Don made us a lovely breakfast this morning. We were just sitting down in the cockpit to eat when we heard a voice. That's funny - there's no one else here. Then we looked over at the little beach next to us and saw Soschi standing there. It was a very low tide and the reef around our bay and in front of his beach was completed exposed. He had walked along the exposed reef to see us. Don reluctantly left his plate and went out onto the deck and said 'Bula Soschi'. The man said he had something for us and Don asked him if he could wait ten minutes and he came back in and quickly ate his breakfast. When he had finished he got in the dinghy and went over to meet the man. The two of them sat side by side, first on a log and then on the sand and had a good old talk. Maybe twenty minutes later Don returned to the boat with two beautiful freshly made palm frond baskets full of tropical fruit. Soschi had asked if we had any rope that he might have, for the horses he said. Don went into the lazerette and pulled out two nice bits of rope and took them back to Soschi and he was very pleased. He and Don sat down together again and had another long conversation. While he was there, I was looking at all the fruit. There were two nice papayas, one breadfruit, two humungous soursops, three orange things that we have never seen below, a large bunch of bananas, and six beautiful limes. The baskets were both handmade by Soschi himself and he must have picked the fruit too or had his brother Billy do it. It was a very nice gesture and we were certainly happy to give him some rope. Don said that Soschi spoke really good english and was well educated too. He had questioned Don about where we were from and about all the places we had sailed to on our way to Fiji. He knew about most of the places and impressed Don as being very well read. Soschi told Don more about the lagoon that opens up at the back of Little Bay. He told him that once a year (in December)the people from his village of Mavana go to a lake that is up in the mountains behind the lagoon. He said there is a certain kind of fish that lives in the mud in the lake. There is something in the water that stings your skin if you wear any sort of cloth. To combat this, the people strip off their clothes and smear their bodies with oil, covering themselves only with a grass skirt. They stomp around in the muddy shallow water which stirs up this special fish. They can then grab the fish which he says are as long as your arm. He said at this time the lake is only for Fijians to use; the village elders are trying to decide if they will open up the area to the Non-Fijians in the future. An incredible story, one we'll probably see again on a National Geographic special sometime in the future. After that, Don offered to take him back to the farm in our dinghy but he declined. Don got the impression that he wasn't very comfortable on the water. They shook hands and Soschi took off walking back along the reef with rope in hand.