The Rainy Season In Savusavu

The rainy season just kicked in, so we moved to our new accommodation just in time, since now we have a TV, CD player, radio and DVD player with a good supply of pirated DVDs from local shops (DVD piracy is an institution in Fiji!) to pass the time indoors while it rains...

Last Monday we settled into a cozy little holiday bure on the hillside property of Hans, a German ex-pat and an interesting fella, with whom we spend hours talking on the veranda while the rain pounds the coconut trees outside. Hans' Place, as his place is called, is about 100 yards from the sea and a 10-minute bus ride to town. The whole property is practically one large tropical garden with two visitor bures and Hans' own house on the top of a hill so steep that half-way up the hill your heart starts pounding heavily, and by the time you reach the top, you're drenched in sweat and out of breath (and we're in good shape!). But as Hans says: "Once you get up here, you know why we do it." Namely, it's the breathtaking view of the surrounding lush green hills, the blue bay and distant cloud-covered mountains.

Compared to our modest and musty Suva apartment, we're enjoying amazing comfort and luxury in our little cottage here - we have a stove to cook on, toaster, bathroom that's not a breeding ground for unidentified fungi, a fan and all utensils we need to cook up some real Pacific delicacies (cookbook also provided). We have a veranda, privacy and even a kitty named Bogie who comes to keep us company or chew on our feet. And no obnoxiously loud mynah birds waking us up at 6:30 every morning, as it was their custom in Suva...

We went back to Nasinu village to witness Vika's 21st birthday party, which was a huge celebration. Preparation for it took 2 days and involved the entire village: women fried meet, made curry and braided flower salusalu (Fiji ceremonial leis), men made lovo food (baked in a traditional Fiji earth oven lovo) and children decorated the ceremony area with braided coconut palms. There were crowds of people and heaps of food everywhere. In the evening, Vika was dressed in a traditional dress made from painted masi (also known as tapa, cloth made from the bark of mulberry tree) and Ryan and I, as guests of honor, were also "leid" with salusalu and sat next to Vika at the head of the table during the ceremony, which included speeches, prayers and the delivery of a "key to life" to Vika. This key, hand-carved from wood, is a symbol of freedom and responsibility for her own decisions, now that she's officially an adult. After that, the village ate the heaps of food (and let us tell you, Fijians know how to eat!) and went back to its relaxing mode: women sat around and talked and the men grogged till the wee hours of the morning.

A few nights ago we had a bit of excitement when a brush fire reached Hans' property and we feared for a few moments that we will be smoked out... Thankfully, the fire burned itself out before it reached any house, but it was awesome to look at... Another excitement here is snorkeling. We finally bought our own gear and every other day we walk down the road to "Split Rock", a piece of massive coral-covered rock that sits about 100 yards from shore. The coral is maybe not as colorful as the ones we saw at Beqa, but the reef fish are spectacular. There are these little striped guys who like to come close and nibble on us, Ryan even took one painful bite in the side! No Nemos, though.

That's about all the news for now. We hope we get home dry today. We'll eat another pawpaw (papaya) from the garden, watch a movie and make a plan for the holidays. For Christmas we're thinking about getting pampered for a day at a local resort before trekking over to the 180th meridian on the neighboring island of Taveuni in time for New Year's. We'll be among the first people on Earth to welcome the year 2007. Yay!

Happy Holidays!