Category: 2022

Giant Clams At Makogai
2022, Fiji, Makogai Island, Savusavu, September 2022

One Giant Clam & Many Amazing People

With our book deliveries completed it was time to return to civilization again and do some provisioning. So, off we went to Savusavu. It was just a six hour sail from Navatu Island and it is known for being a cruiser friendly place with the ability to find good provisions.

We actually checked into country here in 2019 so we already knew what to expect. Interestingly enough the day we arrived it looked almost exactly like it did on the morning of 2019. It was overcast with light rain and the seas were calm. A light fog was hanging over the  mountains and the steam from the hot water springs along the beach was rising into the air.

Sunset at Savusavu

Coming into Savusavu you have to have somewhat of a plan. You see you are actually entering a small bay that is narrow and filled with yachts. The Savusavu Yacht Club has a few spaces available at their docks and several moorings available as well. Just across the way is Nawi Island where they are currently building another marina that will be able to host much bigger yachts but for now…your options are the Copra Shed Marina, Waitui Marina (moorings only) and much further up into the shallow bay there is Savusavu Marina which does have limited docks but mostly moorings. We stayed there on a mooring in 2019 and found it quite adequate but we prefer to be near the Savusavu Yacht Club as we feel the boat is a bit safer there when we are at shore. Sadly there has been an uptick in crime in the area in recent years.

Our new friends, Sereana and Vilomena….Va’s Sister and Mom.

On this trip we were fortunate enough to be able to secure one of their moorings for the entire duration of our stay. We spent ten nights in Savusavu and enjoyed it as much as we did in 2019. Our mooring was directly across from the open air market and just a short jaunt to the SYC. And, on our first day in port we had the wonderful pleasure of meeting up with Sereana. She’s the sister of our dear friend Va from Nadi. The women we laid eyes on Sereana we knew she was Va’s sister. She works at the bar at SYC. Not long after we began to enjoy our first beer Sereana  introduced us Vilomena…their mother. We instantly felt like we had family here.

This stop for us was more about provisioning and taking a short rest from our book deliveries. During the days we relaxed on Dazzler and tackled a project or two on board. Then we’d go into town to do the standard hunter gatherer thing that you have to do in places like this. You know…going from store to store where you find a few items here and a few there? It’s all part of the adventure in third world countries.

In Savusavu there is a great little place called Sea Lovers Wine & Spirits that sells some American products so we always have to hit that up. And, we do love the open air market where we pick up fresh veggies and kava root for sevusevu ceremonies. For meats there are two butchers that can supply some good quality meat for your cold stores. All in all, you can find just about everything you need.

After our chores were done in the mornings we’d usually stop by the SYC for a couple of cold beers in the afternoon. The view is nice and there are always cruisers here ready to chat about whatever project they are working on at the moment. And, on Sunday evenings they have live music on the lawn. We enjoyed one evening ashore listening to a great little band but honestly we didn’t even need to come to shore for that as we could hear it all from Dazzler. That’s how close our mooring was to the yacht club.

There is another reason to stop in Savusavu…..the Surf and Turf Restaurant owned by a dear friend, Veejay. Veejay used to be the chef for the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort located just a few kilometers from the city center. He was there for fifteen years before starting his own restaurant. And, while his restaurant may not be as posh as the one at the resort you can rest assured that his food is equally brilliant. 

Just a couple of the incredible dishes we had at Surf & Turf Restaurant.

In the nine days we were there we ate at his place four times. We’d have been there a fifth but on that day he was out fishing to catch fresh fish for his signature dishes. Believe me when I say that this place is THE place to eat in Savusavu! He uses only beef tenderloin in the beef dishes and even makes his pasta fresh. Yep…gained a few stones here to be sure.

Va & Sereana visiting us in the anchorage.

The most wonderful treat we had…aside from Veejay’s food…was the night before we were leaving. We’d just come back to Dazzler and put Sparkle on the foredeck when I received a text message from our friend Va. She was actually here in Savusavu at the yacht club. I explained that we were unable to come in as the tender was loaded on deck and before we knew it she’d hired a longboat to come out to Dazzler to see us. Yes….I think it’s safe to say we’ve amassed a few very good friends here in Fiji.

On To Makogai & The Giant Clam

After nine days in Savusavu we headed to another of our favorite islands…Makogai. Makogai is the island that was once a leper colony. We were here in 2019 and found the entire place quite enchanting. This time was no different.

Koro Island Rainbow
Koro Island

The trip here meant an overnight stay at Koro Island. We’d also stayed here in 2019. There’s a resort and many upscale houses near the resort as well. Everything looked quite abandoned this time though. As there was no village here we did not need to do sevusevu so we anchored in a nice spot and enjoyed the evening on the hook without going to shore.

