Tag: Leper Colony

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.

July 2019, Makogai Island, Sea Creatures, South Pacific, The South Pacific

Lepers & Giant Clams, Oh My!

The time has come to continue moving throughout this beautiful country. We’ve seen so much here at Vanua Levu that we feel we are ready to start making our way south and west. Today we said goodbye to the local friends we’ve made here in Savusavu and headed out. 

Just about 27 NM south of Savusavu is the small island of Koro. There are a couple of resorts on the west side of the island and there’s a nice little cove you can tuck into where they have mooring balls. We arrived late in the afternoon and picked up a mooring. We were the only boat there so we had the entire place to ourselves. NICE!

From what we understand a few years ago the Kepalangi (white people) began buying up property here to build their vacation and retirement homes. Let’s be clear. Non-Fijians can’t actually buy property here but you can purchase a 99-year lease. It’s pretty obvious when you see the homes dotting the shore and scattered across the hill that the people buying up the property were planning a very well to do resort like atmosphere. Apparently, however, their love of island living didn’t last as long as they expected and many of them have vacated their homes so there are many standing empty. Even one of the resorts is currently on the market so if you have an extra $2.5M lying around maybe you could get a good deal.

Anyway, we only stayed for the night and no one ever came out to collect any money for the mooring. Quite frankly the place looked all but deserted. We saw a small fishing boat out fishing the reef and a couple of kayaks but that’s it. There were no people walking the beach nor was there any noise from generators for that matter. 

The following morning we set out for Makogai Island. (prounonced Mako’nai) I was so excited to get to this place. This place is known for their giant clams. Yes, clams as big as people! It’s the stuff movies are made of and I couldn’t wait to get there to see these things. But, there is a lot more to Makogai Island than giant clams. 

Approaching Makogai.

Makogai actually has a very interesting past. From 1911 to 1969 it was a Leper Colony. They brought Lepers here from all over the world. As we entered the bay I had to kind of chuckle as I remember my Daddy always saying, “Well, it could be worse you could be living in a leper colony.” My guess is that Daddy never saw one because this is one amazing and beautiful island! 😄

After arriving and partaking in some anchor down libations we put the dinghy in the water and prepared to head to shore. No longer a leper colony, Makogai is now a government island with a marine research station and even though this is a government village and not a traditional one, sevusevu is still expected. Once again I donned my layers of clothes to cover my knees and shoulders. Within seconds every inch of my skin began to glisten as all of my sweetness started oozing out from every pore. But, it’s a tradition and we must do the right thing. So, onward Christian soldiers…onward!

It was a bit tricky to get to shore as the tide was low and coral surrounds the beaches. After a bit of searching we found a very narrow channel through the coral next to the concrete pier. Dan pulled the anchor onto the coral sand beach and we made our way up the beach. We started to look for someone to lead us to the man who runs the village. There was a young man in his late 20’s or early 30’s mowing the grass. He stopped and came over to introduce himself.

The man’s name is Seru. He’s sort of like the Taraga Ni Koro for this village. I say sort of because as I mentioned, this is a government island. The village where we anchored is full of government workers and Seru is one of them. These people are part of the marine research station here. Only some live here full time. Most, like Seru, come in for two weeks each month. Here they are cultivating giant clams, coral and they even have a sea turtle hatchery. They are very devoted to protecting the marine environment.

Us with Seru.

Seru led us across the lawn to some plastic chairs that sat under a tin roofed structure. After presenting our kava, Seru offered to give us a tour of the island. First up was the marine facility. Now, when I say facility you’re probably thinking of a place with large tanks and things like that. Well, that’s not really what we saw. There are several long concrete wells and a couple of round tanks too. Only a few of these tanks/wells had water in them.

One of the round tanks had about a dozen baby sea turtles in it. Another tank had a dozen or so juvenile clams that were about a four or five inches long. Each one had a different colored mantel (lips). Also inside this tank was a really odd looking blue spotted stingray. Neither of us had ever seen on before so that was a bit of a treat in itself.

Blue spotted stingray

Since the marine facility is rather small the tour only took about fifteen minutes. Afterward Seru took us through the jungle to see the Leper Stones. These are the gravesites of many of the Lepers who died here. Along the way we saw remnants of buildings that were once part of the hospital including part of a movie theater. The jungle, however, is an unrelenting beast that takes over every stationary object in its path so very little of the buildings are still visible. Even so, it was a wonderful and FLAT walk through the village and jungle.

When we returned from our hike we were treated to our very first kava ceremony. This is typically a part of the sevusevu but we’ve found at many of the villages they they don’t seem to want to share the kava we bring to them. Here it was much different. They invited us to sit on a large woven mat in the grass. Here one man had a large bowl sitting on the ground, he poured water out of a bucket into the bowl. Then he had a muslin bag about 5” x 10” that had the ground kava inside. He soaked the bag in the water then squeezed it. Similar to what happens when you squeeze a tea bag, the muddy colored water would ooze out of the bag. It looked like muddy water from a dirty river. He did this for quite some time as we chatted. Then it was time to drink. He filled a half of a coconut shell with the liquid and handed it to Dan. Dan was told to to clap once, say “Bula” then drink the entire contents of the shell in one gulp. Then he was told to clap three times, as do we all, and he handed the cup back to the guy mixing the kava. Next it was served to the Taraga Ni Koro with the same things occurring. Then it came to me. Each time everyone clapped and followed the ceremonial tradition.

The kava looks awful and doesn’t really taste great but it’s not that bad either. It makes your tongue and lips feel numb. We had many cups of kava with them over the course of an hour and a half or so. Eventually we started to feel uber relaxed and kind of jelly like. That’s when we decided it was time to return to Dazzler. Of course before standing it’s tradition to ask permission. With permission granted we knelt before the men, shook their hands and said our goodbyes. All in all it was a very cool afternoon with some amazing people. They treated us just like family and just until you hear about our next trip ashore with these fabulous people!

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan