We pulled in a remote part of Fiji, not as a scheduled stop, but as a safety stop for both our crew in rough seas and our boat in rough seas and to fix our main. We opted to put safety of the vessel and crew above governmental regulations and customs. We are rested, fed, hydrated, the sail is back in the track, and we are heading off again. But the guy on shore, Moses, didn't seem like he knew the check-in procedure and if we could have carried on to the check-in spot, we could have carried on to Vanuatu. This was not a formal stop, more of a layover. If we laid over in Suva, we would have checked-in. Due to our remote and spontaneous location, there was no possible way to do so unless the officials took it upon themselves to come to us (which, quite honestly, we were hoping was not going to happen). But if it did, we certainly had our reasons to be here and would have explained them.
Had we gone to shore today, not saying we did, but had we, we would have had a delightful day!!! A local man Moses may have come in a kayak this morning to our boat to visit and invited us to shore. We would have showed him the boat, the issue with the sail and thanked him. We finished breakfast, did school, fixed the sail, and at this point our day would have been open to go to shore if that was what we would have done. If we would have, we would have met a delightful man Moses and his wife Luci. He would invite us into his house, hand built after hurricane Ivan wiped through here. Made of corrugated steel and 2x4s. Woven mat as a flooring and beautiful cloth as curtains to hide the bedroom. This whole house would be maybe 15 feet x 15 feet. Another open structure, but with a roof for cooking all meals on fire and a third building with corrugated steel enclosure, but no door for an outhouse. Curiously the opening where a door might go faced nicely toward the common area where people hang out. But hey, maybe there aren't so many visitors . . .
We might then tour the area. There are 3 houses and 7 family members there (but many children who aren't counted in that head count we were initially given). Moses has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. One brother recently passed away and was buried on the land. The parents are also living there; so one brother who lives "in the city" is out here for the summer helping the parents since they are aging some. They live on total sustenance farming and showed us all around the area. Much of their meals appear to be yucca root based and catching of fish or lobsters. Then they have coconuts, bananas, papayas, breadfruit, limes, mangos and some super hot chili peppers!!! He might have picked a bunch of fresh limes for us from his tree. Then showed us his yucca plantation that he grows more than his family can eat and he gives it to the villagers at the local village nearby since they don't have the land to farm like he does. He doesn't believe in selling food. They would have knocked some coconuts out of the tree for us and cut them open with a machete to drink. Then they would have given us a stalk of bananas to take to the boat and we would go back for quiet time.
We would have lunch, go to shore to burn our garbage at a secluded beach, bake cookies, and then return to shore to share with them the nice fish he just caught. We brought them flour, sugar, rice and corned beef (local favorites) as well as some kid's clothes for their nieces and nephews and some homemade cookies. Luci could have cooked us up a lovely local meal of smoked fish as well as (I can't remember the local word, but ceviche) basically raw fish in limejuice, salt, and chilies. It was quite nice!! Moses may have cut his foot running after a stray dog that was chasing his goats this morning, so I would have cleaned it up, put a stitch in it, dressed it with antibiotic cream, and wrapped it in a torn up old sheet we had. We would then dress it in a grocery bag and bring him and Luci to the boat for a tour and an evening visit. Serve them some ice cream, learn more about the Fijian way of life and their personal experiences, then bring them back home in the dinghy and pull up anchor to carry on for our bumpy ride to Vanuatu.
Or then again, we may have stayed on the boat with our quarantine flag up and told stories like these to each other that we read in the compendium guide . . . Life is only perceived through the eyes of it's beholders . . . But if this might have happened for us for one day in Fiji, it might have been a really great day after 9 days at sea . . . (and with 3-4 more rough ones ahead).
Kim and I are now solidly hydrated for 3-4 nauseating days on "The Goliath". And we're off . . .
Shannon
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