Fiji

NOTE: Andrew and I are doing great! Having some internet connectivity issues which have precluded me from uploading pictures from our current location in Australia… Out for pizza dinner right now and found that the wifi is working here! This is a longer blog post I have been waiting to get out! More coming really soon!

Today I was up early for a beautiful cruise into the port of Suva! There was only one issue – there was a cargo ship in the way which caused us not to dock on time! No wonder I had extra time on the veranda to take pictures this morning!

Other than the ship docking late, it was an early start for us as we were taking the “Jewel of Fiji” excursion which was to last 6-7 hours. I THOUGH I had prepared well for this excursion. Prior to signing up for all the excursions that we have/are taking, our Holland America agent talked to the Accessibility Department at Holland America and they read what I could physically do and what the tour entailed and guided me on what would be suitable – other than the minor issue of having to get onto various types of busses that we were aware of.

Back when we first boarded the Noordam, I met Benoit (Ben), the Assistant Excursions Manager, who contacted me regarding two of the tours that we had signed up for and he wanted to know some more information from me regarding accessibility. So I paid him a visit and we discussed all the excursions that we had signed up for, specifically the Jewel of Fiji in Suva and the Snorkeling and Village Tours on Mystery Island. We talked about what I can do from an accessibility standpoint such as walking and swimming is not a problem and where I am weak, such as stairs, especially going down them. He knew I traveled with a walker and wanted to take my walker on the tours, however I am aware than for the Jewel and Mystery Island tours I might need to use my cane. We decided the Mystery Island Tours would be fine, however he needed to find out some more information about the “Jewel of Fiji” based on a better understanding of what I could accomplish and he would get back to me.

After we left Ben got back to me with some information that the tour provider had provided with regards to the “Jewel of Fiji” excursion. He was quite encouraging with the information that he had received – the fact that we got into the long boats to go up the river from the river bank, after the 45 minute ride we would get out and walk along a path, where I could swim and Andrew could climb about 18 stairs up to see the waterfall. He had a picture of the stairs and a small waterfall next to it that I said that I would pass on climbing and let Andrew take pictures of the waterfall instead. Then we would return in the long boats to the village, I would need to climb 24 stairs up to the house where the food and ceremony was going to be held and the busses would be picking us up out the back. For me, it sounded like something I could accomplish! I was really looking forward to this excursion at last! Off we go!

We first got onto the bus – what an accomplishment! Now, on this trip we have been on some tall busses however this one took the cake! The stairs up were taller than me! Also they were not very big! That was the first challenge of the day :). The driver actually sat in a well which was about 3 feet lower than everyone else who was sitting on seats on the bus! After about 45 minutes we arrived at the village were we got off the bus (carefully) and went into a house where we were fitted for life jackets – good move! Also we were given plastic bags for our stuff so they would not get wet in the boat. Andrew and I had left one of our bags on the bus and only took the essentials with us which was one towel and a shirt for Andrew. We were both wearing our bathing suits (me under my dress).

The lady who was next to me in the line could not swim and was VERY nervous – it was her husband who convinced her that this excursion would be a great idea! Now, remember how we were supposed to just walk out to the riverbank? Nope, down 23 steps we went, which were both a bit slippery and uneven, with the last 8 or so with no railing. Finally into the long boat, we were off! The lady who was nervous about this trip was actually sitting in front of me so Andrew and I had to keep our comments about the water and the little rapids to ourselves as she was REALLY NERVOUS!

We saw lots going up the river – lots of free roaming cattle, kids playing in the water, a woman with her horse and then some river construction thrown in too! I could tell that the river was low – there were “high tide” marks on the banks which as this is a fresh water river going out to sea means that the river was running low. Sure enough, we hit some rapids that the boats ahead of us could not get up, so we all had to get out of our flat bottom boats and walk for about 10 minutes along a path next to the river while each boat and its driver went up the little narrow rapids. I was looking forward to coming down them though! I did not say that out loud…

Then we motored on for about 20 minutes and the driver of the boat actually hit a rock – which the husband of the wife in front of me told me put a 2 inch hole in the bottom of the boat! Apparently he covered it with his foot so she would not see it. We were taking on water however the water was also splashing over the sides so it was not that noticeable. Finally we arrived at the stopping point to get to the swimming and waterfall area which Ben had showed me a picture of – I was really excited to get swimming as the river water was so warm! Just like a bathtub!

