Welcome ceremony
26 June 2009 | Savusavu
Sue from Storyteller had been in Savusavu for about a week before us and she was able to show us around and point out all the best places. After a walk around town we returned to the yacht club and had a cold bear on the terrace with curries brought around to us from the cafe next door. The curries were wonderful, with freshly made rotis, crispy things and fresh salsa as well as rice on the side. All for about two pounds. The Fijian dollar has recently been devalued and everything here is very good value at the moment.
Sue had also found a highly recommended transvestite hairdresser and had arranged for Anne and Jackie to have their hair done with her later that afternoon. Sue also provided some hair colour for Jackie - what service! Reggie the hairdresser was delightful. He resembled a well-built Fijian matron with glasses, except for an amazing hair-do which was a foot-tall conical concoction of leopard-skin scarf and blond hair. The salon was fairly basic, with only cold water, but it had the best selection of womens' magazines anywhere - loads of OK, Vogue, House and Gardens etc. Reggie also had a small selection of Victoria Secret underwear! Anne's hair cut and Jackie's and Sue's colour were all a success. Reggie was very gently with the hair and gave a wonderful head massage. We tried the Chinese restaurant that night, and it was excellent as well as really cheap, although we did have to wait for a while for the food.
The following day we had a Fijian welcome at the marina with the usual Kava ceremony plus dancing girls. We girls all wore skirts to cover our knees and shirts to cover our elbows. Many of the boys also wore Fijian skirts, but sadly Michael, Don and John decided to dress more boringly. After the ceremony we had the pleasure of sitting in the shade on the terrace with a nice breeze, sipping cold beers and eating curry again while watching the local kids race some of us yachties in Optimists. The wind was strong and it led to some exciting manouvers.