Surprise
10/21/2008, Blue Lagoon, Yasawa Islands, Fiji

We arrived on Friday--today is Wednesday--you'd think we like it here! Blue water, protected anchorage, not too crowded and a nearby resort for meals out. We've been to six or seven great snorkeling sites, so today we tried a dive. First time on this trip, as the Admiral has trouble clearing her ears, and can slow a group down. But no problem today; perhaps all the snorkeling and free diving has helped. We were at 35 to 50' along a wall. Amazing variety of corals and reef fishes, one lonely black tip shark, and a large turtle that zoomed by. So wonderful we'll have to do it again. Our friends on Destiny have left the anchorage but we met a nice couple from Seattle on holiday at the resort, so we've not lacked for company. But the Yasawa's have lots of nice anchorages to be explored, so we'll move on soon.

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Surprise
10/16/2008, Blue Lagoon, Yasawa Islands, Fiji

Balloons!

Balloons are a very big hit with the local kids. They tie a piece of coconut twine to them and then run after them in the breeze. What fun to watch.

Yesterday the ladies of the village opened their "market" at 10am for the Admiral's perusal, an hour we had agreed on the day before. The "market" is 6 ladies under a tree, each with a 6' X 8' piece of cloth upon which they lay their wares. Much of it comes from the large market in Lautoka, but some of the items are local craft. The Admiral was careful to select something from each. After the market we met the Mayor, and when I asked him why we had not been directed to him to do sevusevu, he said we should have been, but that it was not our fault, it was his problem to solve. Sounds like tribal discipline is going to hell.

It was quite windy in Sawa-i-lau; it lies on the north edge of Viti Levu and when the wind shifts to the Northeast it gets quite brisk. We are now about 8 miles south and the wind is about 10 knots less than it was in Sawa-i-lau. Getting here is more challenging, navigationally, than we have experienced most other places. The local charts are "off" by about 0.2 miles, and navigational aids like bouys are rare; there are however, lots of submerged reefs. The Admiral spent about an hour carefully laying out our course for the day, a total of about 14 waypoints for a route of 10 miles. Once underway we both watch closely for the telltale turquoise water that tells you there is a reef. This is not something you would want to do when the sun is not high, and never at night.

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Surprise
10/14/2008, Sawa-i-lau, Yasawa Islands, Fiji

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday we motored from Musket Cove to the Queens Wharf in Lautoka to "clear out" with the Customs office prior to our trip to the Yasawa Islands. It was a gray day with little breeze, and something took half the feathers off one of my fishing lures without finding the hook. The wharf is not a favorite place for cruisers; you anchor in slimy mud that is hard to remove from the chain and the ash from the burning of the sugar cane fields is like black snow on the boat. We arrived mid-day and found Customs closed for lunch so we took a cab into town for more fresh veggies. When Customs reopened the told us we needed a Cruising Permit to visit the Yasawas, so another cab ride to the ugly little town for a piece of paper that costs nothing and contains only information already on our Customs document. They learned this from the English.

Up early for a 7am departure for a 56 mile passage through a maze of reefs, motoring for the first three hours and then a nice breeze that built to the high teens and we reached along at 8+ knots. About 5 miles from our destination we hooked and landed a big barracuda named Sarah (photo). Anchor down, dingy launched and into the small native village for permission (Sevusevu ceremony) to stay. This involves finding the chief/elder and introductions and a gift of Kava, a plant root that they use to make a mildly numbing drink. We also brought him the fish; 40-50 lbs of barracuda is not on our menu. Nice day.

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