Axel and Gigi's writeups on their Taveuni Hospital Visit

Axel's writeup on the Taveuni Hospital Visit

Our friend's neighbor in San Diego is the main volunteer at the Taveuni hospital in Fiji. He's a doctor that helps in surgery and organizes doctors and nurses to come from the U.S. to do different treatments. On our second day in Taveuni we got a tour of the hospital.

Every week they do a different service at the hospital. This week they were doing obstetrics, or woman's health. Next week they are doing cleft palates. Every week they bring in new doctors to do the different stuff.

On our tour I didn't see the patient rooms, but my Dad and his friend George saw them. They said there were lots of beds in each room. I saw the x-ray room and laboratory, and someone was making things for the nurses, it wasn't that exciting. Next we went to the operating theater, where they were operating on someone, it was cool to see an operation. Last we went into the clinic, which was being repaired, so there was a lot of construction equipment.

It was very different from an American hospital. For instance, normally they only have one doctor 2 days a week, also there is an open air reception. It was an interesting visit, although it isn't a place I would recommend you go to in Taveuni, unless you're sick.



Gigi's writeup on the Taveuni Hospital Visit

While my family and I were on the island of Taveuni, Fiji, we visited a local hospital where our friend's neighbor, Dr. Lance was volunteering. He is an anesthesiologist and he organizes teams of doctors to come to Fiji and perform specialized surgeries. Every week for eight weeks he brings in doctors and nurses with different specialties, who do surgeries and teach Fijian doctors and nurses how to do them. When we visited they were doing obstetrics, or women's health. We met up with him and he gave us a tour, showing us how this small and remote Fijian hospital was very different from a hospital in America. We were shown around to the different wards, and were even got to look into the operating theatre while the doctors were performing a hysterectomy.

When we first arrived at the hospital we were shown to the maternity ward, which had eight beds all filled with mothers and their newborn babies. There wasn't any fancy technology like in American hospitals, or even any real pillows. They told us about one woman who had had an emergency c-section the day before, and thankfully because they were doing obstetrics the baby was able to be saved. What was truly remarkable about this was that when the baby came out he was not breathing, and once they got him breathing they just put him in a incubator, and had a nurse come and check on him every once and a while. The next day the mother was up and walking, and changing and feeding her baby. The doctors told us about how the Fijians heal faster than most other people because of their high tolerance for pain, which has grown from their hard living conditions.

After the maternity ward we visited the recovery room where there were many beds filled with woman recovering from surgeries. We talked to some of the patients and then walked down the open air corridor to the operating theatre. Seeing the surgery was somewhat scary and weird, but also fascinating and unique. Next we saw the x-ray/ultrasound room and the emergency triage room, which was just a small nook in the wall. After our tour of the hospital we met some of the doctor and nurse's husbands who were working on rebuilding the bathrooms in the clinic just below the hospital. They showed us around the clinic and their construction site.

This Fijian hospital was different from an American hospital in many major ways. Parts of the hospital in Taveuni were open air, much different from hospitals in the USA, where everything is enclosed. When the specialized doctors are not there, there is only one doctor who comes to the hospital two days every week. There is also only two wards, the maternity and recovery, and there is a shortage of blankets and pillows. They had limited and outdated equipment, though what they did have was very nice. Visiting the hospital was a very interesting and unique experience that allowed me to see a bit of how the Fijians of Taveuni live.

May 27, 2015 Exploring Islands - Susui Village

We spent 4 peaceful days in Bavatu Harbour with our friends on Nautilus. The kids really liked jumping off the rocks at the Royal Exploring Isles Yacht Squadron, and we were really happy to get huge bags full of mandarins and limes from the plantation.

On our way to the village of Susui, we caught 4 fish between the 2 boats, but Hans caught the biggest, a giant trevally that fed all of us for days. The girls traveled on Nirvana and spent their time making a very colorful cake.

