Tubou, Lakeba

After leaving Oneata around 9am, we had a very nice sail and arrived in Tubou, Lakeba mid-afternoon on Wednesday. The passage into Tubou is described as "very narrow (20 meters wide), only roughly marked and very challenging." Well, they were right about all of the above, accept that the challenging part only lasts about 100 feet. It was a bit intimidating with the large breaking waves on each side of you, but we just aimed Orcinius between the two posts sticking out of the water - marking the edge of the reefs on each side of the pass, and took a stab at it. There was plenty of depth - I don't think I saw below 30 feet. And once inside it was easy to find our way through the rest of the pass over to the wharf with the afternoon sun overhead. We anchored about 500 feet past the wharf in 12 feet of water and sand. We took the big dingy over to the end of the wharf, hoping no large delivery ships were due in. Luckily, John brought some extra long long line so we could tie the d ink off to a post up on the ramp, and let the dingy float out with the receding tide. The wharf was perfect for tying up the dink, since bringing the dink to shore would have required timing it with the high tide. When the tide is out, the waterfront sand beach stretches out for a very long way!

We were met at the wharf by a couple of kids on bikes, and a nice young fellow named John who took us into the village to meet the Turaga ni koro (the chief's right-hand man), Alifereti. Alifereti was our gracious host the rest of our stay in Tobou - walking us through the village, sharing stories of the past, and making sure we saw all the important sites within the village. There is a lot of history in Tubou. The island of Lekaba was one of the two poles of power in traditional Fiji (back before us pulangis showed up), and today is still the most important island in southern Lau. Tombs of several of the great leaders of Fiji lie along Tobou's waterfront. Tubou is also where Christian missionaries first entered Fiji - and two of the missionaries, Cross and Cargill, developed a system for written Fijian and produced the first book in that language. There are several beautiful buildings in Tubou, but one that stood out the most for John and I was the Methodist Church. I cannot believe it is not even mentioned in any of our guide books. The church itself is about 100 years old, but has a new tin roof placed over the top of the original roof. Alifereti took us in side - and it was absolutely gorgeous! The ceiling was amazing! I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was woven with wood and a fiber binding - not a single nail in the ceiling. Then covered with the traditional thatch, which is now covered by the protective tin roof. There were 12 posts along the sides of the interior, one for each of the 12 apostles. The front of the church had beautiful wood chairs and podiums, and the church itself was laid out in the shape of a cross. We would have loved to have gone to a Sunday service there! Maybe next time through. Then Alifereti took us to another special building - it was the home of one of their past chiefs, I think h is name is Ratu Salala Sakuna (I hope I am getting this right - I am going to do some research on it once we have more stable internet). Not only does Lakeba have close ties with Tonga, but also with Papa New Guinea, as the Prime Minister gifted some intricately carved poles that are part of the home. They were very impressive. We also visited the hospital, the schools, and the catholic church on top of the hill. It overlooked the village with some beautiful views to the inner lagoon and ocean. One thing we've noticed since leaving Fulaga is the gradual difference in living standards as we have made our way north. With each island we visit as we make our way north, we are starting to see more generators, more refrigeration, and more satellite dishes and TVs. Lakeba actually has a road that runs around the perimeter of the island, and therefore has a number of cars and trucks - we haven't seen that for awhile. The night we anchored out in front of Tubou, we were surprised by the number of lights along shore - coming from homes and from street lights. We hadn't seen that much light at night in weeks! And there is more furniture (sofas and tables & chairs) and electronic gadgets in the homes. Technology is gradually making its way out to the islands.

We departed Lakeba on Thursday afternoon, sooner that we had wanted. But there were favorable winds to take us from there on up to Vanua Balavu, our next destination. And since we are getting a bit low on fuel, we needed to take advantage of the wind. I wont even mention how low we are getting on fresh food, and wine & whiskey! But I'm sure we will survive - even if John tends to get a bit grouchy when he's down to rationing his beloved scotch! All for now,

Lisa