We spent the first 2 nights near the pass, then moved a about a mile away to the sandspit. The catamarans went first to scout out the path. Most of the route was 14 feet deep, but with a few scattered coral heads, so still challenging for us. We followed Fluenta who only radioed us once to raise concern that they just went over a 6.5 foot patch (we draw 7.8 feet).
Once securely settled into the new anchorage, the kids went ashore to scout out the area for camping. It was Sunday, so they would have to wait a day for setting up camp as the villagers had expressed that they did not want camping on the Sabbath. That just gave them more time to plan. When they set up camp the next day, they didn't leave for 3 nights. On shore they made campfires, cooked meals, climbed coconut trees for food and drink, made shelters out of palm fronds, wove mats, carved spears, cut various things with the machetes, and of course did normal kid beach activities like make sandcastles, swim, and kayak. It was amazing to see how they got along so well and delegated various activities. They didn't ask the parents for anything, we of course brought them food and water every so often, but I'm sure they would have gone a long time without asking.
The second night we had a potluck on the beach with all the adults and kids. I figured that way at least the kids had 1 solid meal that day, and all the adults got to hangout together for the first time in months. Hans made sure that we had a roaring bonfire (there is always one pyro in the group).
On Wednesday Tim organized a scavenger hunt on the beach for the kids. Among the things they had to find were a live crab, 5 drinking coconuts (for the adults), something to eat and prove it was edible (not a coconut), make a bow and arrow, make a hammer, make a fishing pole, weave a mat, … It was girls against boys, and the girls narrowly defeated the boys, with Gigi's homemade items making the difference. She made the fishing pole, bow and arrow, and wove the mat. She really got into making things on the beach, and separate from the scavenger hunt she made a very solid shelter with wood supports lashed with bark from the pandamus tree with palm frond roof and walls.
That evening after dinner all the adults went over to Nautilus for drinks without children. From each other we learned some snippets of the kids' social life. Alex (13 years old) and Brendan (12) from Exodus have 2 of the girls in love, and they had each stolen a kiss or 2 in truth or dare. The rest of the kids are too young to be interested and Gigi told me that kissing a boy was disgusting. Phew, we are safe for a little longer! Axel said there were a few dares for kisses towards him but they were all grossed out and refused to do it. Trust me he was glad he didn't get kissed.
I think all the kids slept on the beach the first night, but they tapered off after that. Axel stayed on board Tuesday night and Gigi on Wednesday. It was a lot of activity for all of them, and it was cute to see how they actually appreciated a little quiet time away from all their friends.
On Thursday, Axel and I went into the village for lunch and fruit buying. For lunch we had chicken rotis, followed by Ma's fabulous chocolate cake, this time the cake had pink frosting. Since there were so many boats in the anchorage, the ladies of the village organized a sale of warm food for lunch and some fruits and eggs to take back to the boat. They raised about $100 for the local school. They probably get about 4 opportunities a year to do something like this, so I thought it was extremely resourceful of them. In addition to lunch, we bought some food to bring back to the boat, but Ma generously gave us oranges and a pumpkin in a carrying basket she wove.
The villagers are extremely generous, so they organized to have a picnic with us the next day on the sandspit. They not only wanted to make food for us, but they showed us how to catch the fish with a net, catch the land crabs and find the clams. The lady that got the clams was amazing. All the ladies wear dresses or skirts, so she put on a mask and snorkel, while still wearing her dress, walked straight into the water and started digging in the sand for the clams. She emerged from the water a few minutes later completely wet with many clams wrapped in the bottom of her skirt.
The picnic was a feast. We had cassava, taro and bread cooked in a lovo (under the sand fire oven). The land crabs were steamed, and the taste was incredible, a little messy, but that has never slowed me down with crabs. The fish was cooked in coconut milk, the clams steamed by the fire, and the yachties brought food to share also. All the food was eaten on plates that were weaved from palm fronds.
The next day, Saturday, we had our host family out for lunch on Nirvana. I made trevally in veracruzano sauce and Ma brought more awesome chocolate cake. I am sure they enjoyed themselves, but I think it might have been a lot for them to see Nirvana. When we had lunch Ma said she was more comfortable sitting on the floor instead of at the table. Her husband is a school teacher, so he is more worldly, but I don't think Ma has even seen much of Fiji. Her children are polite, but her daughter, Sala, was a little giddy, I think she was not always sure how to take in the things around her. Gigi pulled out a puzzle and they enjoyed playing with that together. Then we brought them to the beach and Gigi and her friend Victoria took Sala out in a small sailing dinghy. She was having a blast until the wind instantly rose to about 20+ knots. Even our girls were kind of concerned. I went out to rescue, and Gary decided it was the right time to take the family back to the village.
Today, Sunday, they invited us to church, but we had to decline. After many days in a row, and many hours each visit, we thought that we needed a little quiet family time. Although we felt a little bad when our friends from Fluenta came back with a large container of food from Ma.
Tomorrow, I am hoping to get to the pass for more snorkeling and Gary wants to spearfish. It has been many days since I have snorkeled, since we have had such a busy social schedule. We still haven't decided when we will leave Fulaga. We are still enjoying it and we have lots of canned food. We have very few veggies, but I think I can stretch them for another week. We are down to 1 carrot, 1 radish, a small amount of cabbage, 2 eggplant, a pumpkin and potatoes.
Cheers,
Julie
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