The village of Susui

We arrived Sunday afternoon at the village of Susui and they immediately invited us to church. We quickly cleaned up the boats and fish, and put on nice clothes and went in for church. We were introduced to many of the villagers and they asked us a lot of questions, as it is exciting for them to have visitors. They told us we were the first visitors they had for 8 months. The church ceremony was done in Fijian, with a few introductory words in English for us. There was a lot of wonderful singing and everyone wholeheartedly participates. They asked us to come up and say something, so Gary did the talking for all of us.

After church we were taken to the chief of the village to present our sevusevu. He accepted the sevusevu (kava) and welcomed us into his village. He even told us the children were welcome to attend school. When we left the chief's house, the school age children we met before church really insisted that our kids come to school the next day. So we went to meet the school teacher to make sure that would be ok with her.

The school has about 24 students split into 2 classrooms, grades 1-4 and 5-8. Normally there are 2 teachers, but one of the teachers is in Suva and can't find transport to the village, so he will come later. The teacher said she would be delighted to have our children, so bright and early the next day the children went to school. Our kids were excited to go to school and felt a little brave since there were 4 of them. Gigi and Fien (both age 12) were put in grade 7, and Axel (10) and Sepppe (8) were both put in grade 4. So they were happy to have each other.

The first thing they did in school was the flag ceremony followed by devotion. Lesi, a 12 year old boy that walked our children to school led the flag ceremony. Go to this link and you can see a video of flag ceremony  https://youtu.be/7_hzdSHFNIs

They use a drum instead of a bell to sound off the start and end of school, recess, in the flag ceremony,… and there is another bigger drum next to the church to let you know when church is starting.  Go to this link and you can see the drumming that goes with the flag ceremony. http://youtu.be/2vuZUyPcbn4

The girls settling into their seats

and the boys settling into their seats in class

Leaving first day of school for lunch.

At lunch both Gigi and Axel were bubbling over with excitement to tell us all about what they did at school, and both begged us to let them go back the next day. In the afternoon on Mondays they have physical education, so the girls returned to school in shorts, normally they must wear skirts, and the Fijian children have uniforms. They ran and played a lot, and were exhausted when they came home that evening. By the end of the first day they had made many friends and Axel had taught the entire school how to make really loud fart sounds.

Here is the flag ceremony at the end of the day.

On their way to the second day of school.

The second day of school was Fien's birthday, so she brought cupcakes with lollipops in each one. The kids were so excited, some of them were nervous about eating them, since they never get anything like that.

Class photo. We blew this up and printed it out for them.

The first school morning was so tranquil.

The people of Susui have been incredibly generous to us and they are not materially wealthy people. It makes you reflect on how giving a little bit of your time to get to know everyone around you is so rewarding. We have all gained so much in our hearts from this village, especially the children.

Moce,

Julie

May 23, 2015 Exploring Islands

We had to motor sailed from Taveuni to make it by 4 pm to the NE pass of the Exploring Islands. The chart plotter was about half a mile off, so it was a little more nerve racking making sure we were in the correct location. Plus the government markers look like they might fall down at any moment, and many have and have not been replaced. This one appears to have been repaired by the locals.

Fortunately there are great range markers, so getting lined up correctly wasn't too bad, but it was still a challenging pass since there are coral heads close on either side of the path in.  We were met by our friend Hans off Nautilus to guide us into the Ships Sound anchorage in the Bay of Islands. There is no way we could have made it in without his assistance, since you must weave your way around coral heads and small limestone islands to reach this stunning anchorage. This is the most beautiful anchorage we have been in on this trip, and probably will be in. The rock formations are impressive. Small islands jut straight up out of the pristine blue water and at low tide you can see how the water has eroded the edges of these islands making them look like large rocks gently set on a small pedestal.

The waters are teaming with fish and scattered corals, including this brilliant red sea fan.

 Around the corner from the anchorage is a beautiful beach where we relaxed and chopped coconuts. Gigi used some of the coconut to make a yummy banana cream pie.

 After a few days we travelled around the corner to Bavatu Harbour. This bay hosts an expansive coconut plantation and the Royal Exploring Isles Yacht Squadron. The caretaker of the plantation was very welcoming and his son, Benny, even guided on a hike up to a high point that overlooks Bavatu Harbour and the Bay of Islands. The last part of the hike required us to scale the jagged rocks straight up to a precarious, but beautiful, lookout.