It was actually raining here when we arrived and we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow that stayed about for quite sometime. At one point it was even a double rainbow. And, we enjoyed a nice grilled steak that evening as we watched the ocean, reef and mountains from the cockpit.

The following morning it was off to Makogai. If memory serves it was about a six hour trip there. On the way were were lucky enough to catch a nice Dorado (Mahi Mahi) so with dinner on board we were all set for a beautiful afternoon and evening. 

As we were approaching we could see that the super yacht, MV Suri was in the bay. If you’ve followed us at all you probably know I particularly think this is a pretty yacht. In fact, I think it is actually one of the more unattractive boats in the world but, hey, that’s just my opinion. I’m sure the owners think otherwise. LOL It is rumored that Tom Cruise name his daughter after the yacht. Sounds exactly like something that whacko would do. No…I’m not a Tom Cruise fan either. 

Is it just me or does this look like some scientology lab?

There were just a couple of other boats in the anchorage when we arrived and dropped the hook. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon and we were looking forward to going to shore. I think I may have misspoke in my last post saying that our last Faces of Fiji book was given at Nasonisoni. The last one was actually given here. 

After a few anchor down beers we were off to do sevusevu and what a treat it was for us. Our first contact on the island was with Enoki. He’s an elder on the island and was so sweet to us. He asked us to sit on the grass and chat after we presented our sevusevu to him. When we showed him the Faces of Fiji book his smile widened and he reached to touch my hand. It was obvious how special he thought it was that we’d taken the time to create something like this for them.

Then Dan told him we’d brought one more gift and it was for the children. At that he pulled out the brand new rugby ball. The youngsters that were stirring about suddenly became very interested in the kaivalagi sitting there on the grass. One young man in particular took a hold of that ball and I’m not sure I ever saw it leave his hands. Needless to say rugby is a big thing for these kids. They learn to play it almost the moment they can walk. If they don’t have a ball they play with a plastic soda bottle or whatever they can find to use as a substitute so yes, a new ball was a real treat. 

After spending some time with Enoki and the kids we were invited to share kava with some of the elders in a small hut/shack they had recently built on the island. The fun thing is that some of the men here remember sharing kava with us in 2019 under the huge mango tree near the community kitchen. 

This was sort of a special day there as people from the other villages on the island were there and involved in a seminar of sorts that was teaching them about ways to protect the environment. Our kava ceremony was one that included some of the other villages. One of the old women who was there told me she’d lived on this island her entire life and had never once left it. I didn’t ask her age but I’d guess she was in her sixties. Imagine that…never leaving a piece of land that sits in the middle of the ocean and is just a little over 4 km long and 2 km wide.

Learning Fijian Customs

We sat with our friends for an hour or so drinking kava and discussing their interesting traditions. For example, in Fiji, in many villages, it is forbidden for a father-in-law to speak to his son-in-law. If things need to be said between them it is said through a family member or friend. In fact, they cannot even sit in the same place together nor drink from the same kava bowl. We’ve heard and witnessed this before and it is always quite serious. They don’t take their traditions lightly.

On this day a man named Sampson was sitting next to Dan. His son-in-law sat outside the door as he was not supposed to be involved in the same circle as Sampson. But, since we were here Sampson agreed to allow his son-in-law to sit inside in the circle with us. The caveats were he was unable to speak at all and he must drink his kava from a different coconut shell than Sampson. 

The following day we did some snorkeling and found one of the famous giant clams that are here at Makogai. Sadly we found that the two we saw in 2019 just off the main beach were dead but another quite a distance from the village was alive and thriving. There’s just something awe inspiring about snorkeling around a clam that is about half the size of a VW bug. 

From snorkeling we went to shore to take some drone images. We’d asked for permission the day before and were told it would be fine. And, after that we took a walk along the beach. Makogai is a stunning places and we enjoyed every second there with the people we’d met before and those who are new to us. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GIANT CLAM & WATCH A SHORT VIDEO OF OUR TRIP TO MAKOGAI ISLAND

I even got a chance to see my little friend, Emma. In 2019 she was just three years old. Now she’s a grown up six year old and just as beautiful and sweet as she was three years ago. Aside from her silky brown skin and perfect face, what I remember most about Emma is that when we were here in 2019 she was at the shore helping the kids clean the fish. She was holding a very large butcher knife and when we arrived on shore she was in the water cleaning it. Yep…it was a shock to my system.

We all know that if this happened in the USA the parents would be jailed for child endangerment but here…it’s perfectly normal. And, you know what? She cleaned fish and cleaned the knife and never had a nick on her body. The helicopters parents of today could surely learn something from the Fijians. 

Our stay here at Makogai…much like in all the other villages, was too short. There were hugs and, of course for me, tears as we said more goodbyes to wonderful friends. Sadly we have to keep moving if we want to see everyone and everything we hope to see before leaving the country for the last time.

