Home Safe and Sound

Thanks all Blog readers for following these adventures.  More adventures to come in Sardinia soon.

Here is a part of my Reception Committee today.

Great views

Drove and hiked up Puka Peak for views of the Coromandel

Found a new marina at Whangamata.

And Historic Gold Mines where I walked the trails and tracks.

And beautiful country views

Lovely Views in Tairua

Followed the coast today with low clouds and showers, some strong winds.  Good day to be in a car winding my way through twisted mountain roads, stopping at viewpoints for a quick look.

 

In better weather, Whitianga would have many things to do which would require a longer visit.  I parked at one end of town and walked the streets during a break in the rain.

Drove to Hot Water Beach where the surf pounds in to make the beach unsafe except at low tide.  But at low tide, the adventurous will dig down in the sand and create a hot water bath from two springs above the low water line.  In the water, life guards will mark the only area safe for swimming.  As the tide changes, the whole beach is soon closed to all including waders.  The tide was incoming and the life guards were gone when I arrived yet people ignored the signs and walked out on the sand.  The surf pounds in with a foam that resembles the wash machine rinse cycle.

The weather did not encourage me to drive much further and I was fortunate to find a lovely spot at Blue Water Motel in the very fine town of Tairua.  See http://www.bluewatermotel.co.nz/  I have a very comfortable studio room.  I have been lucky finding great places.

I had steak and onions for dinner in a pub just a short walk away.  There are some great viewpoints here so photos will be taken if the clouds lift.

Keeping to the Left in NZ

Better to become more faniliar with oncoming traffic on my right while driving in the country than in downtown Auckland.  So I have headed south away from the city on the secondary roads that weave through farm land or follow the coast. I am spending Monday night in a comfortable cabin in Coromandel.  This is a friendly small town built around an intersection.  Countryside of beautiful green hills, steep hills, that roll to the sea.  Heavy overcast and wind with showers all day.  The Fiji storm is following me.  Forecasts on the television indicate that the next few days will have very forceful winds here on the north Island.  The south island is doing well but I do not have time to get there.  I'm off to Whitianga tomorrow and have a plan that will let me stay dry while seeing as much country as possible and return to Auckland Friday mid afternoon.  That will be Good Friday.

The GPS speaks to me in a calm male voice and it knows I need to keep left.  I'll come home either totally ambidextrous or totally dyslexic.  The hardest thing to remember is that the turn signal switch is on the right of the wheel and the wipers are on the left.  Waving a windshield wiper does not adequately indicate a planned turn.  But the wipers are running most of the time anyway.  If I turn around to go back for a photo, the GPS tells me to "please turn around (again) as soon as it is convenient".  Nice co-pilot.  But the more I stay on the right road, the quieter my assistant becomes.

Mum will remember driving all across Nova Scotia with this son promising morning coffee at the next stop.  Stops which we never found.  Same sort of thing here.  Eating spots are few and far between in rural New Zealand.

Revived and about to be Tourist

I am  sure you all know that it just takes a bit of sleep and food to revive me.  On the way back from breakfast, I rented a car with a GPS, got a map and have the promise of a tour expert who will speak about places to see in the lobby at 10 am.  So things are looking up.

The car rental is for 5 days and is quite reasonable.  I drop it off here at the Airport hotel on Friday and the hotel will drive me to the airport.  Sounds all very possible.

While Steve golfed, Ginny sent me some tips and Stefanie sent a website and I have many of your best wishes.  Thanks so much.  I'll take lots of photos although weather here is cloudy and cool.

I have filled my journal to the last page, better find another book.  So many stories that I have not been able to put into this blog.

Evacuated but Grounded in Auckland

I will send out the news now before I look at email as the access I have is limited to 200 mb and the inbox loading might tip the balance.

Camped last night in the Nadi Airport as the storm raged outside.  Lots of campers and it looked like I would be doing that again tonight as again all attempts to fly out were cancelled.  At one point we were told that they could not bring the big planes in and they would try to get us out by using smaller planes.  But then they could not fly either.  Meanwhile people were hiring a helicopter for $500 to fly them from their respective lodges to the airport.  Helicopters always flying.
Late in the day, Air Pacific organized an evacuation flight of all Auckland bouund ticket holders for any airline and they brought in a 747-400 which was filled.  Apparently all who needed to go were on this flight including me.  I got dinged $75 for heavy luggage as Air Pacific has lower limits than Air New Zealand.  But weather forecasters felt that the next wave to hit Nadi could become a cyclone.  What with wind, flood and more rain, Nadi is pretty beaten up.

Arrived New Zealand and cleared customs by midnight.  Air New Zealand counter was useless and could not discuss rebooking as it is done through some other agency on their behalf.  However, we were given a 1-800 number to call in the morning.  While I know that rebookings can happen quickly or at least one might need to act quickly, being away at a hotel will not help and many of the campers, including myself were prepared to camp again.  But one man suggested that I try the number now as he got through and got all his details given him.

So I did the same but the whole thing took until 1:30 am.  Bottom line is I have the same schedule but there is no available flight for me until April 6 (Friday).  So it looks like I have 5 days in New Zealand!
To do anything sooner would cost me $1222 extra on the ticket already purchased.  I'm too tired to go into all the argument about that.  Suffice to say I will be home April 6 under this plan.

Right now I am at the Airport Gateway Hotel, which is like a Traveller's Inn but OK at $79 NZ per night.  So Brian, if you see this, perhaps you could ask Steve to email some affordable suggestions of places to see in Kiwi land.  I have never been here before and have yet to see it in daylight.

Almost 2:30 am I am totally wiped and heading for bed.

Flight Cancelled

Actually, It is April 1 here.  But no April Fools

Just another hurdle in the Olympics of Life.  The large planes cannot land now in Nadi under the present conditions.  So no flight 57 from Air New Zealand.  All other carriers cancelled too.  They are trying to bring in smaller planes but there is a backlog from several large plane cancellations for the last threedays.  This may take a while.  Of course 'business class' will get the first planes.

Obviously I will not make my connection from Auckland to Vancouver.

But at least my home has not been washed away like so many of the poor folk working here who are taking all kinds of abuse from other nationalities wanting their flight.  Canadians, for the most part will wait in line.

Still raining hard and very windy.

Just now told that all flights from Auckland to Nadi have been cancelled, even smaller planes, therefore no point in standing in line, I'll go back to the lounge and try to secure my camping spot.

See you all some day.  I have lots of clothes, money for food, snack bar close by campsite and washroom with a single shower.  No line-up to use it this morning.

Expensive to buy internet time which I can get in one hour blocks.

D

I really cannot believe what I have just done.

I was persuaded by one of the staff at Tubaluka, Aneal, to wait until he ws off duty at 4:00 p.m. and he would drive me to Nadi Airport or as close as we could get.  It wason his way home and he has Sunday off.  But I grew concerned as reports of flooding trickled in over the radio.  At the same time reports of road and bridge washouts were mixed with stories of quick repairs.  So the longer I waited to leave (I could have my room as long as I wanted) the more repairs could be made.  The bridge at Nadi still stood but the south approach was washed out crews were apparently dumping truck loads of rocks in an attempt to provide a foot crossing.  Presumably then a taxi would pick you up on the other side.  But the other side was the town of Nadi which one must pass through to get to the airport. 

