As the rain cleared and the winds died down, we went in the dinghy to Navaro Bay and hiked over the penninsula to the East side of the island. This sounds so easy, but we had to hike through dense rain forest and tall swamp grass - very interesting. We came out on the East side of the island and were greeted by an elderly man named Besobe. He kindly showed us where the wreck of a WW II fighter plane was located. We had brought our snorkel gear just to dive on the plane wreck. We found the wreck in about 4 meters of water, but the water was turbid and murky due to the winds. Also, these wrecks often do not resemble their original shape due to damage and wear. But we had fun. We hiked and dinghied back to the boat. On Sunday, Aug. 7th, we headed back to Vudda Point to prepare for our trip to Vanuata (New Hebrides).
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Sherry and another of our Somosomo friends named Maureen in front of her house. Most of the houses were made of cinder blocks and consisted of one room. The houses need to withstand cyclone winds and waves.
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This is our dinghy on the shore in front of Somosomo village.
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August 2, 2011 As beautiful as Likuliku was--it was time to move on. The weather forecast called for heavy rain and strong winds from the southwest. Rain reduces our ability to see reefs an coral heads, and Likuliku was open to the west and south--we needed to find a safe harbor! We moved up to Somosomo Harbor on the north side of Naviti Island. Somosomo Harbor is protected from all sides except the north. We anchored in front of the villlage and went ashore. We were met with a 'Bula' from a young lady with a beautiful smile named Andi. We told Andi that we needed to see the village chief to do savusavu. Andi led us through the village to the chief's one room hut where we sat on the floor and placed our yaquona in front of us. A few claps of the hands, a prayer, and Andi told us "you can go now". I am beginning to think that Savusavu is just a way for old guys to get their 'Kava buzz'. Andi gave us a tour of the village--but we needed to get back to the boat as rain clouds were coming in fast. By the time we got backto the boat and raised the dinghy--it started to rain. It rained all night and all the next day and night--very hard at times. We were hunkered down reading our books. After the rain we had south winds up to 34 knots in the anchorage! We were protected but we were contracting 'cabin fever'.
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August 1, 2011 We left Yalobi Harbor and moved up the west coast of Waya Island to Likuliku Bay. We were able to navigate inside the off-lying reef thanks to Google Earth. Our friend Michael (Paikea Mist) showed us how to download and cach aerial photos from Google Earth. With a USB GPS receiver (thanks Allan) we can see our boat's position and the reefs and coral heads--much more accurate than the chart plotter. This is a whole new era of navigation--thanks Michael! Likuliku Bay was beautiful and we anchored in 30 feet of crystal clear water-- I watched the anchor hit the sand. Octopus Resort is located here and we enjoyed a nice lunch on their patio (a little pricey). The most remarkable thing that happened at Likuliku was when we were snorkeling around the boat. We had snorkeled out to check the anchor and were returning to the boat when I looked back to check on Sherry. Underneath Sherry was a small (six inch) fish that was keeping up with her and only about a foot beneath her. I sgnaled to Sherry and when she popped up I told her about the fish. Sherry looked down and the fish was heading for her crotch--very close! Sherry pushed the fish away, and it just kept coming back. Sherry took off at record speed for the swim step--as I was laughing so hard I was crying. When Sherry got out onto the swim step--the fish headed for me. It was a small Lamprey--a fish that has it's mouth on the top of it's head. It attaches to other fish and whales to hitch a ride. I thought it was cute-- I watched as it came up my fin, my bootie, then my leg. Wait a minute!! Do lampreys have teeth or just a sucker? I pushed the little guy away--but he came charging back! I headed as fast as I could to the boat, and was up on the swim step ASAP! Guess who had the last laugh?
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While anchored off the village of Yalobi, Waya Island, Fiji--we were invited to church and listened to the Sunday School kids sing--they are so beautiful.
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