Lisa went net fishing with the village lady's for our beach party
July 18, 2014

Today is beach party day for us! The village is throwing us cruisers a fiesta on the sand spit, Fiji style. Oh boy! I say - Survivor style! Complete with all of us partaking in catching our own food.

Three of the local men, including Alfreddy and Ben, took off in our dinghy to go and spearfish in the pass. I kindly tell these men that Ben is my only son and they NEED to keep a close eye on him. The women in the meantime have brought an enormous pot filled to the brim with mud crabs...ooh yum! And one young girl is sitting patiently on the beach with a very thin, sharp stick in her hand, gently picking each crab up one at a time and repeatedly poking it into its head to kill it, before it is boiled. Another has built a fire on the beach. Wooden sticks are placed around the edges to hold the pots up.

"Lisa, Lisa!" I hear. "We need to go catch fish!" Several of the women are standing nearby with a large fishing net in hand. So five of us white women and several island women pile into various dinghies with our snorkels and off we go on our hunt. The idea is that , once we get to a spot that looks good and get into the waste deep water fully clothed of course* we quietly spread out the large net and walk or swim in the shallows toward the rocky outcroppings, then once we have started to block off an area we start banging on the water in a rhythmic fashion, scaring the bejesus out of the fishies and they swim right into the net. It works! We caught seven our first try! It's weird how your primal instincts take over and you really get into it, knowing that if you want to eat, this is it!

Once back on shore, I scrape the scales from the fish with the edge of a clam shell, and a local woman guts and cleans them. They are now ready to be fried up whole.

I look around and almost cannot believe my eyes. Anyone who stayed on shore has been working very hard while we were gone. A table has been built using sticks and covered with palm fronds. A mat has been woven for all of us to sit on. Plates have been woven from fronds as well. Even the serving utensils for the various dishes the boaters have brought are made from bamboo that has been shaped like a spoon etc..unbelievable!

What a terrific experience and time we all had!

*Since this is a beach picnic, the women are allowed to war long shorts and tee shirts, instead of the required long skirts in the village. Due to the Methodist religion you are not allowed to swim in bathing suits so all swimming is done fully clothed.