Pig

In the morning Petr and Alex from Endless and we headed to Dreamtime with all our dive gear. Dreamtime dragged the three dinghies round to the other side of Makodroga Island to our north. There they anchored and we all headed off to a bommie (coral head) to dive. Being close to high tide the seas were quite choppy. There were currents around the bommie which made the dive a bit tricky at times but all in all, with very clear water the dive was pretty good. The corals were vibrant and the fish abundant Helen felt a bit queasy towards the end so we headed back ahead of the others.

Back on Dreamtime we warmed up while we waited for the others to return. Petr, having a more powerful outboard, headed straight back to the anchorage. Raising Dreamtime’s anchor turned out to be a problem as it had become tangled in coral/rock. I ended up free diving down the descending chain to take a look. I almost got it untangled before I ran out of breath. I didn’t enjoy the 40ft ascent to the surface but I was motivated. I put on my dive gear to finish the job off, forgetting to put the weights back on which made my descent a bit harder than it should. Once I’d freed the chain from the coral I used the chain to slow my ascent.

Back at the anchorage we relaxed the afternoon before going ashore at 5pm for the cooked pig. The few villagers remaining (some had left for Suva/the other side of the island) had cooked the pig along with taro root, taro leaves, plantains and casava in a ground oven covering everything over with leaved. The pig had been dismembered and the various parts intricately wrapped in woven leaves.

The food was delicious. The pig must have led a good life as it was pretty fatty but that was all at the surface and could be removed. We’d taken a lot of beer ashore to share with the villagers which pleased them no end. We also took some toys and balloons for the four small children there. The balloons never lasted long so I was kept busy inflating others. The children also had a lot of fun chasing my laser pointer around the place.

Our general plan is to wait here for a day or two for a front that is approaching. The front bring northerlies, then westerlies, either of which will be good for a sail down to Gau which will close the distance between here and Suva. The front itself will likely bring rain so we’ll leave once the worst is past. That’s the idea anyway.