day 130 sevu sevu
Naomi here, Another thing that happened in Suva is while robin and I were trying to find the itauki office for the cruising permit we got hustled by a guy, the first part of his hustle confusingly was directing us to a shop where they sold Fijian made clothes. My lava lava which I think I inherited from my good friend Sophia many moons ago, perhaps last time we came through Fiji in 2014, is rotting and shredding more every time I wear it so as it happens i was in the market for a new one. We agreed to go to the shop which the hustler seemingly had nothing to do with, Robin and I purchased matching lava lavas of a lovely soft fabric with traditional tapa cloth pattern in brown black and white. And boy do we look fetching in them. The hustler pretended to shop while we did this and when we left the shop he walked with us some more before coming to the crux of the hustle: gifting us wooden carved knives. I’ll even carve your name in them ! He said. I started to spell out my name before coming to my senses and Robin said look no thank you we don’t want to pay for these. Teehee. But we were very glad to be hustled to be directed to the shop so we could get nice lava lava, which I wore to the sevu sevu today on Yanuca island. Unfortunately the chief was blind so he didn’t get to see how beautiful my new lava lava is. We loved doing the sevu sevu tho, we also got hustled in the market when we went to buy kava from the very amped and kinda loopy kava seller, she asked how much kava we want, $20? $30? $50? I said how much do we need for sevu sevu? She said, $50 of course ! Which is where I realised my mistake in not researching before hand. Luckily we got Miriam to go back and also get some $20 bundles. We are very happy to be cruising again after all the industrial grime of Suva , we can swim again in the ocean! And it is very fun to peep in on village life and say Bula ! A lot and watch the kids play rugby. Which they love here, there’s even a $7 bill to commemorate Fiji winning the rugby 7s at the last (?) olympics, the only nation in the world with a 7 dollar bill.
Miriam here, I am so grateful to be out of the dirty Suva harbour and anchored off Yanuca Island, watching the sunset and listening to waves break on the reef to the north of us. I am surprisingly tired for no particular reason and very much looking forward to a quiet night of deep sleep. I’ve moved into the v berth and am still adjusting the the palatial accomodations and being able to starfish out in bed without hitting any walls. We set sail this morning and made it here around noon, anchoring in front of of sweet little beach and eating a soursop to bolster us for our sevu sevu mission. A necessary ritual for visiting the outlying islands in Fiji, visitors must offer a bundle of kava roots to the chief of the village in a ceremony called sevu sevu. This must be done immediately upon arrival as a sign of respect and to be granted permission to be on that island and the surrounding waters. So we took the dingy to shore, found the path to the village, and set off, kava bundle in hand.
We wandered our way past huge mango trees and plantings of all sorts of crops interspersed with lush jungle on a path of smooth rock and packed soil, soft under my bare feet. We came to the school first and heard the sounds of children shouting and playing through the trees. As we descended down into the village, following two young girls in their purple school uniforms who gave us many surreptitious glances, I saw a small, sleepy village with solar panels and water cisterns that seemed quite traditional and incredibly friendly; everyone had a smile or wave for us. We were directed to the chief’s house where his wife (?) woke him up from his nap to receive our gift. He spoke the traditional words in Fijian (I wish I knew what he said) and then told us we were part of a family now and could go anywhere we y.wanted. I really felt the rightness of this sort of exchange, to offer a gift and ask permission to be on their lands, only truly arriving once the invitation to be here was so graciously extended. And now the sun has set and the sky is coral and periwinkle above a grey cloud bank horizon. The smell of Robin’s cooking is whetting my appetite and I have no more to say.
Jamie ere, I think this island in Fiji is my new favourite place. It’s so green and lush and everybody is incredibly friendly. A slow paced island life indeed. I too am very sleepy after our days in the big smoke. I went for a swim from shore to the boat and realised the cruising lifestyle has certainly taken a toll on my aerobic fitness, in the best way possible. As I write this robin is cooking some food and the smells coming out of the kitchen are incredible. When I was walking back from the village today I saw a mongoose on the track. I stopped and watched birds and got bitten by mosquitos a lot. I think when they try to get their probiscus through your shirt they splay out the end and maybe all the little hairs go awry and it all gets less streamlined. Then they get their little legs and stroke the probiscus downwards over and over to get it all neat and aligned again and ready for another stab. I made friends with lots of school children who gathered around to ask my name and what I was doing. When I said I would love to kick the rugby ball around with them they got so so excited that I promised I would be back after school tomorrow to have a run around and play some rugby and netball. So I’m very much looking forward to that tomorrow! WOD: peruse. Peruse - to wander and look perhaps interested or disinterested but I guess interested. Often used in the context of shopping or looking for something to buy. Used in a senny: i just lightly bumped the counter with my hip and have a big purple mark on my skin. Turns out I peruse easily.
Bula from Robin! Today we sailed to Yanuca island and I steered most of the way which I think was welcome by my crew who had all just done a 13 day passage but also maybe not so welcome when I threw the boom around during the first gybe and Naomi’s mug went flying into the ocean teehee. When we anchored we had an excellent tuna salad complete with sea grapes, a type of sea weed I got enticed into purchasing from the market that came with some fermented coconut paste. Great in tuna salad .. a little much on its own. After lunch we took the dinghy to shore and poked around the compound of houses nearby but no one was home, so took the footpath assuming it would lead to the village. The walk was quiet and hatless and sunglassless as we read that is the respectful thing, through lush jungle full of colour. When we arrived at the village we asked the first adult we saw if he could please show us where the chief lives so we could offer the bundle of Kava we brought for Sevu Sevu, a gesture of friendship and goodwill that is expected of foreigners visiting Fijian islands. The chiefs house was painted yellow with black patterns on the wall, mostly empty except for some cabinets and an arm chair he sat in that faced the room. We sat on the floor looking up at him, unsure of when to offer the gift, and he shook our hands one by one as we introduced ourselves. I was carrying the bundle of kava so when he shook my hand I said timidly, “nice to meet you, this is for you..” snd handed him the bundle carefully because he appeared to be blind. There was a short ceremony of Fijian phrases, his wife chimed in during some clapping parts so we clapped too? Seemed like the right thing to do? And then he said welcome, you’re part of our family now, feel free to walk about the island and anchor in our bay. A lovely feeling afterwards, walking back through the village and feeling welcomed, everyone said hellos to us from their doorways and windows. I even lost my sunglasses out of my shirt so I got to do the whole walk twice and say hello and Bula to everyone twice! Luckily Jamie ran into a woman who had found them when he went back to the village later. When we got back to the boat, newly with permission to enjoy the bay, I saddled up with snorkel gear and went exploring, saw a little Nemo dad in the soft coral who was trying to intimidate me away from his house just like the movie those Pixar guys really did their research. Made an okra sabzi for dinner and am sitting under the stars now, can’t wait to break out my star app and identify them all.
H