The day started with a dilemma. The skies were gray and it was drizzling. The weather forecast called for the northerlies to turn into southerlies later in the day and for the weather to improve. However, the northerlies had already turned to southerlies and the anchorage was getting rolly. Perhaps this meant the weather would soon improve. We wanted to see the mantas but not in poor light so we decided to wait for a while and see how it played out.
As the morning progressed the chop picked up but the weather showed no sign of improvement. On the first sign of queasiness aboard we set off heading for Naqara on the north side of Ono. The prediction was for several days of southerlies so this was our best bet. We set off and as Sea Mist and Imagine had much the same idea, off they went too.
Naqara had not been on our list of possible places to go but this is how it goes. The weather often dictates our actions and that can bring surprises. It wasn’t far to go so soon we were anchored in a tranquil bay, protected from the chop and swell.
Ashore we could see a few buildings but there were hints of more behind. It was now late morning. The three vessels agreed we should do sevusevu but decided to go a little later in the day.
Aboard dignity we rested and relaxed. I did a little handlining and caught a small grouper which was eventually released once all had seen it was possible to catch fish.
After lunch we all (including Sea Misters and Imagineers) all headed ashore to see if there was anyone with whom we could offer our respects via sevusevu.
It turned out there was village of 60 tucked behind the palm trees. We were greeted at the beach by one of the locals, Siwa, and taken to the community hut where we gave sevusevu to the chief via his head man. Here the ceremony was taken quite seriously with long speeches in Fijian followed by the formal welcome into the village in English.
We were then taken around the village by Siwa. The real highlight was visiting the school for the 6-12 year olds. 60% of the students were from Naqara and the remainder from the next village having to board each week. Some of the children were taking a maths exam so we quietly left them to it. In another block the teachers organised the children to give us a presentation. We all shared our names and backgrounds with the children and each of them, in turned, shared theirs. Some were bold, many were nervous. It was all good character building. Then the children sang two songs for us which was a wonderful surprise.
For their efforts Anne handed out the sweeties which were welcomed. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the beach. Along the way we made arrangements for the next day, at least the morning. We have a hike planned to the cell phone tower at the top of the hill. In the afternoon we may go to see the mantas.
Back at the beach the locals were collecting coconuts for us. One chap was up the tree tossing fresh ones down and others were cutting the tops off and giving them us to drink. We’ve not had this done since Tonga so this was all a nice surprise too.
Soon we were off back to our boats. On the beach we met the Jacksters and Ossa Blancos who had just arrived with the same need to shelter from the southerlies. It was nice to greet them again. We’ll be meeting up soon.
Back on the boat Anne and John tried out some fishing. John almost landed an octopus but Anne did well catching three fish with the fishing line. Four if you count the rock fish she hauled in which looked remarkably like a lump of coral.
As the sun was setting I took Anne ashore to give the fish she’d caught the last fisherman to go ashore. The fisherman appeared very pleased with the extra fish as he didn’t have too many himself.
We had a quiet dinner aboard followed by cards which didn’t last very long due to tiredness.
The new day has started with better weather. The water is very calm. The skies are a little cloudy which is perfect for our walk. Should be a good one.
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