The Rose

25 June 2015 | Futuna to Vuda Point, Fiji
25 June 2015 | Futuna to Vuda Point, Fiji
23 June 2015 | Savu Savu to Futuna
23 June 2015 | Savu Savu to Futuna
27 May 2015 | Cobia Crater, Ringold Islands, Fiji
25 April 2015 | Horseshoe Bay, Matagi Island, Fiji
24 April 2015 | Naigani Island, Lomaviti, Fiji
22 April 2015 | Naigani Island, Lomaviti, Fiji
11 April 2015 | Vuda Point Marina, Viti Levu, Fiji
11 April 2015 | Vuda Point Marina, Viti Levu, Fiji
10 October 2014 | Vuda Point Marina, Viti Levu, Fiji
24 September 2014 | Yasawas, Fiji
24 September 2014 | Fiji
21 September 2014 | Bligh water, Fiji
21 September 2014 | Bligh water, Fiji
28 August 2014 | Ha'apai, Tonga
14 July 2014 | Vava'u, Tonga
13 July 2014 | Yanuca, Budds Reef, Fiji
27 June 2014 | North Bay, Matagi, Fiji
15 April 2014 | Vuda Point Marina, Viti Levu, Fiji

The Rose marching to a different drummer...

14 June 2013 | SavuSavu,Fiji
Patricia Gans
Dear Friends and Family, As a student growing up, I remember being amazed to learn that not all languages contain a word equivalent to the English word "fun". There are words like diversion or amusing or pleasurable but fun is all of these things and none of these things and I still am not sure how one can do without the word. Especially today I would be completely at a loss as to how to describe the events without the word fun. I had rowed the dinghy to the marina dock which fronts the circumferential two lane island road planning to pick up a few things at the grocery store and then leave them in the dinghy while I filled two five gallon jugs with diesel. The Rose is moored right in front of town and the MH food store is right off our beam-- so close I can see easily whether or not it is open and how busy it is. The petrol station is right next door to that. But to my surprise as I sauntered up the pier on autopilot to turn right and head to the store I noticed the street to my left was full of people and music filled the air-not the usual music one connects with South Seas Islands but instead marching band music. The music was interlaced with laughter and it sounded like "fun" so on a whim I turned left rather than right and strolled down to check it out. Behind a crowd of local spectators and a smattering of yachties getting in everybody's way with their cameras were 3 silver tubas swaying and swooning this way and that to "Rock Around The Clock". Closer inspection through sparse windows between closely packed spectator's heads yielded a view of some 30 band members dressed in white "sulu" which are long skirts, worn by men, usually in black and somewhat formal but now in white and cut at the bottom into a wide fluted fringe like the pattern on Charlie Brown's shirt. The skirt was topped with a red, white and blue striped belt and above each skirt was a navy blue uniform shirt looking somewhat police-like in nature but with epaulettes and adorned with drapings of braid. Below the skirts strong bare male legs marched on large strong feet wrapped in black shiny patent leather sandals. Above the uniform, brown bare heads rocked in synchronous rhythms flashing broad smiles and mischievous sparkling eyes. The rapid staccato of drums built to a roaring crescendo while trumpets and trombones swept across the crowd like machine guns spraying wildly. Suddenly the tubas were set down on the roadway like huge silver cobras patiently watching as their musicians began to dance in a somewhat Cuban style pulling people out of the audience as partners. Once the song was finished, the band once again donned their instruments and proceeded marching on down the main road. The spectators, in number, joined in alongside or behind the band down the middle of the main road. I turned to walk with them as well realizing my face was grinning and I was chuckling to myself. Our little parade continued to the next block where the performance was repeated this time to the theme from Flashdance and now as the band turned to march on even more spectators joined the crowd escorting the band down the road and out onto an expansive playing field adjoining the primary school. The school children in their uniforms were clustered outside waiting and roared and shrieked in excitement as the band approached now solemnly focused on precision and led by a large Fijian holding stiffly a long regal staff which he proceeded to throw end over end high into the air over his head and smartly catch on its way back down. The school children were now allowed to charge out of the school yard and onto the field stopping of their own accord a respectful distance from the working area of the band. Leaping free of their instruments, the tuba players began to rock their heads from side to side with the beat bringing their eyes down level with those of the children like a bird hypnotizing a bug and ready to make the strike. The children screamed in rapture like the front row at a Rolling Stones concert and the musicians began swirling their hips and bellies all the while staring into the children's feverish eyes with heads occasionally cocking birdlike to one side or the other but mostly balancing quietly as though separated from the rest of the gyrating body. One very young student hopped onto the band area and danced with an especially dramatic tuba player in something like a dueling banjos of hip rotation to the sheer delight of the crowd. The whole town seemed by now to have shown up and yet the space of the performers was completely respected without fencing or markers or security guards. Behind the crowd the volcanic hot springs boiled and bubbled waiting to cook meat or steamed puddings for savvy locals. At the side of the field a small black cow stood tethered with a rope halter permanently worn around the back of the head and passing through a permanent piercing in her nasal septum. The lush green grass about her stood thickly a meter deep almost obscuring her from view. As I walked back to finish my errands the squawk of parrots alerted me to notice their bright colors flying by -even the doves are green and red here--and I realized I was still chuckling and smiling as were the people around me. The front steps of the market were crowded with children eating and dripping chocolate dipped ice cream bars and watching the world go by in wide eyed wonder as people filed past leaving the performance and I slipped in to buy a few eggs and apples for the next two weeks out on Namena reef. I recently read someone's definition of the best vacations as those that offer amazing experiences we never even thought to plan. I never would have thought to find catalogued among my favorite Fiji memories "watching a local marching band performance in SavuSavu" but what a wonderful thing! So once again in a place where the waterfalls are breathtaking and the rain forest lush and the underwater world burgeoning with color and life, it is the simple everyday doings of the people which fills my soul with wonder. And all is well. Pat and John S/V The Rose in SavuSavu, Fiji 14 June 2013
Comments
Vessel Name: The Rose
Vessel Make/Model: Kelly Peterson 46'
Hailing Port: Colorado Springs
Crew: Pat & John Gans and Mr. Sushi the pug

Who: Pat & John Gans and Mr. Sushi the pug
Port: Colorado Springs