Air Pacific sent a fax to all hotels saying all flights were cancelled from Nadi due to weather.  But I am flying Air New Zealand.  Same weather though.  Finally I got through to Air New Zealand and while their Friday flights were cancelled, they planned to fly Sunday.

Aneal and I left shortly after 4.  The staff were very concerned and just added to the heavy cell phone traffic that Aneal took while bounding through driving rain.  Just before 6 we reached the washed out Nadi River Bridge.  I could see that there would soon be enough rocks in place to provide a foot path and I hauled my bags through the rain to the working backhoe.  When I figured that what the policeman said was Fijian for "white man test it first" I was quickly across and onto the bridge deck.  But no taxis on the other side.  Just flooded streets.  I waded several blocks with muddy water swirling around my knees stepping carefully to avoid potholes.  A few blocks out into town two young lads came to aid the struggling old man.  It seems there isd a 6 pm curfew and the boys were breaking curfew to help.  They told me that high tide would force the flood waters to peak in an hour and it would get higher.  I'm sure I sounded pretty lame when I said "I'm looking for a hotel hopefully near the airport".  What was left of town was boarded up.  Last night's waters covered windows in the bank and collapsed them.  The lads helped me carry my heavy bag.  I wore my carry-on like a back pack.  They took me to the police station where I gave them a good reward each and the police excused their curfew violation as I said they had certainly saved my bacon.  The flood waters had been five feet higher where I was asked to wait and the police would find me a ride to an airport area hotel.  As they did that, they also excused the lads in the back seat to ride in the open pick-up box.  The rain had lessened.

So much devastation.  We've seen the photos, but it really brings it to life to wade through it with all your own possessions in hand.

However, with all the flight cancellations so far, the airport area hotels are full.  Called on them all.  Know that I am now camped out in the airport for the night along with many who have been here for several nights.  Only minutes left on my internet time.  If my plane flies tomorrow, I am safely here in the airport and I will be on it.

Blog entry March 29/30 Warning – Contents may be offensive

Well, only to Judi perhaps.  Today I was hanging out with a Boa Constrictor.  Or rather it was hanging onto me, around my neck.  Not something I do every day, but I trusted my guide who said she (the snake) was just a youngster and not poisonous.  It was just one of many highlights.  Now ladies you probably already knew this, but I discovered that you can tell the sex of male iguanas by looking into their ear.  If you look through the skull toward the other ear of a male iguana, you see light!  All this and some fantastic parrots, other birds, fish, turtles in the Fijian forest setting of the Kula Ecopark.  It is a fantastic education center for all ages.  When feeding tuna to turtles, let go of the tuna first.  So many valuable lessons.  There are 5 species of parrot that are specific to five separate Fiji islands.  You discern their address by their colouring.  So why don’t they just fly away and mix up the species?  It seems they like it at home.  There are over 300 islands that make up Fiji.  But to save all species from extinction, next time I see a mongoose on the highway, I’m told to run over it!

Big spark and bang thunderstorm last night.  Just the topping on an evening that was not going well.  I thought I had some kind of jungle fever.  Probably had more to do with a very poor late lunch in Sigatoka which left me so queezy that I did not cook dinner.  Power was off anyway.  So I was straight into a comfortable bed to sweat it out.  Once the thunderstorm and torrential rain began, I gave up hope of a Canadian Forces Medi-Vac.  By morning, with the help of two Tylenol, I cooked bacon & eggs with potato and two cups of tea; then at least a litre of water.  The restorative drink!

It has been much cooler today, heavy overcast and windy all day and I was preparing myself to hunker down with a book.  Recharged my Kobo.  Recharged myself too.  But when no rain appeared by noon, I ventured out.

I was sufficiently revived to walk the short distance to Kula EcoPark.  I had lunch when the turtles were fed except my tuna was cooked.  And tonight I cooked chicken with onions (non-Fijian way, I removed the bones before cutting it into small pieces), classic North American mixed vegetables and potato.  I could only buy what I could use up in three days.  I’ll donate the leftover cooking oil.

So now I feel much better and this should be a good (Thursday) night.  The plan is to spend Friday night here, move to Nadi for Saturday night, reorganize my flight bag and day bag and fly to Auckland, Vancouver and home all on Sunday, arriving only 4 hours after I left Fiji.  Yes, I am aware of the date and I will be extra careful.

Watch out next time you dine with me, I now possess a genuine Fijian cannibal fork.  Certainly takes the uncertainty out of chopsticks.

The rain that started as soon as I returned from Kula Park developed into a full storm which raged all night.  Torrential rain and strong winds.  Of course this would have been the time when I would be off the boat anyway, but nevertheless glad to not be at sea last night.  In fact, boats in Savusavu Bay were moving off the docks and onto mooring buoys to ride out the storm that they could see coming this weekend.  Always a great discussion as to which weather service was the better or who was best at interpreting grib lines.

This morning the power is off so this blog as well as the last one, may be sent later.  Hardly seems smart to take the bus into Sigatoka in the pouring rain to see if they have power.  I have recharged my Kobo yesterday, so I can just curl up in the mist and read.  It is the kind of day that needs a west coast fireplace.  They do not exist here.  The cabin is rather dark with the heavy clouds.  I had to use a flashlight to chase out a toad that hopped aboard when I slipped out with the garbage.  Toto had enough of the rain, even for a toad, and required the gentle coaxing of an egg flipper to get out the door before more mates arrived.

And still it rains…

Blog Entry March 28 BC Ferries rides again

The extra dollars for a cabin on the Princess Lomaivitti was well worth it.  It was even better when the crying child across the hall finally fell asleep.  My cabin had its own clean sink and toilet which is worth the fare alone.  Port side window with a view of a black sea, comfortable mattress if somewhat dodgy bedding, a place to plug in chargers that worked and even a phone to the Purser which I did not try.  It was a lumpy crossing and by 7 am I was up in the Coastal Café for breakfast.   Canadians should never complain about BC Ferries food.   Sausage and eggs was all that was available, or I could have taken the cold pancakes.  But my choice was cold as well.  While we would be docked in Suva shortly after 9, I would then have my heavy bags to contend with and I needed to focus on finding a bus to Sigatoka.  I sipped tea as I had a table mid ships over the bow and could counter the roll of the sea much better by sitting there.

Docking was swift, the trucks were driven off, one newish Mitsubishi lorry was towed, and the passengers were released to the car deck to disembark.  I collected my heavy bags from the storage locker near the ramp just as the rain briefly stopped.  Perhaps it was the size of my bags but other cabbies ignored me except for “Big Joe”.  I asked big Joe for a bus to Sigatoka where my bags would stay dry, a feature lacking on the open “Chicken Busses”.   He agreed on a $5 price to find me my bus, or if the bus had gone for the day, to find a hotel.  He did not run his meter, but Big Joe did not disappoint and pulled up into the bus bay next to a luxurious modern highway coach.  It would not be possible to take photos through the window but it looked like it would rain all day anyway.  My bags were safe and dry and for $10.40 I would be dropped off at Tubakula Lodge.  I had selected that place from Lonely Planet, I don’t think it was the same place Vin & Annetta had recommended.  It would be about a 2.5 hour ride and would bring me more than half way to Nadi Airport. 

As predicted it rained the whole way.  I was concerned for how far I might have to carry my bags in the rain once I got off the bus.  But I have always been incredibly lucky.  The rain lessened, the bus stopped right at their gate and the office was a few steps away.

