Nalauwaki Bay
04 October 2014 | Waya Island (Yasawa Group)
Wendy
Our next series of stops was in the most western part of Fiji. We crossed from Lautoka to the most southern island in the Yasawa Group, Waya. We decided to leave at sunrise due to the high winds that were expected later that day. We hoped to be tucked into the northern most bay by 1 pm or so before the winds became their strongest and we still had good visibility to maneuver the reefs while the sun was high. We entered Nalauwaki Bay and anchored on time, but even with the sun high, we had a hard time finding the break in the reef to head to shore. A man saw that we were having problems and guided us in. We went ashore at the small village of Nalauwaki and brought our yaqona as an offering for sevusevu. The man that guided us in welcomed us and saw that we had the yaqona and asked a small boy to bring us to the chief. I was both nervous and excited to sit through our first sevusevu (but I really hoped we didn't disrespect the very first chief we met)! We were welcomed into a modest home with a nice large mat. The chief did a partial chant for us, but we did not partake in Kava (it wasn't offered). We were welcomed and given permission to visit the village. A women did most of the interpreting for us and offered us some orange tea. It was delicious and so easy to make! Just a couple of leaves and hot water - who knew!?! In addition to a small gift for her son, we offered them some reading glasses as a thank you. They were very grateful. In fact, she said she had given up reading becauseiti was too hard to see the letters any more! We thanked them and left to walk through the village. I have to admit though that I was a little disappointed...I was all geared up to try some kava!