I don’t know how I’m going to cope with our final goodbye but I do know this…I hope and pray  that the lessons I’ve learned from these incredible people are ones that I carry with me for the rest of my life.

Until Next Time,

Jilly 

To learn more about Makogai and her fascinating history, click here.

Fiji, Nasonisoni, Naviti Island, September 2022

Take The Books Not The Sea Cucumbers

With our trip to Kia concluded the time came to move on and deliver books to more of the deserving children of Fiji. So, we headed back south to the village of Nasavu located at the head of Nandi Bay on the southwestern side of Vanua Levu. We’d visited this village with our friends, Lutz & Gabi, back in 2019 and it was one of our favorites.

When we were here in 2019 we were told that no cruisers had come ashore to visit the villagers in over three years. It always seems such a shame to hear this as the locals are so wonderful to visit. There is a large school here in the village and we visited it when we came the first time. When we asked if there was anything we could bring them if we came back the answer was, “Books! Please, bring reading books.” Seems this is a common theme among the educators here in Fiji.

The view from the school to the bay in 2019

His plea did not fall on deaf ears as we arrived back this year with a huge box full of brand new reading books and even some lollies that were graciously donated by our friend, Allan Gray who owns Wynn Fraser Paints in Whangarei, New Zealand. And, we also had a copy of our Faces of Fiji book for the chief as well. It has several pages with photos of the children from our first trip here.

Now the bay here is very large but when the tide goes out it shrinks quite substantially. We remembered from our last trip that we needed to time it just right or we’d be carrying our dinghy a long way across the muddy ocean floor. We arrived just after low tide and anchored our tender several hundred feet from shore.

Our arrival, as usual, did not go unnoticed. There was a couple on the shore who seemed to be looking for sea cucumbers along the exposed seabed. As we got out of the tender and began to make our way across this muddy muck that literally tried to suck us under this couple came walking our way. We introduced ourselves. The lady was dressed in a navy blue golf shirt that had clearly seen much better days, some dark blue basketball shorts and rubber boots. She had a reddish colored piece of material wrapped around her next to keep the sun off and her smile was wide and welcoming. 

She tells us her name is Ula and her husband’s is John. John’s father, Jonathon is the village chief. We didn’t get to meet him when we were here in 2019 as he was out working the fields that day. This village, being on the larger island of Vanua Levu, does quite a bit of farming. It’s mostly cassava which is the number one crop in all of Fiji and, it just happens to be one of my favorites.

Cassava

Cassava is a nutty flavored, starchy root vegetable similar in texture to a potato. It’s also known around the world as yuca, manioc or Brazilian arrowroot. It has a very tough treelike skin but once you get that off you can steam it or bake it or use it in just about any recipe where you’d use a potato. Like I said…it’s one of my favorite veggies here.

Oh Nandi Bay

Anyway, as we walked toward the shore and the village here in Nandi Bay we were soon greeted by a throng of young children. I suppose they were asking Ula and John who we were as they spoke in their native Fijian tongue. I say this because she replied to one young man telling him we are Auntie Jilly and Uncle Dan and we had come by for a visit. It’s just so special the way the Fijians make you a part of their family almost instantly. 

The children were eager to help carry anything that we would allow. The box was much too heavy for these little boys but Dan did allow them to carry the bag. On shore we stopped at the top of the hill for Dan to put on his sulu. He’s meeting the chief and he feels it’s the proper thing to do. 

We met with Chief Jonathon in his humble home that had but a couple of thin mattresses on the floor, one table, two wooden chairs and a small gas powered stove. We were immediately surrounded by dozens of children and a few of the village women. They literally packed this one room shack. And, once again we were overwhelmed by the gratitude with which they accepted our humble gifts. There really is nothing like seeing the smiles of these children knowing that you are opening up a new world to them.

After a short visit we began to say our goodbyes. As we walked outside Ula let me know that the children had taken our jandals to rinse them off as they were covered in mud. She also told me she sent John to bring our tender in closer to shore as the tide was coming up and she didn’t want us to have to get too wet. I swear the kindness of these people is never-ending.

By the time we reached the tender there was at least a dozen children there. They all wanted to touch it and sit on it. Ula and John were shooing the kids away when Dan told them it is really okay for them climb on it. “They aren’t hurting anything.” he tells them. The smiles and giggles from the children always lights up our day so if Sparkle ends up with a little extra dirt on her from the kids playing on her then so be it.

Buckets Full Of Sea Cucumbers

With one last photo we said our goodbyes and were off to Dazzler. As we sat in the cockpit watching the sunset we were approached by a longboat with four fishermen inside. As they neared us we noticed that they had buckets full of sea cucumbers and the floor of the boat was literally covered with them. There were hundreds and hundreds of them….maybe even a thousand or more.