Then came the best surprise of all.  It certainly pays to travel in the ‘off season’.  For $26 a night, I could have a whole backpacker’s cabin to myself!  Accommodation for 5 with full bath and on-demand hot water, full kitchen with basic equipment, three burner propane stove.  Except for the expensive Palmlea Farms Resort, I have never had hot water for a shower in Fiji.  This pampered luxury is located among swaying palms on the beach with surf breaking over a reef.  The grounds include many cabins along concrete pathways, a pool, BBQ , hammock, a lounge as part of the reception.  Tough life!

I took the bus into Sigatoka, one of those Community busses we have in Sidney which takes a meandering route.  But it only costs a dollar.  I bought groceries for cooking in my kitchen and as I was feeling very tired and weak, I stopped for a late lunch.  Very disappointing, I’ll do better with my own cooking.  I had been warned that there is not much in Sigatoka.  There is a very picturesque Hindu temple and a sugar cane narrow gauge railway that runs on an elevated berm through the town.

Just before dinner we lost our power for about an hour and during the night, a crash-bang thunderstorm that shook the cabin.  But all is well. I could happily stay here until Sunday morning and take the 10 am bus which would get me to the airport in plenty of time.  But I should not put that much faith in the arrival of one bus so I will leave Tubakula (a short distance from Sigatoka) Saturday and find yet another place to stay in Nadi.  Folks have told me that there is not much to see in Nadi but at least I will then be within a short taxi ride to the airport.

If it had not been for the poor condition of the boat I was to sail, I would not have seen the Fiji that I have so appreciated. 

See you all soon, and yes of course, there are more stories that have not been typed into this blog. J

Flooding in Fiji

A quick note before my bus goes back to TubaKula Resort south of Sigatoka.  I've been there three days but unable to get blogs out.  You'll have to wait for them til later. 

All of Sigatoka is closed due to flooding but the kind manager of a hotel higher above the raging river granted me a few minutes in his office.

Road to Nadi and the airport was washed out this morning but apparently is now back in service.  Hopefully this is the worst of the rain and no bridge will be washed out between Sigatoka and Nadi.

I am fine and doing my best to keep my options open, leaving a day's grace if I don't make it to Nadi tomorrow (Saturday), I could still go Sunday morning.

In case you are hearing reports of Fiji flooding, I wanted to reassure you, I am fine.

Don

Mud Bath

I took a morning ride on the scooter to try and get some more scenic shots.  But the weather followed me and clouds obscured the best views.  During one downpour, the inhabitants of a bus shelter waved me in to join them, making room for both me and the bike under the roof.  Two ladies stuck up a conversation and were very friendly and we exchanged our stories.  Turned out they were two Jehovah's Witnesses on a mission to save my soul.  However, the rain subsided and I could gracefully depart with my soul intact.

Perhaps their prayers for me helped.  The scooter had a pretty bald back tire and performed poorly on wet roads.  It also had no mirror, broken speedometer and no fuel gauge.  So good that I only had it for 24 hours.. 

Readers concerned about my ability to float will marvel at my grace in quick sand.  As a last activity after surrendering my scooter at noon, I was invited by a predominantly British group, many young volunteers with Geo Force (UK) to share a cab ride to The Hot Springs.  (The Hot Springs beside my hotel is just a bubbly hole in the ground.  For this one I was told to bring a swim suit.)  It was a special spot that Kirsten, the Peace Corp volunteer knew about.  Soon there were eight of us going and the cabbie would need his bigger cab.  Freely translated, that meant a pick-up truck with cardboard in the back, where Ian, Zora and I bounced along.  The driver asked that we close the back cover when we drove past the police station!

Eventually we stopped at the side of the road where a slippery muddy trail lead steeply downward to a nearby hot springs pool.  All approaches are through mud.  Oliver slipped and he may never get the mud out of his pants.  It is just a pool in the forest.  Nothing more.  Change into a suit behind a (wide) palm tree and crawl in.  Some places you can stand and others you sink to your waist in mud.  Photos were taken and will have to follow later.  Red mud all around but black mud at the bottom.  Very warm and relaxing.  Some of the ladies were so mellow afterwards they were heading for a massage.

But the muddy crew that piled into the taxi was a sight to behold.  I was glad to be in the back.  The driver took us to a warm water river spring where we could all wash off in the bubbly spring, one at a time and rinse in the river.  Then back to Savusavu.  At the yacht club I could get yet another shower and feel clean again.

I've said goodbye to many friends many times but we keep finding each other on the street or the Yacht Club.

Rumours of a storm of cyclonic proportions seem unfounded although the weather has been very changeable today.

I'll now walk back to the yacht club, have dinner, get a cab, pick up my bags at the hotel and head for the Princess Lomaivitti at 7:00 pm

Fiji Wins

Blog entry March 26

The big news here has to be that Fiji won the International “Sevens” Rugby Tournament held this weekend in Hong Kong.  24 national teams took part.  Canada was there but did not fare as well.  Fiji played long-time rival, New Zealand, in the final winning 35/28.  Many of us watched it in the hotel lobby last night.

The streets of Savusavu are empty on Sunday as most businesses are closed.  So it was a kind of lazy, read-a-book day.  Shopping for souvenirs on Saturday continued to be frustrating as it is hard to find something here that is typically Fijian.  Anybody want a taro root?  That is the main product.  Or kava, but since that is a mild narcotic, I cannot bring it home.  The bundle of kava being off loaded from the bus is worth about $300 Fijian.

Sunday night was my last Fijian buffet and music night.  It is held at the Waitui Club which is a rustic Fijian bar and kitchen with a deck over the water.  I was the envy of many of the guys as some of the ladies posed for a farewell photo.  Some of our friends come for the music and socializing but avoid the Fijian buffet, refusing to eat anything they cannot pronounce.  I figure that if I get to the buffet as soon as it comes out before the flies have at it, it could be better for me than most restaurant food.  The deck over the water is useful, it is where people clean off their plates!

I picked up some interesting advice on where to go once I leave here on the ferry Tuesday night for Viti Levu, the ‘big island’.  There was more conversation with folk and less singing.  My Lonely Planet is very useful and because it is a recent edition, many want to borrow it.

Hope to do some exploring today and tomorrow before I leave Savusavu.  

Just in case you are all worried that Don will have a strip of white skin after his first haircut at home, I visited a barber this morning.  He was going to charge me $4, but when I took off my hat, he offered $3.  Anyway, one of the best haircuts I have been given anywhere and I gave him $5.  That would be about $3.50 Canadian where I could pay up to $20 at home.

Glad to hear that Mum is enjoying this blog and I will try and add some photos to keep it interesting.

 My Monday Transportation - sun & rain!

Return from Palmlea Farm Resort

Living at Palmlea Farm Resort, Julie and Joe Smelser are now retired from their life at sea.  During their sailing years, they acquired “Apogee” a 40’Beneteau, one that was specially built for her previous owner.  That owner sailed her to Spain in horrible conditions and he was forced there to buy his wife a new land-based home and sell the yacht.  Joe got quite a deal.  Joe is an architect by profession and he and Julie are both certified captains.  Joe is now 76 and content to be living on the estate he designed and built himself.  He is proud to say that he used Fijian and Indo-Fijian labour from the neighbouring villages and built it to suit the skills of his labour force.  They appear to have a loyal staff of Fijians to staff their resort of four bures, extensive gardens and family of goats.  Julie was like a proud grandma as she announced that while all her female goats were pregnant, one had just given birth.  This is supposed to be the dry side of the island but February / March weather has been unusually wet.  A downpour during the afternoon proved the point.  The roads are deeply rutted and the road into Palmlea was cursed by my taxi driver as I came up from Labasa.