We walked along the path next to the bank where the boats stopped and there was a stream next to us and the stairs which I recognized from the picture that Ben had showed me where Andrew could go up to see the waterfall and the stream was where I was to go swimming.  I asked the guides and they told me that no, that was not where the swimming area was, that I had to go up the stairs a little way.  Well, that was an understatement!  

So up the stairs I went with my cane, along a path with 50 pound wheat flour bags filled with rocks to lead the way, and then MORE stairs – up and down!  It was a total of 103 by the time we got to the waterfall and the swimming area, which I might add was beautiful however it was a lot of hard work to get there and I knew I had to go back!  The most scary part for me were about 15 stairs going up the side of a rock wall with nothing to hold onto other than the side of the rock as on the other side there was a drop down into the stream, now turned into fast moving narrow river!

It was very luxurious when I was able to get into the swimming area – they had made it a bit easier to get into the “pool” by flattening out some of the steps going down with cement which was helpful.  Also Mr. Cool had let the company know (it was the same umbrella tour company who did all of HAL’s excursions) that I was going to be on this excursion and there was a younger man assigned to assist me with walking and getting into the swimming area.  That also really helped!  It also allowed Andrew to take some pictures!

After taking a quick dip in the wonderful clean water with the waterfall behind me, it was time to go back down to the boats.  I wanted to go last as I knew I was going to be slow, however some people were talking too much while I waited so we (that was Andrew, myself and our guide/helper) struck out on our own.  Needless to say there was a long line of people walking back from the waterfall while I carefully managed the route and pulled over to take breaks and let people by.

Back at the boat launch area, we were switched to a different long boat to go back to the village where we started as that little hole in the boat that happened coming up was becoming a concern.  I was looking forward to the trip down the river and going through all the little rapids that we sometimes struggled (or walked past) going up!  Only one issue – it started raining.  Oh, not just light or medium or hard rain.  Monsoon rain!  It was raining so hard (and most of us were just wearing bathing suits with life jackets on top) that the rain hurt our skin – it was like being in hail the rain drops were so big and hard!  It was a surreal experience having the rain come down for about 30 minutes which was colder than the water, if I put my hand over the side of the boat, felt like!  To ensure that I was protected from the sun, I had elected to wear a beach towel that Holland America had given us for our excursions over my back and arms, however with the sheet of rain coming down, it was getting VERY heavy!

We all just hunkered down on the boat – most of us, Andrew and I included, were wearing baseball caps or sun hats so we were protected from the pelting rain, however there were no pictures to be taken as I did not want my phone to get wet – it takes forever to dry that thing out!

Finally we arrived at the bank of the river below the house, where we had boarded the boats originally!  A bunch of drowned rats we all looked like and all the boatmen were frantically trying to bail water out of the boats as most of us were ankle deep from both the rain and the “wash” that came aboard while we were coming down the river.  Successfully out of the boat, now came the stair climb which my able assistant helped me with the first portion which did not have any railing.

Back in the house we divulged ourselves of our life jackets and for me, I wrung out the towel around my neck and I was VERY surprised with the amount of water that was trapped in it!    Now I felt a 100 pounds lighter walking around!  Despite the continuing torrential downpour, we made our way to the ceremonial hut for some lunch and entertainment.   

I am always amazed at people, and I try to observe the customs of the people whose homes I am visiting.  Once we climbed the 6 or so stairs to get to the ceremonial hut or community centre all the Fijians took off their shoes to walk on the mats.  Most of the people on the excursion did too and a lady suggested that I sit on a cooler that contained drinks so I could take off my sandals.  Yet there were quite a few people of a certain nationality of which Canada shares a continent, who just walked right on by and did not even bother.  That makes me sad.  It takes so much work to make the reed mats or like in Japan, the Tatami mats, and it is disrespectful not to be appreciative and follow the customs of others when in their homes.

