rugby skills continuously. Our boys, Johnny (from Seabird), Ignaz and George happily joined in. Breaking news on ESPN: Fiji defeated New Zealand 27-12 to claim the gold medal in the Olympic Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo Stadium on Wednesday, retaining the title they won in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

When the chief clansman was satisfied with our gifts, we were given leave to wander through the village. The village is set up with straight line dirt paths, parallel to the ocean, well maintained and edged with greenery, flowers, or coconut shells. Houses are substantial, more solid than a hut, with partial walls, window openings, always dark and cool inside. The houses appear to have 2 rooms or areas, a cooking/eating area, and a sleeping area. Floors are covered in woven coconut mats, with additional cushioning for comfortable sleeping. The mats are woven by the older women in the village. The many shades of tan, brown and black in the mats come from burying the coconut fronds underground for varying periods of time. Colorful fabrics cover interior walls like exotic wallpaper and hang over windows as luxurious curtains. All the houses had lovingly well-kept and vibrant plantings around the front door. There is a communal village bathing area and cooking area.

Water storage and management is often problematic in remote Fijian islands. The UN has developed many programs to help establish wells and well pumps in villages throughout the country. Here in Lautoka they have been a recipient of a UN well pump, sadly now broken, but have learned some good practices around waste management as a result. In 2001 a local organization was founded, Mamanuca Environment Society, “Strengthening best practices in waste management and community based pollution control strategies in the Mamanuca islands.” Big billboards posting best practices in English, and Fijian, with graphic photographs have been erected in most of the country’s villages. For example: “Ensure that wells are securely covered to avoid contaminants from entering the water sources.” And “Do not dump any form of rubbish (diapers, batteries, metals, food scraps, waste oil) near to any freshwater sources to avoid contaminants leaching into soil and into the water source.” With a broken well pump, the villagers trudge along the path to the well continuously with wheelbarrows of jerry cans, singing and smiling, with “bula, bula” greetings for neighbors all along the way.

We dropped into one of the churches, which was bigger than we expected, with pews for at least 200 parishioners. Lavishly decorated and freshly painted, it was obviously a source of pride to its congregation.

On to the school, again colorfully painted, well taken care of, and filled with eager, bright-eyed students, who greeted us with high fives, “bula, bula” salutations and questions galore. The Fijian smile, both on the lips of the children and the adults, will stay in my memory forever. Taina Ratu, the 5^th and 6^th class teacher, met us and ushered us into a large hall, with a small library at one end. The Namamanuca Primary School serves children from kindergarten to 8^th class, at which point the children go to secondary boarding school in Suva on the mainland. The village is obviously well organized and accustomed to receiving visitors. Being close to the set of the “Castaway” movie and, we later learned from Rara, the setting for 2 “Survivor” shows (numbers 42 and 43, if memory serves), affords them many foreign visitors bearing gifts of kava and more.

The school children sang for us, danced for us, asked, and answered questions, it was a pure delight. I asked Rob to bring my violin ashore for me and I played a few Irish jigs and reels for them too. When they heard that I had been a schoolteacher and administrator, they responded with a big round of applause! Teachers are obviously well revered in this village society! We made a generous donation to the school, and I hope to set up a relationship with my school in California to become pen pals and hopefully send this school much needed books for their library.

Our final stopping place was the women’s market – a perfusion of hand crafts and touristy trinkets. We sifted through the goodies and between the 6 of us tried to buy some little piece from each stall. We radioed Rob and he ferried us home, each of us filled to the brim with magical memories and happy hearts.