Anna
14 November 2009 | Suva
Bryan
Anna was the first person we encountered when we went ashore on Gao (pronounced 'now'). In fact, she waded out to assist us over the reef on the beach in the very low tide. She introduced us to the high chief for the local Lomaviti island group, a delightful old gentleman named Thalakleni, a veteran of WWII fighting the Japanese in Malaya and the Solomons.
Over lunch back on the boat it turned out that Anna had many friends and acquaintances among the Fijians we had met from Vanua Levu as she had previously worked at several resorts including Cousteau in Savusavu. As she needed a ride to Suva to do Christmas shopping, we said "come aboard" and she made the crossing from Gao to Suva with us. As I'm writing, she is helping us put the boat back in order.