They provided 2 different lunches – a “subway” lunch and a “traditional Fijian” lunch.  Both Andrew and I had the traditional lunch as for me, that is where the gluten free food was and Andrew I guess that was easiest for him as I had to sit down and he had to get the food for me.  I had rice, some eggplant mixed with spices, taro root which is like a potato and apple slices! It was AWESOME and DELICIOUS!  It all went down better with an Orange Fanta too – which seems to be a popular drink in Fiji – no sugar free drinks available and my blood sugar was low so why not partake in a luxury sugar item?

Then we were presented with a Kava ceremony.  I appreciated this Kava ceremony as the person who was MC’ing it had found out all the countries that people were from on the 2 busses that were on this excursion and had mentioned them all when presenting us to the chief for the Kava ceremony – that was a nice touch!  The other funny thing I though which I think most people missed, was the two men who were participating, were asked what size of Kava cup they wanted – tsunami or a wave.  Tsunami being LARGE gulp and wave being a small amount.  The man who selected the Tsunami was actually the husband of the wife who was so scared in our long boat going up to the waterfall and he had asked me how it tasted as her had remembered I had participated in the ceremony previously.  I told him not bad so that is why he said “tsunami”!  He had a numb tongue too!

After that, it was back onto the skyscraper of the bus and back to the ship.  We were sitting next to one of the tour leaders at the front of the bus so of course we started chatting as he saw my Canada hat and wanted to proudly say that his grandmother had flown to Vancouver on the new Fiji Airlines flight!  I mentioned that I was aware of the flight as I volunteer at YVR and that lead us into the discussion of Mr. Cool and how, as it was a Monday, he was at work today at the airport.  It was at this point in time I found out some very interesting information though!

After the “Leisurely Nadi” tour on Sunday that we participated on in Lautoka, all the tour guides who work for Tiki Tours went to Mr. Cool’s house for kava.  Then at 2am, the busses arrived to pick them up, then go to Nadi to pick up some more guides and they all drove to Suva which was 4 hours away, to be ready for when the ship arrived at 8am to put on all the scheduled HAL tours of that day, including the one that we were on!  I was amazed!  Zack, the tour guide then told us that at this time of the year, there are not enough ships stopping so this is really a “one off” type thing that they do – there are usually 2 ships that stop with similar itineraries on their way from North America to Australia and then 5 months later, the reverse happens.   They do get some smaller ships stopping on Fiji Island cruises however these “larger” ships (which the Noordam is NOT large) they do have to do the commute due to the amount of staff needed for the excursions. 

All the time we were having this discussion with Zack, it was raining outside and also inside the bus – the water was running down in a stream in front of him from the overhead bin area!  I am not sure if that was a function of a hole in the roof or the fact that we were driving with the front door open YET again for air conditioning purposes – however it was funny! Zack continued to talk about traveling to the Suva “side” of the island and that at the Kava ceremony which he also participated in, he actually did not understand the Fijian dialect that was being spoken at the village. Zack grew up on a different island and came to the main island of Fiji, Viti Levu for post secondary schooling in Hospitality and Tourism. I then told him that was the same education that I had – I then found out that he was a Sales Manager at a local Wyndam Resort. He loves working in the hotel industry! I think that is what made him such a comfortable tour guide too!

Soon we were back at the ship and for the 3rd day in a row, we found the Noordam being painted! This time I caught the painters in action – those are some really tall painting rollers that they use! Once on board, we soon sailed out of Suva, after 3 memorial days in Fiji and ready for a day at sea! My body was starting to show signs of frustration in terms of muscle control so I was REALLY looking forward to a relaxing day! However before we left, I did manage to get out onto the balcony to take some pictures of our departure and all the ships in the harbour around the port of Suva.

Welcome to day two in Lautoka, Fiji! Today, as originally planned we are taking a bus tour called “Leisurely Nadi”. It was my intention to take something lower paced to get to see some of the area, as tomorrow is an excursion I am really looking forward to, however it is going to be a challenging one for me. What an awesome tour we were in for!

First of all, it is Sunday, where Fiji is generally closed. Due to that, we had an EXCELLENT tour guide named Coolio or as he preferred to be called “Mr. Cool”. There also was a driver and a 2nd guide on board at the back of the bus. All three of them were excellent ambassadors for Fiji. To start with we drove out of the port and past the sugar cane factory which we also saw yesterday, however today Mr. Cool talked more about the sugar history on Fiji and industry in general and how it has massively changed over the years. Sort of reminded me of the changes that Maui went through too.