Labasa itself is very much an Indo-Fijian commercial strip of shops, just as Lonely Planet describes it.  I took photos only of a school and the 2’ narrow gauge railway line that supports the sugar cane mill.  No sign of any of the rolling stock.  I had a fish and chip lunch at a place which advertised itself as a cyber café but did not actually have internet access.  From there I negotiated a $25 taxi ride to Palmlea Farms Resort.

Joe welcomed me and I quickly told him that I had come at the suggestion of Vin & Annetta.  Joe immediately knew their boat.  A group of four were just finishing up their lunch as they had to quickly return to the Sun Princess before the last boat at 4:30.  Young adventurous folk obviously well informed of good things to do while in port.  Not sure how they got their car over the last part of the road.

The resort's 240 volt power is supplied by solar panels and batteries.  In the evening, they use a very quiet generator for a few hours, but there is enough power in the batteries to run a fan all night.  My bure looks out over the gardens, fields, palm trees, the mangrove along the water’s edge and the sea.  It is a 10 minute walk to the dock where, in season, many visiting dinghies will approach from anchored yachts that have successfully negotiated the reefs.  Below the deck chairs and hammocks is a 15 metre lap pool surrounded by lush vegetation and flowers.  As I was the only guest, their season doesn’t really start for a few weeks, Julie and Joe joined me for dinner.  Breakfast is included in the room rate but other meals are not.  They have a good varied menu and everything is made or grown on site. 

Ants are a problem most places.  As soon as man has built a wooden structure, ants begin to destroy it.  All wood must be treated in the tropics.  Untreated pine will last 14 months only.  Joe uses vinegar to keep ants out of the bures with some success.  Joe does not like pesticides and says that repeated vinegar every week works as well.  Not sure of the origin of the ants that are crawling through this computer but I will be importing all my clothes and goods into my home very carefully.  I will also stop at a store and get some vinegar for my hotel room.

Joe had the bus times written on a piece of paper and calculated when they would pass the end of their road.  Julie drove me to meet the 1:30 bus and dropped me off at the Indo-Fijian store at the junction.  Problem was there is no 1:30 bus, it actually left at 12:30 and while I left Palmlea early, I had missed the 12:30 bus.  But I had a book to read and could wait in the shade of the store for what the locals thought might be 3 hours.  However, my presence on the porch of the store was a concern and a curiosity to many and different ones would emerge from the store to find out why I was there and then report back inside.

I moved up the road to a point where I could sit on a curb in the shade.  The bus, when it came would be on the other side of the street but it was too hot to sit there.  Several local busses passed but none to Savusavu.  I was, however, still attracting some attention.  I was camped outside a high school where kids came out to play soccer.  I was about to pull out my camera when an official looking man approached the school fence and asked why I was waiting there.  I know a Principal when I see one.  I explained that I had missed my bus and fortunately he told me that there would soon be a white mini-bus coming by that would go to Savusavu.  It would not be marked in any way but was part of the bus system.  At that moment, a white van crested the hill, I grabbed my stuff, thanked the man for his advice and dashed across to street and flagged down the van.  I do have such incredible good luck!  I was squeezed into the last seat at the back of a 10 passenger van.  Later we would have 14 on board.

Fijian men will sometimes strike up a conversation but women will not.  I met Pio on the bus on the way to Labasa.  He was a well travelled and well educated industrial electrician.  Also very religious, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.  He would have me converted before we hit the last pot hole in the road.  Never let your tongue pass between your teeth as you speak as you will bite yourself on the next bounce of the bus.  So except for the Indo-music blasting through the rear speakers, the van ride was  both quieter and smoother, devoid of conversation, sandwiched between two shy Fijian women.

I will have to look hard to find any Fijian music.  This hotel plays mostly American music, Simon and Garfunkel at the moment.  Indian music is loud in the shops.

Clouds continue to roll in.  One heavy downpour as I enjoyed an omelette breakfast from the deck of the Hot Springs Hotel.  If I can see my way clear to walk to town between showers, I will send this blog.

Boules tournament again this afternoon at the yacht club, a last chance to connect with many new friends.  There will be others at Sunday’s music night at Waitui Club which is just down the hill from this hotel.  If the weather is good Monday, I will consider renting a scooter and going back over the Labasa road to take photos of some stunning views that I could not get from the bouncing bus or the crowded van.

Saturday is a busy day on the streets of Savusavu.  In the bay, children are learning to sail on Lasers.  Cols and showers roll through but there is always a way to duck out of the rain.

Dropbox

If you are reading this and do not have access to my Dropbox of photos, and would like them, send me an email, dcraigmyle@shaw.ca.  I will need your address to give you access to the Dropbox.  Just be careful to not drag photos out of the Dropbox, simply copy any you want to keep and paste them to your own folder.  Dragging them out means that they are lost to everyone else.

Climb Every Mountain ...

... ford every stream. Follow every muddy road til ... you find Palmlea!

Sorry to all who will now be humming a tune that won't quit.  The bus route out of Savusavu literally goes over the mountains but almost impossible to get a photo due to the rough ride.  Bus broke down on a steep hill and I do have a photo of one fellow under the bus fixing it, then off we went again.

Labasa (Pronounced Lambassa) is pretty much a one street town of Indo-Fijian businesses.  Hard to find anything really Fijian, you can find the same things on one side of the Fraser River.

Treating myself to a night at Palmlea Lodge.  I am the only guest tonight and my bure is now ready.  If you go to http://www.palmleafarms.com you should find out all about this place.  Just has a huge downpour of rain but that has now stopped.  Time to freshen up, have a swim in the pool.

Back to Savusavu tomorrow.

Drop Box Warning

It would appear that someone with access to Drop Box is mistakenly removing the photos as fast as I put them in.  Please COPY the photo, do not drag them out of the box..

Back in Savusavu

Blog entry March 21                                         

Dear Reader,

You are now so far behind, I am not sure what I can do to catch you up.  My last epistle of March 15 could not be sent as my Savusavu Hot Springs Hotel base is having technical difficulties.  And since that time I have been away from civilization except for a brief message sent from Taveuni as I kept an eye on the bus stop.  So much has happened.  So many new friends made along the way.  Such, could I say, rustic conditions I have lived in and none the worse for wear.

If you visualize some of those photos you may have seen of tropical corrugated metal shanties on stilts all propped up amid a jungle of tall palms and squat taro plants with free running chickens, dogs and pigs, then you will know where I ate my first Fijian dinner and slept on my first night on Taveuni.  All at the invitation of the man, Pela, who agreed to drive me to the end of the road to see a place called Lavena.  And as my accommodation at Lavena required that I bring a few foodstuffs, I needed to return with Pela to close to where we started.  He insisted that I come to his house.  I recalled a similar invitation in Croatia which worked out very well.  I was not to know until I arrived that he was a poor taro farmer with a borrowed truck who lived a very basic life and wanted this gringo to see it.  I was also not to know that before we could have the meal for which I purchased the ingredients, we would attend a Fijian funeral, the first part of a two day affair where the squealing pig we picked up at a relative’s farm (just how many relatives lived in those metal shanties?) would be sacrificed for the funeral feast and cooked in a rolo, a fire pit where hot rocks cook the pig and the taro.  We would sit in a circle as prayers, presumably, were mumbled and kava was drunk.   As a guest, (who is that white man?  I heard ‘Kanata’ a few times), I was given the first kava to drink.  It is about as palatable as drinking mud.  So far I have had it twice with no ill effects.  Rude to refuse and don’t screw up your face either.

