Yasawa Islands and Musket Cove

Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Mon 23 Jul 2012 10:26
We left Vuda Point marina with Marita repaired and antifouled. It was a good sheltered marina with good facilities
and it is also a good cyclone hole
We caught the local bus and went into Lautoka to visit the market which was very good and very Fijian
We then sailed to Wayasewa Island and anchored in time to watch the sun go down
and were met by Illie who paddled out in his canoe to see us and ask for batteries and fish hooks. His canoe was made from a piece of corrugated iron bent in half and sealed on the joins at either end. A certain amount of baling was required to keep it afloat!
and the following day we went ashore. We were shown around the village, one of three villages on the island, and were given a very warm welcome especially by the school children. The school serves the three villages but because they are situated on different sides of the island which has an extinct volcano at the centre some of the children have to weekly board at the school---the only way to go from one village to the other is by boat. They take their rugby seriously---this is their pitch with the boarding house in the background
Boys and girls dormitories
and classrooms from kindergarden to aged 14 when the children go to the mainland to school
we went to talk to the children in one of the classes about our travels
and were met by the children shouting the greeting ''Bula, Bula, what is your name?''.
They all wanted their photographs taken
 
The children pay 5 Fiji dollars a term (3.5 dollars to the £) and 2 dollars per term to board!!!
Looking at the blackboards their standard of education was high. They are taught their native island language, then the national Fiji language and then English. All the children spoke English well.
We stayed one more day and Mark, Gunnar and Oscar attempted a walk to the top of the hill but were defeated by long overgrown grass and bushes and the threat of snakes; however the view from halfway was good.
We then sailed down to Musket Cove, an island resort with a hotel and a small marina.
We went to the local Methodist church on Sunday, a congregation of about 15 people
and in the evening had a barbecue, or rather Indian dishes cooked by Vibecke from Camelot. We were joined by two Dutch boats, Sea Quest and Luna Verde, that we had met back in Bora Bora
this the bar and d-i-y barbecue area just behind Marita