There used to be about 34 sugar mills in Fiji as sugar was the primary export. Now there are only 3 left, one of which is next to the port in Lautoka. Originally the Fijians used the leaves from the canes to thatch their roofs after harvesting the canes for crushing into sugar. Now the fields, like we found in Maui, are set a fire (not environmentally friendly) to burn them down and then the canes are left and harvested to take to the mills. There are a variety of reasons why there was a decline in the mills since the mid 1800’s – economy, weather, changing in soil acidity for growing (climate change) – however the 3 existing mills are able to still supply sugar economically to primarily Europe. One thing that is no longer used are the sugar rail lines which are narrow gauge rail lines that were used to transport the sugar to the various mills – they still exist however the trains no longer run the lines – heavy laden trucks (which I am surprised do not dump their loads) bring the canes to the mills instead.

Here are some pictures of the Lautoka sugar mill as we passed by:

Now we continued to drive into Nadi where we eventually would make a stop to shop. Along the way, I took the following photos which I describe in the pictures:

Next we passed by the Nadi airport, which really took me by surprise! I am aware of this airport for various reasons – back in the 80’s and 90’s it was often used as a “transfer point” or “refueling point” when people traveled from North America to Australia or New Zealand. I always figured it was a BIG airport as I was aware that 747’s landed here on the transpacific flights of that time period. Well, the airport is NOT that large! I know that any airport can be called “International” if they have a customs facility and have flights from a neighbouring country, however only certain long range planes could get to Nadi at that time! I just figured I would see a terminal like Honolulu, open air, yes, however it was about 1/4 of the size!

Here are my pictures of the Nadi airport and area – we actually drove past it to get to the city of Nadi and then on our way back drove around the airport instead of taking the Queens Highway back, in order to get to our next stop. I have combined all the pictures into one set for convenience purposes. Also, Mr. Cool works at the airport which made it more fun for me! He lives in the airport housing compound and is in charge of any emergency operations if a flight needs to make an emergency landing.

Now we have patronized the selected store to shop at and I am pleased as Andrew has finally bought something – a T-shirt – we are on our way to a local marina for some “lunch” and a demonstration, which ended up being a new take on a coconut shucking! On the way, we were hit with a huge downpour, however that is just how the cookie crumbles in Fiji – to be green it has to rain said Mr. Cool! He also told us that we were lucky we were on the “dry” side of the island – Suva, where we were heading tomorrow is the “wet” side! Here are my pictures of the trip to the marina, greeting at the marina, and the man undressing the coconut, its face and cracking it open!

Now it was time to get back to the ship! This was one of the most interesting tour guides we have had so far – Mr. Cool sure made the day go by fast with his laid back and funny humour! Here are some pictures from the dock and from our balcony as we departed Lautoka on our way to Suva, which is the capital city – on the other side of Viti Levu!

We are expecting a SLOW and smooth cruise around to the other side of the island to check out Suva tomorrow! Come join us on our adventure called the “Jewel of Fiji”!

This morning we had a wonderful sail into Lautoka, Fiji past some uninhabited islands that belong to Fiji. Fiji we later found out is made up of about 333 islands, of which approximately 110 are inhabited, with Viti Levu (where we are) and Vanua Levu (Savusavu) being the biggest islands and where the majority of the population lives today.

Originally, we were supposed to stop at Dravuni Island, Fiji today, which is a fairly small island inhabited by about 200 people. It has no services however a wonderful beach and you can walk around it and up the sloping summit to get a panoramic view of the area. Also it is said that the swimming in the turquoise waters is awesome! Anyways, unfortunately a storm damaged the wharf for the island, so that the tenders from the cruise ship could no longer use it so then we were notified about a month prior to sailing that we would be spending 2 nights in Lautoka instead. At that time, I quickly signed up for an excursion – there were not many left as the email had gone out over night and those on the East Coast had gotten a jump on what was available. It was interesting to see that the tours being offered for today, Saturday, than tomorrow, our originally planned day in Lautoka, Sunday, November 2nd. The tour that sold out the fastest was the one to the Hilton Resort on a nearby island for a day of relaxation! However I much preferred going to see the Orchid Farm and Village! On the bus we found out why the tour offerings were so different – the Fijians do not work on Sundays – that is their day to go to church and spend time with their family. So the majority of the tours that were available on Saturday like the one we were taking, were not offered on Sundays. Makes sense!

