Buri building, horses and fish

Weaving palm fronds for bure roof Early to bed and early to rise, following the arc of light at dusk and dawn. Thud…the earthly sound of falling coconuts. One has a higher chance of dying from a coconut bonk on the head than shark attacks. Now there’s perspective for ya. Spent the morning snorkeling with Joli, a native Fajiian from Lambasa. A first for me was seeing velvet purple startfish. We swam around the “acquarium”, where schools of reef fish darted about. Joli is here with 7 other young men from neighboring islands to help re-construct a couple roofs on the property. The men weave together large coconut palm fronds (this is a male job, by the way) into big sheets and haul them to the framework. Their work has begun. In the afternoon, we watched Joli begin training on a new horse Roberta just purchased. The round pen constructed was a bit too small for the job, and the horse and Joli had many standoffs (with the horse turning his rear towards Joli and bucking); I’ve never seen a kid scatter so fast. It was fun to watch. Kent’s diving improve with each day of no storms, increasing visibility. Today: white & blue sponges, elkhorn, fan and brain coral, Nemo fishes! Parrot fish, plus, a 6 foot white tipped reef shark.

KAVA CEREMONY

Hell, I don’t know what the date is. Don’t care, except to be elated when Obama is sworn in as president. Coming soon… The local village’s overriding spirit guide here is the shark; which they sing to in kava ceremonies. Many people also practice Catholicism; there is Methodist, 7th Day Adventist, and we even saw a mosque in Somosomo. Fiji is known for some of the best diving in the world, known for its colorful soft corals. The water is soooo warm. Tonight we had kava with the boys and elder men. Kava is a root that is dug and pounded into a powder. The men sit in a circle. The kava powder is mixed with water in a big bowl; the men clap 3 times before you drink the kava from a coconut cup. This goes on all night, with guitars and singing (language sounds very much like Hawaiian, lots of vowels, very beautiful). The kava tastes bitter and numbs your tongue! I had 3 cups and that was it. Kava is used in ceremony, to thank the spirits for good fishing, or welcoming someone to the group, or making decisions among the elders. For just about anything they designate. Tonight, an elder stood and thanked and honored John (our host) who has hauled building materials to a neighboring island. In return, a group of boys came over to Taveuni, and are helping repair roofs here at Makaira. Moce, and good night!

Settling In

welcoming song

small Fijiian house

view from our bure, or small cottage

kids on the island

1/13 and on… The seas are calm. It will take a while to have it settle enough for good diving visability. Our morning revolves around listening to the birds, cooking breakfast, watching the sea. No TV or radio distractions. Below our bure is the Infinity Deck, good for stargazing (the Southern Cross…remember that beautiful song by CSNY?), and a hammock bure for practicing the great art of hammocking. I’m reading a book I found here in the bure: Tribe Wanted. It is the story of 2 twenty-somethings from the UK who started an island project on Vorovoro (a northern island in the chain). Together, with the chief and people of the island, these guys built an eco-community as well as a business. Anyone could join, from anywhere in the world, & everyone would take part on the internet by voting & joining debates on how the island would be run. A global village, where each culture would be learning about eachother. A large number of people, co-creating in 2 different worlds…cyberspace & Vorovoro. Of course, only a limited number of people can work on the island at one time, but people come from all over and share their skills, engineering, sanitation, computer skills, etc. They in turn, learn to fish, build bures, cook local food, share their cultures. It’s amazing. I can’t put this book down!. TribeWanted.com The author encourages “gap” years, where students do something different before starting jobs in the real world; their worldview being not just the bottom line, but how can we make a difference in other people’s lives…how can we build a better world. I am so encouraged by young people. It is they who will one day tolerate war no more; and as communication continues to increase between cultures, maybe this will be possible (not in our lifetime, but still…); a thoughtful continuation of the 60’s, but in a different form, using technology in a good way. We walked to Caucelecele and up to the school on the hill; we met the Primary teacher, and set up a time to read my books to the kids; show them pictures of snow and ice, and what life is like in Alaska. Fun.

Arrived

1/9-1/12: Arrived, with grateful finality, on the island of Taveuni, under partly cloudy sweat pouring, humid skies. Sheets of rain lashed down for 3 days & nights (plus a week before we came).We are sorry to note that the tropical cyclone caused mudslides and flooding in Nadi, delaying school for a week, shutting down businesses and causing several deaths. During a break in the weather, we flew in on an Otter, a small, sturdy plane like we fly in Alaska to the villages, onto a slightly “hilly” airstrip. No nav aids on aircraft, so they don’t fly in particularly bad weather…we made it! Settled into our “bure” at Makaira by the Sea, which is a small cottage with thatched roof, and a large covered deck with kitchenette (it’s wonderful cooking in the open air); it sits atop a rise overlooking the sea, and many other islands (there are hundreds of Fiji islands, but many uninhabited) amidst coconut, mangosteen and flame trees. The 4 acres we are on has 2 bures, and room for only 4 guests. We rode into town with Roberta (co-owner of Makaira ) to fetch some groceries. Eight miles of twisty roads through a couple villages where women are washing clothes on rocks and children splash and play nearby. I’ve never been anywhere where people are so genuinely happy, with big smiles, pearly white teeth (many live off the land, fruit trees, root vegetables, fish and chicken), a friendly “Bula!” wherever you go. Our hosts (Roberta & John, from Hawaii) are infamous storytellers. Baba (from India, whose mother, Amma, makes authentic Indian cuisine for guests), and an entire Fijian family have become instant friends; they all live on the property. Lots of children, chickens, a horse, dogs, a couple cats & delightful people inhabit this magical place. A good deal of rain over the next few days; we watch the weather from our lanai, and marvel at the changes in the earth and sky. To think that indigenous people here are so deeply woven into the land and seascape. We begin to operate on Fiji time, which is not chronological, but SLOW-MO; no running or rushing. Happy, with big smiles. I observe this must be what it’s like to desire nothing, to just be, gardening & cooking & fishing & building; fixing things when broke, enjoying what is. The family stood on the grass in front of our bure and welcomed us with a Fijian song, so sweet, so un-self-conscious, guitars and ukeleles and soaring voices.. Lovely. We spent the evening with our Canadian friends who hosted a wonderful Fajian style dinner.