The plantation is covered with mandarin, lime and orange trees and they said we could take as many as we wanted.

I love the name of the store. (It was not open while we were here).

The plantation and the Yacht Squadron are owned by an Australian, but the caretaker allowed us to use the Yacht Squadron building and shower, so we have enjoyed a few happy hours overlooking the bay.

We plan to spend more time in the Exploring Islands as there is a lot to see in this beautiful and untouched part of the world.

Cheers,

Julie

May 16, 2015 Viani Bay and Taveuni with the Szabos

We just had a nice visit with Stacey, George and Elizabeth Szabo. It took Elizabeth a little while to adjust to the boat, unfortunately she got an ear infection on the flight over, then she was teething, but once she got medicine in her she was a happier baby.

The Szabos got onboard and we anchored a few miles away from Savusavu off the Cousteau Resort. This enabled us to get up early the next morning for our 50 mile passage to Viani Bay. Fortunately it was an extremely calm passage which made Stacey happy, but unfortunately the wind was too light for us to sail. We anchored next to Viani Bay behind Naborogo Island, nestled amongst the coral reefs.

Axel went up the mast and took some cool photos.

The diving and snorkeling in this area is world famous, and it blew all of us away. Gary and I went with a dive operation for 2 fantastic dives, one called the white wall where there were thousands of white soft corals swaying in the current on this endlessly deep wall. We took in the wall from 100 feet underwater, but it extended as far as you could see down. After that we swam through a cave filled with coral and fish. The abundance of different corals and colorful fish was mind blowing, and we have been to some amazing places.

Axel and Julie snorkeling

 Photos never do a good job capturing how beautiful the coral really is.

After 2 nights beside Naborogo Island, George was ready for a change of pace, so we motored around the corner and anchored off the Dolphin Bay dive resort. We kicked off our shoes and relaxed on the chairs at the beach, until Elizabeth put her feet on the sand and freaked out. She definitely does not like sand. We all thought after being on a boat for a few days she would want to run, but she wanted nothing to do with the sand and let us all know that. Later that evening we dined by candlelight on the beach.

Monkey boy Axel in the coconut tree.

Elizabeth posing for photos.

A couple days later we headed to Taveuni. We hired a local man to guide us across the reef and show us a good spot to anchor at Taveuni. He also arranged a taxi that took us to the triple waterfall on the other side of the island. It was a long and bumpy ride in a uniquely upholstered van, but the hike and the waterfalls were worth it.

The next day we met the Szabos neighbor, Lance Hendricks, who was volunteering at the local hospital. He gave us a tour of the facility, even showed us the operating room while a surgery was underway. He and a crew of American doctors and nurses come in and provide needed surgeries and help train Fijian doctors. Different specialist teams come for 1 week intensive period and this week the specialty was obstetrics. Lance oversees the whole program, so he is in Fiji for 8 weeks.

After the hospital tour we hiked to a waterfall that is a natural water slide. I was a bit scary looking until 2 local guys showed us the good spot to slide down. The kids and Gary had so much fun, they went back again the next day.

Here is a link to a video of Gigi going down the water slide.
http://youtu.be/eFlKnYXcWHA 

Today we bought more fruit, veggies and meat, and did laundry, so we are ready to head off to the Lau Group of Islands. These islands are extremely remote and we have been warned that there will be hardly any food available for purchase, and definitely no internet, so we will not be linked to the outside world. I am looking forward to going to visit people who live a simpler life style and getting away from internet. We plan to leave early tomorrow morning.

Fair winds and calm seas,

Julie

Photos from the passage to Fiji and Savusavu

Leaving New Zealand.

 Axel enjoying the waves on the bow.

The Mitchell family in Minerva Reef. The water is so incredible there and you can see the reef in the background.

 The first tuna I caught.

Sunset over Minerva reef

Gary, Brian and Gigi after a successful lobster hunt on Minerva reef.

Gigi and Finn playing in the hot springs that bubble up through the beach in Savusavu.

 The Waitui marina in Savusavu. Not too fancy, but they have everything you need.

Gigi playing with a few of the Fijian kids.