So onto a bus we were sent and had a nice drive past the sugar factory and other industrial areas of Lautoka to the Orchid Farm. We were greeted by the grandmother, daughter and son that run the farm and taken into the main house which houses a bunch of historical antiques from when the family immigrated to Fiji from Scotland.

As there were about 24 stairs to get up to the house above, the family had suggested that I walk up the driveway around to the back of the house and go into it via the garage where there were only 2 steps. I did so with haste, as the rest of the tour was already in the house. It was a beautiful display! The grandson talked about being in Fiji and highlighted the different pieces around the room and then we were free to examine them ourselves. The man speaking above is the 6th generation of the family to live in Fiji. Coming back down I took some time on my secret path to take some pictures of their garden and of the house behind it on my way to the open air lunch area where they were serving us tea and sandwiches.

Now in the lunch area which is used for guests, workers and for fairs, we all sat down and had some lunch, which to my surprise, I was presented with a fruit platter instead of the sandwiches and banana bread! Impressed that Holland America got it right this time as it was an included meal. As to what the fruit I was eating? Well pineapple for sure, however not quite positive on the other two – one seemed like guava or mango but not quite and the other was like a sour apple! Then the “grandmother” of the gentleman who spoke to us in the house told us about the Orchid Farm and how it supports ladies on the west side of the island who are single parents, with micro loans to grow flowers which the Orchid Farm then sells to select vendors. Those vendors DO NOT include hotels and restaurants though as they do not pay on time! I thought that was interesting – it seems it was basically a cash business. Lovely lady who obviously cares for her community and has nurtured a great business along over the years. Next we moved onto a tour of the orchid business itself!

As you can see above, we could not see a “sea” of orchids in bloom as it was just the beginning of November and just at the end of their 3 month dormant time. You could see the plants putting up their tips and roots for new growth! Interesting enough though, in all the tables that we saw, Andrew did find one that had just started blooming! Most of the orchids that this company grows are the type that bloom 9 months of the year and then are dormant for 3 months. The ones that I saw in the garden are a different type of orchid which blooms year round. I was not aware that there were these two distinct types!

Next we got back on the bus, as we were now headed to a local village to visit, have a Kava ceremony, watch some dancing! During the bus ride the guide talked about Fiji and there are 4 administrative Divisions in Fiji – Central, Eastern, Northern and Western. In each of those Divisions there are Provinces – a total of 14 spread through the Divisions – Central has 5 and the rest have 3 each. Fiji uses the Parliamentary system, like Canada and each province has its own Provincial Council, which I would equate to our Provincial Government. Each Division has a Commissioner appointed by the Fijian government, which is based in Suva (we will be there in 2 days). From the Provincial level, there are districts and then villages. Within there is their own government of chiefs and councils. I cannot remember what the guide said with regards to the number of districts and villages in Fiji, however I did find online an estimate of about 195 districts and 1,193 villages. However one recent change in Fiji is for the cities – such as Lautoka, Suva and some towns – as they are more modern and house businesses – they now elect local government positions which are 3-4 year terms – similar to how cities work in Canada.

When it comes to the Fijian government and parliament, Fiji separated from the United Kingdom on 10 October 1970, where the colonial government was disbanded and they moved to Parliamentary rule. There have been a couple of coup’s in the Fijian Parliament over the years and changes to how it has been run, with some military involvement to keep things moving forward. Currently, the Parliament of Fiji consists of 55 members (plus a speaker) and is led by the Prime Minister, who, like in Canada, is the elected leader of the largest party of government, who hold 26 seats. It happens though to be a coalition government in power, which is a combination of 3 parties and they have been in power since 2022.

We have now gotten to the village we are going to visit! We see they are expecting us as all the ladies have their goods out for sale on tables in front of the community hall, where we are quickly ushered into. This Kava ceremony was a bit more relaxed you might say, however they only wanted male volunteers this time! I did not bother filming it as it was a very simple ceremony and the Kava was already prepared. The MC lady then introduced the choir master and the show began!

