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All the experienced Pacific sailors agree that the weather in 2008 was been a poor one and that we might have expected something better. The winds at last improved for this passage. Although the downwind run from Tonga was a little rolly it was reasonably fast. It was also the first passage where we hadn't needed to wear our foul weather gear since we came through the Panama canal.
We were greeted in Savu Savu by "Bula" and smiles by everybody. Our overriding impression of Fiji is the happiness of the people in the areas we visited, although apparently there are serious racial tensions in the cities.
Smiling schoolboy Smiling market vendor Smiling waitress
Fiji maintains its traditions. Before visiting any village it is expected that one should visit the chief and give him a gift of Cava root. This is called Sevu Sevu. If you are lucky the chief will make grog out of this and share it with you in a welcome ceremony. The village chief we visited was grieving the death of his brother so we did not have the opportunity to try grog here but we were invited by the security guard at the Copra Shed marina to share some with him. We had been warned that it tastes like dishwater but possibly it is a little better than that!
We spent a couple of days exploring Vatua Levi by car. Many of the roads are dirt tracks and we were pleased to have rented a 4WD. The inland mountains were lovely and only populated by occasional villages.
Rural Fiji
Fiji is made up of a large number of islands and we spent several days sailing through them. They are all surrounded by coral not all of which is charted. This meant that we had to sail in daytime only. We found the snorkelling outstanding in our anchorages. The coral was the best that we have seen and we saw giant clams for the first time. They were enormous.
A Giant clam (about 0.5m)
