At 9am a group of us (John: Sea Mist, Stuart: Imagine, Jo: Osso Blanco + all of us) headed ashore for our hike up to the top of the hill where the vodafone cellphone tower sits.
The hike took us through some very lush landscape taking us just over an hour to climb the 338m hill. At the top we were let into the vodafone tower complex and shown the equipment comprising a wind generator, a vast array of solar panels, a generator, some power/switch boxes and the tower itself. We were then offered the opportunity to climb the 25m tower which was quite a surprise. Jo, John (Sea Mist), Helen and myself took on the challenge reaching the top of the tower holding onto the lightening conductor for support. The climb was tricky as the tower became narrower and narrower as we reached the top making the space we were climbing in awkward. On the positive side it was good to have something at our back in case we needed to rest. The view from the very top was awesome.
By the time we made it back down and to the boat it was already 1pm. We ate lunch then had a brief nap before going snorkeling. Only it wasn’t so brief and and afternoon disappeared. Unfortunately, earlier hopes of a clearing sky failed to turn into reality. While this was good for the morning hike, we are all beginning to miss the sunshine. John and I prepared for a snorkel but it started to rain so we called it off.
At six, all the boats here headed ashore in our dinghies for a meke – a dance and music put on by the village. We met up in the community hall. Here we were given plates of food that had been prepared for us and some delicious lemon tea. The cava bowl had been broken out and the cava was flowing. We were first entertained by five of the younger men who performed an energetic dance largely sitting down.
After the dancing we mingled with the villagers in the room chatting with them while a group sang Fijian songs. The evening ended with the farewell song Isa Lei.
One surprising thing we learned was that last year the bay had no boats visit and the year before only one. This rare run of southerlies has now brought seven boats into the anchorage which is very rare.
There was mild panic at the end when reports of our dinghies drifting off started circulating. I’m not entirely sure what the problem ended up being. I think one had drifted a short distance. Ours ended up being stuck where we’d anchored it. Because the evening had gone on longer than we’d expected I had a bit of a wade out to it to bring it back to the beach. It had gone nowhere. I towed in Sea Mist’s dinghy who was in a similar spot.
Today we’re hoping to go swimming with the mantas and maybe go for a dive this afternoon. The weather continues to be a bit depressing and the forecasts are not overly encouraging. The villagers are planning to put on music and more dancing this evening so we’re looking forward to that.
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