Sea Cucumbers

In talking with the men we learned that a five year ban on the harvesting of sea cucumbers was lifted and so they are fishing them to sell at the market. No, it’s not the Fijians who buy and eat them. It turns out after a bit of research we learned that nine companies were recently issued permits to buy and export sea cucumbers over a two month period. Each of the nine companies is Indian. Most of them located in Mumbai. The Indians buy the sea cucumbers, mark them up and sell them to the Chinese who eat them and use them in pharmaceuticals.

Interestingly enough the Fijians don’t make a lot of money when they sell them to these companies. They put in all the hard work and get very little in return. And, they are doing it at the risk of great harm to their reef systems. Sea cucumbers are deposit feeders that provide a huge benefit to the ecosystem of the reefs. Often called engineers of the marine ecosystem, sea cucumbers provide nutrient recycling and contribute to the oxygenation of the upper sediment levels of the seabed. Without them entire reef systems would fall barren. 

Sadly the villagers only see the possibility to make some fast money. They aren’t thinking about the possible outcomes. We learned subsequently that local restaurants are having hard time getting fresh fish during this time because the villagers are fishing only for the sea cucumbers. They seem to think that’s how they will get rich. It’s very sad to see this and know they are being taken advantage of in this way but there is nothing we can do or say to change it so we just enjoy a chat up with the fisherman and let them go on their way.

Navigating Nasonisoni Pass

The following day we made the short cruise over to Navatu Bay and the village of Nasonisoni. The course to reach it takes you through Nasonisoni Pass. The pass itself is just shy of 5 km long. On either side is nothing but reef and it’s not an exceptionally wide pass at just 300 meters at its widest part and 270 meters at the most narrow section. The pass itself is quite straightforward but when we hit it we found all sorts of shifting currents and eddies.

Before entering the pass I took my usual place on the bowsprit to keep a watch out for anything that wasn’t charted. I love this spot but on this day I wasn’t quite prepared for it. I didn’t have on my life vest and wasn’t clipped into anything. The twisting, turning and shifting of Dazzler as she made her way was a bit unsettling to say the least. 

Eddies and currents in Nasonisoni Pass

Of course once I was there and all this started I had no choice but to ride it out. Trying to get back on deck would have been more dangerous so, like the old salty wench that I am I stood there with my hands clinched to the rail reporting what I was seeing to Dan at the helm. I’m sure I don’t need to say it but I was beyond thrilled when we reached the end of the pass. 

Nasonisoni Village On Navatu Island

An aerial view of Nasonisoni Village on the Island of Navatu

The children were in school on another island so we met with the elders in the vale (meeting house) and presented our last box of books and the last copy of the Faces of Fiji book. Each and every man sitting on the mat that day thanked us profusely for caring about the children and going to such effort. A couple of the men even had tears in their eyes. It truly is a humbling experience to give to others.

The men asked us to sit and enjoy a bit of kava with them which we did. They wanted to hear about all of the places we’ve been and what it’s like to sail across the oceans. We asked about their village and fishing etc…It was a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours. 

When we were here in 2019 we sat with Chief Lepani and his wife, Ma’a. The chief had showed us a world map that he had. He loves maps so the day we met him Dan and I gave him a nautical chart of the Fijian Islands.

Fast forward three years…After a short tour of the village we came upon Chief Lepani. He was sitting outside of his home on the grass and in his hand he held the nautical chart we had given to him. As we neared him he began to wave it around and asked us to sit. We obliged but noted that the chief seems to be in failing health. 

The chief, once a strapping man full of life had that distant look in his eyes that Alzheimer’s patients get and he just generally seemed to be off in the way he conversed with us. After a short time our guide decided it was time for us to move on. As I said goodbye to Chief Lepani he asked for a kiss on the cheek which I was more than happy to provide. Sadly something tells me it is the last time I will ever see this wonderful man.

Some of the young men in the village with Jilly & Chief Lepani

At this we decided it was probably time to get back to Dazzler. Our guide, whose name escapes me, walked with us down the trail back to the shore. By this time word was out and the small children who weren’t in school found and followed us. I was delighted to find that one sweet young girl we’d met in 2019 was among them. Agnes is still shy but has an engaging smile and for some reason she seems to love me. She giggled with delight when we showed her the photograph of her and I in the book so I asked if we could get another photo this time to which she shyly nodded yes.

Oh how hard it is to come into these villages and then have to leave the kind hearted people behind. I know I say it all the time but I dearly do love Fiji. It is one place in this world that hasn’t succumbed to the anger and bitterness of the day and I truly h/iope it never will.

Until next time,

Jilly

Here are a few Google Maps of the bays and the route from Nandi Bay to Nasonisoni Village.

Click Here To Read About Our Trip To Navatu Island in 2019