After the Kava Ceremony and singing we were then let loose for about 15 minutes to take pictures of the Village prior to boarding the bus into Nadi where we were to have a shopping stop. Here are my pictures of the village!

After exploring the village, we were then back on the bus back to the ship. On the way, we got a view of the island where the TV show Survivor is filmed along with I was able to take some pictures of the industry in Lautoka – a truck laden down with sugar cane on its way to the factory and the wood chip piles waiting to be processed and sent to Asia.

Now we got back to the ship, there were lots of vendors set out selling their wares! I was able to resist purchasing from most of them except I did get one t-shirt which of course was my favourite colour and then we got onto the ship to relax!

Tomorrow we have our original excursion planned to the city of Nadi along with some other interesting things to do along the way!

Bula! That is Good Day or Hello in Fijian!

Today we arrived in Savusavu, Fiji! It is humid and HOT here! Type of weather that you can get hydrated by keeping your mouth open! Today is a tender port so I get to try the newer elevators that are on the Noordam that were NOT installed last time we sailed on this ship! First plan of action after taking the tender to the wharf? Andrew has the map of the village and we are going to the pharmacy (chemist) and to an ATM to get money! Then I though we would hang around until our tour time of 12:30 pm where we are going on an excursion to a “Traditional VIllage”. Many people from the ship are going to a nearby resort with a beach for the day but that is not my cup of tea – that is sitting on a beach and paying to do so! I like to check out the history and culture of the area and learn about where we are visiting!

Here we are arriving at Savusavu, with the first tender out to drop off the staff at the wharf to help the passengers out. Such a vantage point we get at the pointy end of the ship! Then we got onto the tender and went to town ourselves and walked around, shopped and while I was breathing in the 80% humidity, I still needed to patronize a store to get a cold Coke Zero!

After walking the main street which seemed to be about 4 blocks long on each side, we came back to the tender area where a band was playing and there were picnic tables set up and waited for our tour which was to start at 12:30 pm. Of course, I crocheted during that time and chatted with the people around me, one of whom was a husband and wife – where the wife was knitting on four needles a hat. I had sat near this lady when watching one of the Hawaiian talks on the Lido deck prior to arriving in Honolulu and tried to talk to her however it was evident she did not speak English. Now she was with her husband I tried to speak with him as I was curious as to what she was knitting. She knits hats for the sailors in their town. They live in a northern European country (I think it was Norway) and each year she knits hats for the fishermen! They were quite heavy looking hats so I let her husband know that I was Canadian and in Canada we call them a toque which is a French Canadian word for hat! He was pleased to learn a new word! Shortly after our chat, the green bus arrived for our tour! Holy COW was it a high bus to get up onto! Yikes!

Here are my pictures below of arriving at the village – the ride was about 30 minutes in the “green bus” which is also the public transportation busses used in Savusavu – so when we passed bus stops people popped out thinking we were going to pick them up only to be disappointed! It was a really interesting drive past some very nice homes and then some more industrial looking homes and then on the other side of the island to where the village, Nukubalavu was located. We were all given a lei when we got off the bus which was awesome and the children all sang for us on our arrival! I had a video of it but it did not turn out very well so you will just have to imagine their angelic voices singing in Fijian on how happy they were to see us!

We all gathered around the bus stop and it was explained to us that we were going on a tour of the village and if anyone did not want to go on the tour they would be helped to the community hall where the kava and dancing would take place in about an hour. Several people took that option, where Andrew and I went on the village tour with one little modification – I wanted to get to the beach as it was calling out LOUD! The first stop was the Primary School building, which Andrew went up the stairs into it while I walked around and took pictures through the windows. The ceiling of the building was very low, and there was artwork hanging from the rafters – a very colourful display! There was a classroom area, napping area, computer area and then an office area. With 30 people in the space it was hard to get some good pictures…glad I was not in there with my walker too! While they were listening to the teacher I took off to the beach along with another lady from the cruise ship who really wanted to get into the water – wearing her clothes as is! I took some pictures (and of her in the bottom left) while some kids frolicked next to a boat. The whole light brown colour area of the water was only waist deep for an adult. What amazed me was the colour of the water just beyond that – it turned a beautiful turquoise blue and then dark blue! Quite a contrast in water colours from the beach! Here was my vantage point below in a panorama picture – the two white masses on the ground are fishing nets – looked to be tangled to me – however one never knows until one starts to unwind them!

