Mike's birthday in Viani Bay
Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Wed 21 Aug 2013 05:03
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16:45.05S
179:53.99E Viani Bay - Mikes
Birthday!
We are anchored in a very calm bay on the east side of Fiji - where we came
to celebrate Mike's birthday. We started with something more traditional - a
dinner on Time 2. I hauled out the china from its protective wrapping
(remarkably we have lost very few dishes!) and the roast leg of lamb &
bottle of French champagne that I had been saving from America. We had a very
pleasant evening with Kerri and Andrew from s/v Mariposa.
  The next day we went to shore for a traditional
lovo . Like the umu of
Samoa, or the hangi of New Zealand, or even the crab
bake of Sprite Island (see July 2010), food is cooked in the ground with hot
rocks. Mike wanted a roast pig, and with an introduction from Kerri and
a money exchange from Mike, Jack Fisher and his family were keen
to oblige. The Fisher family seem to own all the land around this bay
and many relatives live on its shore. The families live a quiet life, in
very basic homes, without nearby roads or electricity - but enjoying the company
and gifts of visiting yachts. Jack is a great character and
story teller, and his wife Sophie a kind hostess. Interestingly, Jack is
regarded as "white" in Fijian terms, with a British grandfather in the
mix. They prepared a feast of roast pig and trigger fish wrapped in
woven coconut leaves, accompanied by roasted taro and cassava roots, salad and
pulsami. Similar to Samoa, the baby taro leaves are filled with coconut milk,
and in this instance roasted inside a half shell of a coconut. We had
the lovo on the beach in front of Jack's sister Sarah's home, and quite a few
member of the family attended, with everyone joined in to sing Happy Birthday
for Mike. We understand that this family can only afford a pig
for special celebrations, and so it is very well
liked. My chocolate birthday cake was a bit of a "hit" as a
dessert.
  Niece Lydia packing the
lovo Covering
the lovo with taro and banana leaves to cook
  Opening the
lovo Sophie about
to unwrap the pork
  Palusami , Cassava and Taro
root Jack
carving the pork
One of the interesting stories that Jack told us, was about getting diesel
to the generator driving the cell-phone tower on the highest hill. After
the tower was built, the fuel had to be delivered by helicopter, as there are no
roads in this area. Jack then offered to arrange for his extended family to
carry the diesel up the hill, for one third of the price. They decanted the fuel
from the 400 liter drums into manageable sized containers, from children with 2
liter bottles, to the strongest men with much heaver jugs. And up the
hill they all went, along the narrow tracks, taking the whole day to deliver the
fuel. And everyone was happy with the arrangement ....until
...... some smart ^&%$ interfered, trying to whittle down
the price and so the family walked away from the
deal. |