At low tide it is fresh, at high tide brackish.
11 December 2010 | Rotuma Fiji
Patrick Childress
There is much to see on this island, but you are on your own to find it and get there, and it's not a small island that you can hike in a day unless you are perhaps in GREAT shape! We did manage to hitch a ride a few times as we searched for alternative anchorages in case the wind swung around to blow from the north. The people are very careful to obey the laws about not having passengers in the back of their pickup trucks. Everyone was very concerned that we had checked in with the police and customs.
We met many people here the first day ashore, on Sunday, outside of a church. The moment they saw us standing across the road from the church, they all invited us, demanded, we join them for their after church pot luck lunch. We had a wonderful spread of local foods, and great conversation. Many people who live here have lived all over the world and return after their retirement to what they feel is paradise...Rotuma.
Phillipe, who used to get in trouble hanging out with yachties in Suva, now lives here to make sure he stays out of trouble. He is surprised at the different kind of Yachtie that tends to show up at Rotuma...not your usually drunken sailor that he became so fond of in Suva! There are no bars here....not even one restaurant on the whole island! Phillipe said that of the last 5 yachts to visit, "none of them had beers or alcohol on board". Most cruisers are careful how they interact with islanders and that extends to the sort of DVDs they leave behind. Phillipe lent me his bike one day...his offer...his insistence. He brought us eggs and papayas, and visited with us on the boat. Another man ashore...Samissy, who spoke pour English but was very nice, brought us coconuts ready to drink every day, and we returned the favor with DVDs that he wanted. He takes care of his mother, after his father died 20 years ago, and has always been single. He is very obviously desperate for a wife... ask me how I know this.