Now that the tour from the Primary School house has caught up with us at the beach, we continue along the path beside some of the beach front properties – which are all on stilts as they are prone to flooding. Next we came to the Village Church, which had some lovely long stairs out front and was cooled inside by some lovely ceiling fans! It at this point in time was only about 32 degrees C out and 78% humidity… Next we walked along past some tables that the ladies had set out from the village and into the Village Community Hall, where the Kava Ceremony was to take place.

On the bus ride into the village, the tour guide had asked people to volunteer for the Kava ceremony, and no one was volunteering so I decided to volunteer. I know that traditionally it is a male only ceremony, however the tour guide told me that this village has no problems with females participating. So there I am on the right side of the line of 4 people for the ceremony – 2 from my bus and 2 from the other bus!

The Kava Ceremony – this was NOT the first time I have had Kava. Here is the story on how I was introduced to Kava!

I had the pleasure of getting to know a co-worker of mine when I worked at Class Software, named Puranji, PJ for short, who was a software tester. PJ was a VERY inquisitive person and was always determined to test the software to its fullest capabilities and wanted to ensure that it was not going to product problems (also called bugs) for the customers. When I, as a Product Manager, designed new features to be put into the software, the programmers would make it work and the testers would ensure that it worked. PJ always took an extra interest in ensuring that all facets of the “features” were correct and sometimes found things that I had forgotten to think about or document. I was amazed by the way he though – sort of like my dad – the engineer!

Anyway, PJ told me in December, 1999 that he was so happy that he had saved up enough money to take his wife, Bhwana and himself back to India where Bhwana’s family lived. PJ was from Fiji and I believe they had met and gotten married in Fiji, however had wanted to go to India to visit her relatives. However an opportunity to move to Canada came up and PJ and Bhwana decided to immigrate to Canada instead in about 1998 and PJ then began working at Class Software. Now, in January, 2000, they were going to take that trip to India to visit his wife’s family. Now, unknown to anyone at Class Software, PJ had been experiencing headaches at work, which he thought were related to the computer usage. When they were flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong, PJ got sick and to make a very long story short, they ended up getting to Delhi, however PJ ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Bhwana’s family came to Delhi to visit them and once PJ was stable, they returned to Canada. This was at the end of February, 2000.

In the meantime, I had been in my accident in January, 2000 and I was off work. I heard that PJ was also off sick so we started emailing each other and eventually, I visited PJ at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster where he was undergoing testing after returning to Canada to try and figure out the best treatment for his tumour. PJ’s dad flew in from Fiji and after PJ was discharged from the hospital, my dad I think, took me to visit PJ at his and Bhwana’s basement apartment in Surrey. It was there that I met PJ’s dad and we talked a lot about Fiji, PJ’s upbringing and then out came the Kava! Now, I was told at that point in time that Kava was a man’s drink. PJ’s dad would have some of the community over and they would drink Kava while PJ and I would chat about software and things like that. However at one point, PJ’s dad asked me if I wanted to try it. I was hesitant at first, however I eventually tried it. It looks like brown dirty water! However before I tried it, PJ’s dad, whose name is Sattvik, told me about the ceremony, the Kava root and its properties (medicinal, analgesic and hallucinogenic) and I took a very LITTLE sip only. It did numb my tongue a little bit. PJ would not take part due to the medications he was on at the time.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with PJ and his dad, along with his mother, when she also came from Fiji to visit. Their cooking was phenomenal! One of PJ’s parents made me curry Dungeness Crab, and for you who know me, Dungeness Crab is my favourite food and it was a wonderful meal! PJ’s dad is also quite a well known musician in Fiji and he played various musical instruments – if I remember correctly, one was more of an accordion type instrument. It was hard for both PJ and myself to be off sick from Class Software, a company we both enjoyed working for and I was appreciative that I was able to visit PJ the times I was able to, at their place in Surrey. I will never forgot my introduction to Kava, and PJ’s parents or, most importantly the joy PJ brought to my life after my accident. As a person born in Canada, it was an honour to see PJ and Bhwana become Canadian citizens (which was fast-tracked due to PJ’s aggressive brain tumour diagnosis) and to attend, with PJ’s dad, their Citizenship ceremony and hear the retired judge talk about what it is to be a citizen of Canada. It was a very moving experience! After PJ and Bhwana got their citizenship, and PJ’s brain cancer was in remission, they went on a trip to Fiji and Australia (where PJ had gone to school), to visit friends and family and then returned to Canada. Unfortunately, PJ passed away due to his brain cancer, however I will never forget such a smart, dedicated person, who I later found out was an Aeronautical Engineer, and his family and the gift of friendship they shared with me while they were in Canada.