Eventually I was taken to Pela & Sera’s home where they live with two boys and a girl.  They are just down a slippery slope from Sera’s Mom’s house.  The latter was spared in the last hurricane of 2010 but Pela’s place was levelled.  Could have more to do with construction techniques than plain luck.  Mom cooked the dinner while we were at the funeral.  Mom’s ‘kitchen’ is detached from her three room wood siding cabin, next to the latrine and shower for the whole extended family.  I resolved to drink even less before going to wherever my bed would be.  As it was pouring rain, I was to squeeze into small boots and dash up the hill to eat my dinner with Mom.  Mom did not remove the chicken bones from the breasts I bought before she cut the up in small pieces and added curry.  I would just have to filter the bones out with my teeth.  Still everything was well cooked and tasted fine.  Back into the boots a slither down the hill with 5 year old Elisabeth as my guide.  There were more people in the house than before when I finally got the boots off.  Always barefoot in a Fijian house, no matter what the condition of the floor.  But I was given my own mattress on the floor in my own room complete with a mosquito net with only a few holes in it.  I had my LED flashlight, there is no power except for a solar light in the ‘great room’ where everyone else would sleep.  And I actually had a good sleep.  When I bought the dinner supplies, I also bought some food to use at the Lavena village center.  That would also be my breakfast at Pela & Sera’s.  Sera was very kind and she could boil water for my tea which I had with me.  Pela had explained that his day started about 4 am with an hour of prayer and by 5 he would be out in the field planting taro.  By 8 am he was ready to drive me into town to catch a bus to Lavena.  I took a family photo to mail back.  After a quick internet blog, I boarded the bus.  You might refer to it as ‘the chicken bus’ but no livestock was aboard.  Some crop material, usually taro, would be thrown into the bins under the bus.  Roads are rough.  Passengers get on and off the bus as they move from village to village, school children use the same bus system.  The kindergarten children are so cute and get on and off at different stops during the noon hour as kindergarten is a half day program.  $5 would get me the 3 hour ride to Lavena, on the other side of the island and at the end of the road.  The road follows the coastline where possible.  Fijian settlements dot the route, usually located on a river running to the sea.  The last bus to arrive in Lavena, about 6 pm, is driven by an Indo-Fijian who has married into a Fijian family in Lavena.  This marriage is apparently very rare.  However, the Fijians at Lavena are a very accepting lot.  The driver stays overnight in his place in Lavena and drives the 6 am bus out in the morning.  That is how the upper level kids get to their school.  There is a primary school in Lavena with nice looking accommodation for the four teachers.  The only other bus out is the 11 am bus.  When I left on Tuesday morning, it was unusually full.

Lavena is Paradise Found.  Beautiful sandy beaches, all wonders of plant life, opportunity to walk, swim, snorkel, kayak, all in the context of a native Fijian village, not a resort.  The four room environmental center has a rustic kitchen for community use, rustic shower and toilet facilities indoor and three beds in each of the rooms.  The bed is a 4 inch foam on a wood frame.  There is a small sink in each room.  Power comes on with a generator from 6 to 10 pm, enough time to charge my camera battery.  An office opens and closes through the day run by a lovely and kindly Fijian woman , Sellina.  The cooperative project with the village has the help of a Peace Corp volunteer named Megan.  It was her friend and colleague, Kirsten, who suggested I contact Megan if I went to Taveuni.

When I arrived, I was the only guest.  My pick of rooms, my pick of beds.  The Fijian women of the village would prepare any meals you wished to order at $10 each.  The money goes to support the village church, school and special projects, all overseen by a council.  I would order dinners and had my own supplies for the other meals.  The dinners were real Fijian traditional fare.  Usually fish.  They have a lovely way of cooking octopus in coconut milk such that it has the texture of a coast salmon and is delicious.  I also had red snapper and on my last night, three parrot fish, like small trout.  Rourou is a leafy green which boils down like spinach and I’m sure was good for my iron levels.  Vudi  looks like an oversized banana slices except it cooks like a potato. 

When I saw the little kids out playing in the surf, I figured it was safe to go snorkeling and had a great time.  Would have been better if I still had my underwater camera.  And yes, the mustache disappeared to make the mask fit better and then on my first night at the hotel, I looked at the rest of it and shaved it off.  Beard gone.  Feels much better.

Sunday was even more restful than the other days at Lavena.  Everybody goes to the Catholic church, yet I heard no singing and never saw the church.  Guests are not to wander through the village itself and the church is tucked well away.  The school is obvious from the beach walk trail but guests are not to wander on the grounds. 

The Center is located on a point with beaches curving inland on either side.  I can hear the surf all night from my room.  The beaches are idyllic.  Just along from the center, “Blue Lagoon Two” was filmed.  On the point is a cabana where I would spend many hours sitting at the picnic table watching the surf, the sea, the weather, reading a novel from their library, enjoying a cup of tea (yes, a hot drink), eating and feeding Butch, the resident ‘Golden mutt’ who adopted me.

I really tried hard to record and remember the Fijian names of the people I met.  Simone was my guide for the coastal walk to the twin waterfalls.  I accomplished that 4 hour adventure on Monday.  I recorded what I could of the native plants.  Falavia and Avikali are older Fijian ladies who moved into room #4 after I arrived.  They were not really guests but came on a mission.  Falavia has been away from the village for 10 years but has many friends in Lavena.   She knows the two roots that you peel and pulp to make a cold medicine that also relieves rheumatism!  She has proof and I have photos of the process.  Avikali is a businesswomen in Suva who is determined to improve the lot for girls in Lavena village.  Most of the girls are unwed mothers by the time they are 18, some with more than one child.  Opportunities to leave the village, to get work or further education are nil.  So these two ladies worked with the leaders of the village to have 15 ladies removed from the village and taken to Suva where they will live together under their supervision and be given jobs.  Thirteen of the ladies left children behind in the care of grandparents.  Tuesday morning’s 11 am bus would begin their journey.  Six of the girls had never been off the small island.  I was also on that bus and the emotional send-off was very hard on many.  The young men will have to work the taro farms, fish and drink themselves silly on kava.

From the 3 hour bus ride, we were together on the Princess Lomaivitti (Q of PR) as far as Savusavu.  Falavia asked me to take a group photo of her and the girls on deck.  I will mail a copy from home.  I met a couple from Vancouver on an extensive diving holiday – Rainbow Reef is a world premier dive sight.  Chatted with a pair of German tourists, had dinner in the Coastal Café, dropped in on a Green Hornet movie on deck five and spent a wonderful time with a group of Fijian gospel singers on their way to a Catholic music event in Suva.  All that made the 4 hour ferry trip ($30) from Taveuni back to Savusavu, very enjoyable.

