_________________Sailing LandFall

19 09.248S 178 32.430E

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Posting by Barb :

Barring any schedules we usually stay in a particular place until Denny and I both feel that it is time to go. Can’t quite explain what that feeling is but it always happens and we usually stay in a place until that happens. And so it was with Fulaga, beautiful as it was. Not being connected to the rest of the world, specifically to family and friends back home may have had something to do with the feeling that it was time to say good-bye.

So we spent a day putting together gifts. Becky spent a couple of hours making batches of Snickerdoodle cookies for Salote. Denny and I went through the boat and dug out anything that we hadn’t used for quite sometime but that could be useful to Suki and Ba. So we made a final trip to town. Salote cried when Becky said goodbye. We said goodbye to Ba’s parents who were always quietly around. They gave us a big hug and sniffed our cheeks. I later realized that was the Fijian way of saying good-bye. It was a sniff-kiss!!

We invited the whole family back to the boat but only Suki and Ba committed to coming. They showed up with gifts for us. A miniature Kava bowl and a miniature  Lali Fijian drum of the wooden slit-gong type both made by Suki out of the infamous Vesi wood. Ba gave us a variety of beautiful woven purses, baskets and mats woven from the leaves of the voivoi plant.

It was our turn to pamper and cook a feast for them. For all the meals that Ba cooked for us not once did she sit and eat with us. As part of their culture Ba always ate after we had all been served and fed. So this time we enjoyed having Ba sit at the dinner table with us. We served Spaghetti!! To our delight Suki and Ba slurped and wolfed down the noodles. For dessert we had fudge brownies and Ba kept going for seconds. We made them take some Brownies to share with the rest of the family. I am pretty sure the cookies were eaten during the 20 minute walk back to town.

We said our final farewells and Ba became very emotional and started to cry.  Soon all of us ladies were crying. We did spend some good times together, learned a lot from each other, shared quite a few meals and became friends. But somehow there is a kind of finality when saying good-bye to friends that do not have access to internet, do not have mobile phones and our mailing address is always changing.

We promised to visit their family in Suva and drop off some off their large Kava bowls and frozen fish caught by Suki the day before. We were then able to share all of Fulaga memories with the family. You can imagine their delight at seeing the pictures of family they have not seen in quite sometime. We just sat back and watched the joy in their faces as the slide show on our laptop was played over and over.

19 09.248S 178 32.430E

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Posting by Barb and Dennis:

During our Sunday visit Ba had asked whether Becky and I wanted to drop by and learn a little about Fijian cooking or weaving. I had already commented on the large beautiful woven mats that covered the floors in every sparsely furnished room so she knew I was interested in their art of weaving. I knew Becky wasn’t that interested in learning the 101 ways if cooking fish in a Lovo or in coconut milk. While we were in church on Sunday we had longingly looked at the fans the ladies were using to cool themselves in the stifling heat. That would be something we could use!! And in return we asked if there was something we could share with them and Suki asked whether we had the materials and skill to help them fix one of their fiberglass power boats which was obviously in need of some repair. So we made a plan; Denny would spend the day helping repair one of their boats and Becky and I would spend a day weaving with Ba.

We arrived early in the morning with fiberglass and resin in hand.  The boat was in desperate need of repair,  the entire gunnel of the boat was wore through from years of dragging nets over it.  Denny just gave instructions and shared his knowledge while Suki and a couple others did the work.  It was like putting a bandaid on a major wound.  But Denny showed them how to go about doing the repair and promised that he would ship them some fiberglass and resin when we got to Suva (which we did and it only cost $2.00 to ship 4 litres of Resin and 15 metres of fabric).

Ba whisked Becky and me off to her ‘cooking’ hut where she had the coconut palm leaves, cut and ready for us to start. She worked with me first and my fingers moved a little slow and many times she proceeded to take over and I would have to smile and take it back so I could do it myself. Salote (which she proudly explained was also the name for the princess of Tonga), Ba’s sister, had dropped in for a visit and she took an immediate liking to Becky. So she took Becky’s hand and they disappeared for quite some time. Becky returned with a gift from Salote. A little parrot carved by Salote’s husband, which they named Cocky. Together they had woven a little mat for the parrot to sit on. Ba then showed Becky how to make her own fan. Becky’s fingers moved much faster than mine and Ba didn’t have to intervene quite so often. I could swear Becky had done this kind of thing before!!

It was a great day of sharing skills. We walked back to the boat, using our new fans to wave away the mosquitoes that seemed to swarm the 20 minute walk to the boat. Denny walked back a little lighter without the fiber glass and resin but happy with the repairs done to their boat. Becky had a new pet, Cocky, and a new friend, Salote.