A video of preparing the kava, the music, and the general atmosphere.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Preparing the kava involved rubbing some pounded kava in water and wringing out the cloth.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Another portrait.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Picture of the people playing music and singing.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Her instant reaction to having a camera pointed at her was to hug me. I was caught very off-guard.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Bill and some of the others started playing with my camera, which resulted in some very candid portraits and other shots, some of which I thought captured the moment well.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
The villagers were drinking kava after the bonfire, so me and two or three of the guests joined them. Me and an American guy were asked to pay $10FJD later on in the night, after which Bill, who seems to be the boss, led everyone in some kind of chant in which I heard "America" and "China." Although I assume the chant is the thank us for the kava, I am very curious to know what words were said as kava carries such a large amount of symbolism here.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Another shot of the embers. It almost looks like writing.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
A kind of abstract shot of the embers blowing around in the wind.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Fire starting to die down.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Tending the fire under the palm trees and stars.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Finally getting the fire going.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Setting up the fire under the stars. The after-dinner activity today included a ridiculous "coconut race," where we would swing coconuts tied to our waists and try to knock another coconut out the door as fast as we can. I'm finally starting to warm up to the idea of organized activities a bit.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
After the rest of the day relaxing, snorkelling, and diving amongst the corals, we set up for a bonfire on the beach at night. I wanted to go for a summit walk since I heard the views from the top Kuata were great, but decided against it as I couldn't find anyone else to go with, and the sores of my feet from the fins were quite painful.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Lunch on the beach. Fish again, seems like they serve a lot of fish for lunch. The potato wedges were surprisingly good, and there was some songs as entertainment. There was a lot of relaxing in the afternoon and more snorkelling. I saw some sea salp and wondered if they stung. I enjoyed the company of a friendly French guy and had some juice from some young coconut from a tree by the hammock.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
After returning, I spent some more time snorkelling and relaxing. I decided that fins was not for me, as I ended up with some horrible blisters and raw patches on my feet from using them, and I am able to get around fine without them. I also ended up with a mysteriously swollen infected finger, and found that around here, many people, including the tourists, had mysterious infections and skin problems. In fact, these issues seemed quite common in the islands - I guess the environment isn't as clean as in the first world.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
I spent a lot of time diving below some of the coral overhangs to chase the sharks - I found the ability to equalize the pressure in my ears that I use for flights worked great for diving! Many were surprised at how deep I could go. Other that the guide, I was the only one going to that depth. The guide also lured sharks with the fish he caught, and held them for us to touch. The small metre-long sharks felt softer than expected, were very docile, and didn't seem to mind being touched.
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
On the way out, the guide stopped to spear a fish to lure the sharks with. On the horizon, Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji was visible. We stopped over a bank of shallow reefs after a fair bit of distance, jumped in the water, and immediately saw the sharks below us. It was pretty exciting when we spotted the sharks!
Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-40.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)