I was one of the few that got off the ferry at Savusavu about 7 pm.  It was just a short walk to the hotel where I could reclaim my bags and start typing this blog over a cold pint of Fiji bitter.  The internet here is still out so I will transfer this to a memory stick and see if I can send it in the morning.  Wednesday evening is ‘music night’ probably at the yacht club.  I’ll see about joining in before taking a side trip to Labasa.

Last comment – Taveuni just has to be one of the most beautiful islands in Fiji.  I am so glad I went there.  And if you think this is long and exhausting to read, my written diary is almost full.

The Ides of March and Independence Day

Blog for March 15 -

I packed all my gear into my airline bags and my knapsack.  I reluctantly paid Jim for 9 of the 19 days I was on his boat.  Five of those days were away from the dock with three overnights and it could be argued that 4 additional days could be expected of crew for preparing and cleaning up.  No pay for me for the work I had done as I had signed on as ‘unpaid crew’.  I was just glad to be away from the boat.  For Lynda, who had taken the night off, I left Jim a written list of the things that would need to be done to make Lynda safer while she stayed at the dock with the boat during April.  I could not just walk away without putting it in writing.  Apparently foreign boats are not subject to inspection so it was all I could do.  No help to get my bags off the boat or to carry them to the road where I hailed a taxi.  Jim was focussed on his computer screen; he forgets who carried that screen from America in his flight bag.

Left bags in the care of the Yacht Club who are always so obliging.  Checked out the Hot Springs Hotel which is close to town and am happy with the $55 room with ceiling fan and a view of Savusavu harbour.  Grabbed an early lunch as no breakfast was offered on the boat and then had a great time touring the town.  Converted $300 American returned by Jim to $512 Fijian.  Bought bus and ferry ticket to Taveuni for tomorrow morning and arranged a taxi to get me to the bus station.  Departs at 7 a.m.

Did some shopping for souvenirs but hard to find Fijian goods.  Mostly Chinese on Indian imports that could be purchased anywhere.  Perhaps somewhere else. 

I did find the Goundar Shipping office, a little hole in the wall with a painting of the Queen of Prince Rupert aka Lomaivitti Princess.  The agent, Kong, a delightful Chinese fellow, filled in some of the details of the boat.  He said George has fixed the first class air conditioning and I would be most comfortable if I would spring for an overnight cabin.  So I’ll pamper myself.  It’s gotta beat sleeping on the deck or the carpet.  That trip will be from Savusavu on March 27 to Suva March 28.  That should give me three days in Nadi before I fly out.

Meanwhile, I will go to Taveuni and stay there a couple of nights as the ferry (Grace Shipping) returns Sunday.  I have put together a calendar appendix in my diary so I can plan to see as much as possible without messing up any bookings or missing any boats.  The Savusavu Hot Springs Hotel will be my home base.  They will store my big bag when I am not here and provide me a room when I am.  Next week I will take a bus to Labasa where the Palmlea Lodge was highly recommended by Vin and Annetta.  www.palmleafarms.com and could be worth a short stay.

One of my shopping expeditions was for LED lights for Pegasus.  My boating friends may want to check the on-line catalogue for Bebi Electronics.  I bought their cockpit light and two Cabin lights.  The cockpit light just hangs on the boom and provides night light in the cockpit as well as being a very effective anchor light.  See www.bebi-electronics.com

I can buy an hour of internet time here so I have done my typing ahead of time.  Tough life though, the only place to access the internet is to sit in the bar gazing over the swimming pool and the view of the harbour.  I’ll give that a try now, and then go for dinner.

Connection would not work in the lobby.  Walked down the hill and came upon a Chinese food place at the corner.  While it did not look busy, I saw two figures waving me in and so joined Vin and Annette for what became a three course dinner with wine.   Good conversation about Taveuni and even more when Peace Corp volunteer Kristin dropped in and gave me names of people to see.

Returning up the steep driveway to the hotel, the internet is now not available because the girl has now left the desk.  This message will have to go later.

Taveuni

Just a few moments before the bus leaves for the end of the road at Lavena on the island of Taveuni.

Stayed last night as guest of a tarro farmer and his family.  Corrogated  metal home that you see photos of after hurricanes.  No power, no facilities.  But not polite to deny the hospitality.  Longer story later.

Heading beyond internet reach for 4 days but was unable to send last blog from Savusavu as the hotel connection did not work.

Main base is now the Hot Springs Hotel in Savusavu and I will be back there Tuesday.  This Island may be one of the most beautiful in Fiji.  Must work hard to find places to charge my camera battery.

Found this little internet spot near the "bus terminal" and while I type, they are charging my camera for a bit.

Beautiful country, weather and people.  Roads very rough and most things very basic, next to primitive sometimes.

Memorial Service

I have shaved off the mustache just before a morning snorkling venture to allow the goggles to fit better and did not take the time to properly tie in the waterproof camera.  Lost it to the deep.  I was annoyed that I let myself be rushed into splashing in before I was really ready.  Another lesson.  But I had already saved yesterday's photos at Split Rock.  Not a serious loss when I consider what other people here have lost recently.

Short but pleasant sail in light winds back from Split Rock anchorage to Savusavu.  Stopped Jim from taking apart the windlass as he figured it would be easier to hand crank if he took the cover off.  I had a mental image of parts flying everywhere.  Encouraged Jim to put it back together and try the windlass using the starter battery and the house batteries together on "both" setting with the engine running and everything else turned off.  It worked well which saved a lot of labour.  Used main and staysail as Jim will not put out the jib saying that it is "too fragile" due to UV damage.  Just one more broken part of this vessel.

Attended memorial service for Sean (corrected spelling) and Sharon at 5 pm this afternoon in the bar and deck below their second floor store.  Methodist minister, newly arrived, presided.  Memorial featured a few words from the minister, a very shy and soft spoken Fijian whose life was turned around by Sean & Sharon's employment with anecdotes from long time friends.  Memorial was held as their boat was being hauled up on land by two cranes for investigation.  Large tract of land taped off with "crime scene" tape.  Large crowd at the service, they were well liked.  Lived on their boat and operated a clothing and T shirt store here while employing 15 people in Suva to make the shirts.  Nobody knows what will happen to the compnay or the employees. 

Apparently Sean was quite a character and if anyone would come back from the dead to trick his friends it would be Sean.  So explained a fellow with a strong New Zealand accent as he made the point with a circle of his friends while asking me who I was.  Apparently, with the mustache off, many folk here think I look like Sean.  Oddly, Sean and Sharon's cat had wandered through the service and jumped up on my lap allowing itself to be petted before moving on.  The same fellows, on hearing of my boating woes, congratulated me for leaving the ship today.

Checked with the bus office on the way into town and it looks like a trip to Tavenui is quite possible.  In the morning I will secure my new base in Savusavu town and organize my plans so that I can see as much as possible and still make the April 1 flight from Nadi.  Thanks to all who have sent suggections of places to see.  My "Lonely Planet" book is a great guide and the other yacht folks residing here in the Bay have been most helpful.  Just as long, said Vin and Annette, as I come back to Savusavu for the Wednesday and Sunday night music evenings.  Lovely people here.

Lynda is with a friend tonight so I get the big bunk and Jim is still schmoozing at the yacht club.  After fish and chips at the yacht club ($9.50 Fijian), I took a taxi from town back to the dock.  $2.50 Fijian.  Can you believe it?  That would be about $1.50 Canadian and you can't step into a cab at home for that money.  Small wonder many Australian and New Zealand folks on pensions come here to live.  Your money goes further although expectations are lower, people live more simply but they all seem happy to be here.  You just need webbed feet.

