Our way-too-short stay at Kubulau has ended, as I write we are enroute to Savu Savu again for a quick restock, email, blurb posting, and check-in/check-out with Customs (a tedious requirement here in Fiji every time you arrive and leave a place with a Customs office, 4 places in Fiji.) We leave tomorrow as soon as the aforementioned tasks are complete, westbound for the Nadi area to meet Allan's brother Mark and his wife Pam for a week of playing in the Mamanuca Group of the Fiji Islands.

Our stay at Kubulau was perfect, we had just a taste of so many things, enough for Allan to get a sample of what we've loved about the place over so many years, and for me to be reminded. In fact, this visit really filled in some gaps for me, rounded some corners, polished some edges.

Last night, to cap off our visit, we received a regular Fijian send-off, which was a bit of a surprise. Our guests came from Koroko Village, courtesy of their local transport, a big truck with canvas sides. Mica, his wife Seni and their two youngest children arrived with a pile of masi (tapa cloth) as going away gifts, as did our old friends Seriana and her husband Elesio. Our caretakers, Sala and Kalusi also gifted us with a masi, so we have quite a collection. All the women brought food for the table, which was beautifully set with local foods: crab cooked in lolo, fried dalo leaf with corned beef (I'll admit, I fed the corned beef to the dog, but the dalo was delicious), boiled casava and tapioca root, as well as some cross-cultural dishes supplies by the palangi women (Melodie and I) -- homemade pizza and fruit salad.

While Allan, Melodie and I played Scrabble, assisted by Seni and her kids, the guys sat around the yagona (kava) bowl and played guitars and sang in their gorgeous voices, harmonizing on songs we all grew up on, barely recognizable when sung at a slower pace with their beautiful accents. Fijians adore love songs, and pretty much know them all. I understand this originated when one of the 2 radio stations back in the 80's had a love songs hour in the evenings, so a lot of popular English songs were learned around the yagona bowl on old and borrowed guitars by the locals and passed down. Often, they don't know the words and sing what they hear, which is partly why it's sometimes hard to recognize the songs.

Everyone knew we had to get to bed early for a daybreak departure, so at 9pm everyone -- men, women, and children -- sang a beautiful rendition of Isa Lei, the traditional song of farewell. It was so beautiful that we decided to stay another half hour, when they sang it again. This time, Seni translated the words so that we could know that it was a customized version, with lines such as "leaving in the morning on the waves to Savu Savu" and "always remember Kubulau forever."

We gave hugs and thanks all around, were sent off with some fresh lolo from Sala (coconut milk made from the meat of the coconut, used in cooking) and walked down to the beach with Kalusi, my mom and Melodie. One last trip on our little shore boat to the "yacht" at Kubulau, our send-off party blinking their flashlights at us as we motored the short distance to Fly Aweigh.

The morning departure was very hard for me, I was not ready to go. My mom and Melodie were standing on the beach at 6am, watching as we pulled the anchor. Allan brought the boat as close to the beach as the reef would allow and we hollered "moce!" (goodbye) and waved furiously, while they all waved back, Sala and any number of hangers-on from last night's party flapping white cloths in the air from the front porch. I cried as we pulled away, but at the same time I'm still amazed it all happened at all. The fact that we sailed a jillion miles to ultimately arrive in Fiji, met my mom and our dear friend and business partner Melodie on the very day they arrived, were able to navigate the tricky and poorly charted reefs to get to a spot right in front of our house and anchor with good holding for 5 days: all a miracle. The weather was great, the mosquitos were minimal, the company extraordinary, and the chance to share this place with Allan a genuine treat.

And so on to the next wonderful family reunion with Mark and Pam, who arrive Tuesday. We plan a liesurely, day-travel-only trip to Lautoka, near Nadi Airport on the big island of Viti Levu. And I, for one, am looking forward to sailing through a small area of ocean called "Blighwater" which just sounds all too spooky and dramatic for words.


New photo gallery: Vanua Levu