Now, back in Suvasuva, there is a Kava ceremony to attend, and PJ and his dad are on my mind. I remembered that the Kava plant is a root type plant that is pounded and then water is added to create the drink, however as Kava is not allowed to be imported into Canada, PJ’s dad used powdered Kava I think to create his drinks. We were about to see the “real thing” and oh, were we in for a show and I was up close to see it!

For this Kava ceremony, the Chief is sitting at the Kava bowl. A young warrior brings in “pure” water in a bamboo tree and pours it into the Kava bowl. Then the Kava root, which are in strips, are put into the bowl and kneaded or squished and then the Chief passes the Kava root mass behind him to the right to a warrior sitting behind him who I am not sure what he does with it, however he then hands it back on the left side of the Chief and this happens 2 more times – squeeze, pass back and then forward. At that time, the water bearer warrior comes forward again and receives the Kava in a cup (coconut shell) and then does a chat to the father and walks ahead to me and bows down in front of me. I then need to clap once to receive the Kava cup. I then (thinking back to my experience with PJ and his dad) take a little SIP and hand it back. The warrior then tells me to drink it ALL – holy cow – that is like a cup of Kava! Down it goes!

Then he claps 3 times while I do that and I clap 3 times after I am done and then the process is repeated for the next 3 Kava drinkers in the line. I thought we were done then and my tongue, as expected was now numb. Oh no! We started all over again! This time it was to honour our mothers which makes sense! Thank goodness this time the Kava cup was only half full! Down it went and onward the ceremony proceeded. What an experience! While I completely honour the fact that it is supposed to be a male ceremony, I was really happy that due to my past knowledge and experience with PJ and his dad, that I was able to participate in the full Kava ceremony myself. As the video is just over 3 minutes long, I had to break it into 2 parts due to uploading time on the ship’s wifi…

Next we watched a some traditional dancing which was quite fun, including one of the warriors continuing to stick his tongue out at me! I do not think I captured it on a photo but it was quite funny – reminded me of when the All Blacks did the Huka for me at their practice field where I was working in Christchurch, New Zealand – a bit intimidating!

Here are some pictures of the men dancing (2 videos), then the women dancing and then the band with audience participation!

Time for audience participation! Nope, I was not participating this time…. the kids all came and got someone and had fun!

After the dancing we were entertained with two different processes – basket weaving one woman’s basket and one man’s fishing basket and then coconut presentation. It was hard to document these simultaneous processes! I did my best 🙂

Here is the coconut shucking process that took place in front of me – several coconuts were brought in and various implements – both historic and modern day were used to show how the coconut husk is removed and then the “nut” is cut to release the water and then the coconut “mean” is harvested. They also mentioned that a lot of people think drinking coconut milk has a “milky” look like cows milk, however it is actually quite watery! The addition of blended meat into the coconut water is what causes the milky presence in the coconut milk that is sold in stores today.

Then we walked back to the bus which took us to the Suvasuva town centre where we were dropped off (literally from the high rise bus) to catch the tender back to the ship. Here are some pictures that I took from the bus, as I was now on the “view” side going back into town.

Well, that was a pretty long and fun day on Savusavu for us! Now back on the ship, it is time to relax and move onto our next port which is Lautoka, Vili Levu, Fiji tomorrow! We will be in Lautoka overnight so we have two tours planned there – one easy one and one that will be a bit more “intensive”. More on that later!