Hope you get rid of the snow before I get home.

Become a back packer

Today I will reorganize my stuff and become a Fiji Back Packer once I find a suitable base.  I would like to explore tis island for a week and perhaps get to Tavenui by ferry then get back to explore the main islnd before making my way to the airport April 1.

I am running low on battery so this will have to be short.

Jim has finally accepted that his boat can go no further.  We are anchored off Split Rock not far from Savusavu and must return to port this morning.  Solar cells cannot keep you going on dead batteries.  I get a good refund which will help pay back packing expenses.

I did manage to get a few underwater shots of the fish at Split Rock although the water was not as clear as usual.  I may try again before we winch up the anchor although I will have to shave off my mustache to prevent my face mask from leaking.

Sadly, Shaun died in the night of his burns in the explosion and fire.

More news when I get set up on land.

Tragedy in Savusavu Bay

I was up at 6 am before the sun to try and find the negative leak that Michael thought would be the cause of our problem.  I met Leon on the dock and he told me he was heading into town to learn more about last night’s boat explosion. 

As the sun rose higher and the radio came on with the morning net we learned that very sadly Shaun and Sharon’s boat Oblio suffered two explosions and burned about 8:30 the previous evening.  We are to far down the harbour to have heard anything.  Anatoly on nearby “Puppy” did a very courageous thing and kicked in the companionway and was able to get Shaun out.  Sadly Sharon died in the fire.  Shaun was badly burned on his arm and his back and in extreme pain.  Brian came by and as Shaun jumped into the water, Brian got him to shore.  He is in hospital and we hope he will recover.  Shaun and Sharon were living aboard their boat and ran a T shirt and clothing business in Savusavu.

I determined that there was no negative ground leak in the solar panels.  All terminals on the negative buss bar were very corroded and Jim admitted that was something which he had neglected.  I took them all apart and reinstalled the regulator.  But, as I said to Lynda, to do the same thing and expect different results is a definition of insanity.  Sure enough, the regulator does not function.  Jim will have to get Michael to visit the boat to see for himself.

So we now have a low-tech regulator.  If the voltage gets over 14 V on the meter, we tie towels to the panels.  The variables are whether or not the fridge is cooling or whether the fans are running.  Of course the intensity of the sun varies as well.   As I sit in the cabin under the fan, I can keep cool and just listen to the fan speed.  At night it won’t be a problem, there won’t be any unregulated solar power, none at all and as our batteries cannot keep a charge, there will be no fans and no fridge at night.

But I get ahead of myself.  At about noon today I had voted myself off this boat.  Too many dodgy electrical issues and nothing would make the solar regulator work, Jim won’t buy new batteries, his fire extinguisher is expired and his flares in storage date back to 1995.  Jim makes no apologies but talks about conserving resources, he doesn’t have the resources that I obviously enjoy.

However, I was persuaded by Lynda to stay with the boat for a short trip along the coast to a snorkel site called Split Rock.  It would be about as far as going to Portland Island at home.  And this is a beautiful place , I would like to see more of it and I have nowhere else to go.  So I agreed.

Nice sailing, close hauled, with just the mainsail, me at the helm.  Lynda has been here before with Jim, her only sailing trip before I arrived.  Issues happened when we tried to anchor off Cousteau’s Resort which is a short dinghy ride to a buoy marking Split Rock coral reef.  There was not enough power to use the windlass to lower the anchor.  For some reason, the voltage regulator on the engine is not allowing alternator current to flow.  So the anchor went down with a winch handle and will have to come up the same way.  Jim is experimenting with the wiring.  I am confident that we are safe because we can always start the engine now that we have the isolated starter battery.  But when we look at the problems other people have, we have none at all.

This land is beautiful, so lush and green.  Yes, it rains a lot but that just makes for the amazing vegetation.  The people are so respectful.  The young people all so well groomed and polite.  The children look scrubbed and polished in their school uniforms and while they have so little, they seem very happy. 

Cell phones are big here and while I can eventually get most things on this internet connection, Lynda’s  Iphone is so quick as is her Ipod.  Vodaphone and Digicel are the main companies here and the rates are comparatively cheap.

5 pm time for a rum and coke.  That might make the cook a happier camper as the technicians try to squeeze the last volts out of the sun.  As the sun fades and the rain pours, we try to cook before there is not enough house battery for the gas solenoid.  Whatever the creation will be, it will have lots of onion and garlic.

Regulator Failure

Sunday night was a musical evening at Wainunu Club where the Fijians held a Fijian Buffet for $10 each on their dock not far from the ferry dock.  I watched the BC Ferry leave on its Sunday night departure.  Later we would bid farewell to our friends as we were to be off for a week of sailing after our regulator arrived.

However, Monday night will find us still at the dock.  As I type this on a beautiful sunny and hot afternoon with a gentle breeze blowing, we are waiting for Michael to return to his boat so we may return the solar panel voltage regulator that he built today.  It does not function.  I hooked it all up as specified, not complicated at all, but the voltage from the panels ran well over the 14 volt cutoff.  We now have towels clipped to the solar panels, reconnected to shore power as, except for the regulator installation we were all set up to leave.

Morning was spent in the town buying provisions at the market.  Lynda is a thrifty shopper.  Jim dealt with customs and dinghy fuel.  I hauled groceries and did some banking.

Today was Lynda's day to blow up at Jim.  Part of her concern was that he had no apology to make to me for the issues I raised before.  The other would be that Jim asked Lynda for her weekly payment.  But it did prompt him to do a few things on the boat.  He agreed to move the two dead outboard motors off the stern rail which was progress even if it was me who got to carry them to the "marina office". 

The "office" is a space with a sink and a freezer which is basically used to make ice for the boaters at this one slip marina.  Odd that the dock itself is concrete with water lines and power with a decent ramp to shore.  At that point it is pretty much undeveloped territory.  A one stall toilet that flushes connected to a one stall shower which together look like one out-hoouse in the mosquito grasses.  Apparently this development and a condominium with a nice wharf closer to town are both owned by an absentee who has lost interest or has run out of money.

Now later toward sundown, we have just returned from two visits to Michael.  The first was to return the regulator which was not regulating.  Then a trip to a town dock to do the only thing possible amid such disappointment - buy more beer.  Even if I had to buy it.  Beer here is $5 for a 750 mL bottle so you can drown a lot of sorrows quite cheaply.  On returning to Intention (I have renamed it Deception), Lynda advised that Michael had radioed to say that the regulator was ready.  Seems that there is nothing wrong with the regulator but Michael suspects that there is another negative path to ground on this boat..  That short circuit I now need to find.  Of course you cannot test solar panels at night.

I have given up being bitterly disappointed, it is now just a comic opera of whatever else may go wrong.  My friends in Bluewater will remember the apron which reads "If It Ain't Broke, Just Wait".  Well, no need to wait here - it's broken already.  The trick is to find and fix the breaks.

Again tried to attach a picture, one of the bearded Michael and his gadget but it would not upload.

