Day 41, Year 2: Still in Vaga Bay with Improving Weather
Date: Monday, June 4, 2007
Weather: Improving–Still Overcast with Rain; Winds Lessening
Location: Vaga Bay, Beqa Island, Fiji

We are still here in Vaqa Bay. The weather has improved considerably, but the reports we are receiving tell us that it is still windy in the pass between here and Kandavu Island and the Astrolabe Reef. So we are staying put. Tomorrow we might move around to a bay on the northeast side of this island. If we do that, it will get us closer to our destination in the Astrolabe Reef on the next day. But we can only make the move if it is clear enough for us to be able to see any coral heads in our
path. Today that would not have been possible until almost noon. We will just have to see how tomorrow’s weather plays out.

We spent our day doing our rainy day projects. We cracked open the coconuts given to us by the people in the village of Naiseuseu. We scraped the coconut out the shells and have it set to dry. We have not been given coconuts by locals in the past, so this is a new experience for us. We are eating more papaya than we ever wanted, but we are getting used to the taste. With enough lime, it is okay. We don’t love it, but it is what is here so we are adjusting. My rule is that we are not allowed
to drink any of the purchased juice onboard as long as we have local fruit. Mark is especially unhappy with this rule, but he is trying to learn to love pawpaw. We continued working on computer projects. We completed meshing our Outlook contacts and wrote a few emails to friends. I made “crunch coleslaw” that doesn’t have to be refrigerated, and checked all of our fruits and vegetables that we are storing to make sure all is well. I had to peel a couple of mandarin oranges and put them in the
refrigerator, but other than that, everything is holding fine. Yesterday we ate our last New Zealand kiwis and our last New Zealand new potatoes. It is amazing to me that those things lasted this long, but now we are now relying on our Fiji fruits and vegies. Let’s hope they have the same longievity.

Yesterday we were blown about by the relentless strong winds. Today, we have had a few gusts and some rain, but basically the weather is moderating. Our weather reports today indicate that we should wait until Wednesday (it is Monday evening here) to travel across the Kadavu Pass, but we will rise early in the morning and check the latest weather to see if we might be able to do this tomorrow. We are not anxious to get out in angry seas, so we will only go if the reports are very favorable. Otherwise,
we will move around the island to the northeast side tomorrow, and then leave early the next day for Kadavu.

Since we had put our dinghy on deck last evening, we didn’t bother to put it back in the water today. That meant that we didin’t visit the village. I know it must be hard to imagine what I mean when I talk about a village. There are about 90 people living in Neiseuseu. Each family lives in a concrete block or corregated iron home. There are uncovered windows and doors, and the concrete floors are covered with mats. There are mattresses in the partitioned bedrooms and stuffed furniture in the
living area. There are outdoor shared showers between the houses that appear to have pressure water. I know the water comes from the mountain springs, but I actually don’t know what the people do about sewage. I have not seen bathrooms of any sort, so I’m just not sure. This village has a generator and there is a centrally located tv. I think I mentioned this in an earlier log. The only store is over the mountain, so any purchased goods come from there. Clothes obviously come from Western
sources–t-shirts and jeans for the guys, and dresses for the woman. There are tennis shoes to be worn when walking on the mud flats and reefs, but otherwise people wear thongs or go barefooted. In the little village of Naiseuseau, the church is central. It is the largest building in the center of the village. Everyone speaks English, although the children speak less than the adults. The children tell me that they are taught in Fijian, so I am not exactly sure when and where they learn the English.
I know we will learn more about village life as we continue our trek, so I report in when I know more.

070604 Day 41 Beqa Island, Fiji–Views of Naiseuseu From Vaga Ba