Carl and Roxy sent us off on our own for sevusevu at the village and thankfully we didn’t screw it up. A simpler ceremony in this village since the Chief works on the mainland. But it still entailed some chanting, speeches, and welcomes. Formalities out of the way we talked for awhile and met the mother of Fijian rugby player “The Sledgehammer.” We had heard of him back in Somosomo and it came as a surprise that we came across his mom. Last order of business was buying some papayas and bananas before heading back to Sky Pond.
Back aboard we were rushed to go visit the caves since it was still low-ish tide and the best time to visit. So off we went in the dinghy (Carl had done it multiple times in the past). Arriving, we went to the guy in charge who initially asked for $50 Fijian (Carl had paid $30 and $45 in past visits). I had brought $70 for both of us and that was excepted.
Walking up stairs and into the caves, Jean was apprehensive as getting into the second cave required diving down, swimming to the light, and then popping up when you got a tap on the head. Swimming around the first cave our guide pointed out a red snapper whole lives in there at low tide and told us about an eel that comes in at high tide (higher salinity). And soon enough it was time to dive. At the water level it was much easier than I expected and inside our guide explained that at higher tides swimming fins were necessary. Inside he lit up the various caverns and told us of other caves that tourists are not allowed to visit as they require scuba gear and hold toxic gases. The three of us yelled a series of “Bulas!” to hear the echoes before swimming back to the entrance with our guide singing to us which was spectacular with the echoing. Back into the larger main cave it was cliff diving time and a bit more time to swim around and explore before it was time to go.
In the afternoon the wind was blowing in the upper teens to low twenties, so it was wing foiling time. Carl had some good runs and I got a bit more hang of managing the sail. Even inadvertently getting up on the foil (not good when kneeling) a few times. More progress made. Afterwards a fellow wingfoiler stopped by with some advice and to give Carl’s board a try. A full and fun day for sure!
No Comments