Festival of Colour and Fruit Flies

Saturday night at the Dock
TheTown Council of Savusavu celebrated the Hindi Festival of Colour on Friday with a holiday event in town.  A Red Cross tent top provided cover outside the market and Council offices for performers and speech makers.  I made a camera video to capture some of the music.  All manner of East Indian food was offered the crowd as well as cups of Tang orange drink.  (The real thing is quite expensive)
One young man gave me a coconut shell of Kava which is a gritty drink somewhat tasteless, almost like drinking mud.  But if offered Kava it is rude to refuse it and don't even screw up your face as it goes down.  Many of the boat crews later met at the Yacht Club open deck for beers and as time wore on, we had dinner there.  I tried the Mongolian Chicken on the suggestion of others - rather spicy.  However, while I deserve to be sick what with the different food, drinks and the heat, I remain just fine.  Perhaps it is the onion and garlic that Lynda puts in every dish.

I talked with a police Sergeant at the Yacht Club as he saw the last of the Princess Danae cruise ship passengers depart in their launch.  I told him how much I enjoyed hearing the Police Choir singing in the morning.  The police station and barracks is acroos the road from this boat slip.  He explained that the duty officers of the day sing a devotional at 7:00 am and follow that with favourite tunes at 7:30. All in Fijian of course but it sounds wonderful.  I am invited to drop in at 7:30 Monday to Friday.

However, this morning after a rather sleepless night, I realized that the net of fruit hanging over my narrow bunk-seat was dripping a sticky goo on me and the sheet I had just washed.  The net is also full of fruit flies which visit my clothes on the shelf behind when they tire of gorging themselves.  I have been seeking a better bunk arrangement since I boarded this boat and have requested that the fruit be placed elsewhere but it has remained as the captain likes to have it.  So this morning after a night of little sleep, I made my objections most forcefully known.  Lynda later shared with me her earlier diary entry which said, "Don will either slowly change Jim's ways or they will come to blows", well blows we did.  Jim's response was not an apology but just "I hear you".  I took my towel and soap to the outhouse shower to wash off the goo and then re-laundered my sheet.  Good thing is that things dry quickly in this heat.  By the time I returned to the boat, the aft quarter berth was cleared out of Jim's junk and while a tight claustrophobic place, with drain pipes and wires belonging to the broken auto pilot, it has a thicker mattress and no fruit overhead.

The house batteries have failed their over-night charge test.  Jim does not want to buy new house deep cycle batteries here but rather he wants to buy them in the States and have them shipped here in a container with other boat things he needs. This means, for now, we will have little power at night when at anchor until the sun powers the solar cells in the morning.  We now have a working, and separate, engine starting battery.  The fridge, wheen asway from shore power, must remain off overnight which is not good.  I will miss the cooling effect of the cabin fans at night.  But the solar panels require a voltage regulator as the previous one is broken.  Jim knows a fellow named Michael who has lived aboard in the harbour for 7 years.  He has a manufacturing - export business here that produces LED lights for boats.  His wife Kendra runs the shop on shore and their products look good.  They enjoy the blessing of the Fijian government because they hire one Fijian to do the labour, the daughter of the government agent.  But Michael says she is very good.  Michael is an ex Silicon Valley emmigrant who abandoned his old world to grow a bushy beard and live on a mooring buoy in Savusavu Bay.  Very bright guy, I think, as Jim and I talked to him from the dinghy while we held onto whatever parts of his boat looked like they would not fall off in our hands.

Michael is to produce the regulator Monday and we must not sail without it.  The present method of controlling voltage by watching the meter and throwing a towel over the panels when it goes over 14.5 volts will not do while busy sailing.

I visited Vin on "Thetis" this morning to return the pump we borrowed to get the oil out of our bilge.  Thetis is a 40 foot Hunter, 1996.  Very spacious inside.  Vin and Annetta have been cruising for 5 years and plan to settle in Thailand.  He is Swiss, she is German and they have together been very successful in international business.  Vin gave me a boat tour but he too is having boat problems.  It seems the last mechanic to work on the Yanmar engine somehow stripped the screws that adjust the valves.  The result is no engine.  Their fridge is cooled by a presure pump on the engine, it is not 12 volts.  So no fridge.  The batteries are slowly running down so Vin was hooking up a gas generator to run a battery charger.  Good learning for me!  It will take two weeks to get the screws Vin needs from Yanmar.  They will only ship to Australia.  Apparently Australia cannot ship these parts directly to Fiji, they have to go to New Zealand.

Everything wears out much faster in the topics.  Things rot faster, rust faster, wear out faster.  If you do not keep up with the maintenance and let decay get ahead of you, you could be sunk.

This afternoon the Saturday tournament of "jeu de boules" attracted 10 players.  I wore my red Canada T shirt and was the only Canuck present.  I missed the playoff round of the final four by only 1 point!

Lynda is staying with a friend tonight so I get the big bunk tonight.  Tomorrow we will do the best we can to prepare for Monday.  Then on Monday we must get fresh provisions and check out with Customs.  Even though we are not leaving Fiji, we stiil must check out with Customs because we plan to visit another island.  The cruise to start Monday is to be for one week and should take us to the island of Taviuni and some snorkling.  This cruise will be a test of whether we stay any longer with the boat and if the repairs we have made so far have been enough.

We have good contacts with other boaters who will be not far from us as we sail.  Hans & Dory on Happy Monster will be in a similar area long enough for us to know if we have the power to continue.  There is a "cruisers' net" that meets on the VHF every morning at 8:30.  We get a weather report and news from the other boats.  Social events are also advertised.  The folks in this harbour are either 'permanently at anchor' or just visiting for a few months to wait out hurricane & cyclone season in other parts of the Pacific.  Many plan to move on to Vanuatu in May.

I have typed much of this before, tried to include a photo and the whole program hung up.  So I won't try that again.

Good night from Fiji

Experience is the Only Thing

Experience is the only thing you can call your own.  So said the wise sage who bought me my second beer this afternoon at the yacht club.  Jim and I ventured out by bouncing taxi to fill the 20 pound propane tank at a facility out of town and then took the same cab to drop off the tank at the boat and head into town.  At a telecommunications office, a lady named Ruth set up the "connect" stick so that my laptop will now access the internet.  Then to the Customs office as Jim had yet to check in after our brief trip to Wainunu River.  The plan is that we may sail again Monday if the battery passes an overnight test for holding a charge.  So Jim had to check in before he could check out again.
I was to attend a school this afternoon with the local Peace Corp volunteer as they celebrated the most fun Hindi holiday of the year, the Celebration of Colour.  However, when the volunteer discovered that Lynda's friend was a male, I was uninvited.  You need to be specifically invited if you are male.  The Peace Corp volunteer said obviously I didn't know much about Fijian culture.  There are major differences between men and women don't ya know.
So I met with Alfie this afternoon yet again as he examined the house batteries and thought we could use them. I was directed to switch the charging leads to the strongest batteries so that the weaker ones will not overheat.  I also attached a safety line to the rat line steps before we ventured off with the propane tank.  That lead us to the "Yacht Club" where a beer is $3.50 Fijian which would be about $2 Canadian.  Lynda joined us totally pumped about her visit to the school and the celebration there.
Then the clouds rolled in, the lightning flashed, thunder crashed, rain poured.  Screens came down on the yacht club deck.  The rain passes, skies clear but the lovely sunny day turned into evening dinner with drop in friends on the harbour deck overlooking Savusavu Bay.  The dock cat begs for handouts.  Glad that I took in the laundry and closed the hatches.
Try as I might, I cannot upload photos anymore.  I am experimenting with Dropbox.
Now Thursday evening.