[password] grace40

[position] 19 08.375s 178 34.533w

[weather] 0700 15 July 2019. Presently 100% cloud cover. Had light rain off & on last night, and it looks threatening right now, but not presently raining. Wind was E-ENE 10-15 last night. Presently ENE 15. Baro 1010 - dropped 5 hpa since yesterday.

[status] 0700 15 July 2019. Yesterday's birthday party was a Fijian feast. Vegetarians can skip this next part. A pig was slaughtered and fixed three ways. Fortunately this was done before we arrived. The fact a pig was slaughtered meant the meal was a big event. One part was slow roasted in a lovo (buried underground over hot stones - a method found throughout north and south pacific islands). Another part was slow boiled in a curry sauce. And finally, a part was simmered in a barbecue-like sauce. All were delicious. In addition we had fish in coconut milk (a staple), nama (aka sea grapes - a type of seaweed that are tiny berries), spinach in coconut milk, and two root starches- casava and dalo, both of which taste like cardboard. Leilani made the only palangi (white person) food - macaroni salad with canned tuna, shredded carrot, and canned peas. All this was finished off with a birthday cake. There were 10 of us at the party, with Leilani, me, and one other yachty being the only non-Fijians. The party was for the school prinicipal's wife, her 33rd. An unusual difference from our western birthday custom is "Happy Birthday" is sung before the start of the meal, not when the cake is brought out. In true Fijian generosity, we and the other yachty were given left-over pig to take with us. Guess what tonight's dinner is.

I'm always a bit uncomfortable taking food, whether it be at the table or away. I always take small helpings, and try resisting accepting food to take back to the boat. The latter is not always successful because the villagers can be quite insistent. The people here, as at other isolated areas, are subsistence fishermen and farmers. They work extremely hard to feed themselves. Virtually everyday they go out fishing to put protein on the table, and have very limited veggies and starch items. While their custom is to be extremely generous, this sometimes is misinterpreted by some yachties as an invitation to ask, ask, ask for food items. Not all yachties are like this. But there are enough instances to show some yachties do not understand the subsistence lifestyle and the effort it takes villagers to feed themselves. For instance, some yachties actually put in an order for food items to be delivered, such as coconut crab (which is an endangered species), papaya, sweet potato, eggs like they were going through a McDonalds drive-thru. There is a small store in one of the villages that stocks very basic staples like potatoes, onions, flour, sugar, eggs, all of which come in on the rusty, leaky cargo boat every 4-6 weeks. It's their only source of supplies other than what they can catch and grow. Some yachties land here, find out about the store, and buy out the store supplies as if they're at a supermarket. And this is knowing that in a very short time they will be back someplace that actually has a supermarket. I wish they would show a bit more restraint in taking the villagers' supplies. As a fellow yachty it's embarrassing and disconcerting to see this happen. Okay, that's enough preaching.

Last year, spending almost 4 months here, it rained about two times. This past week it has been drizzling off and on, not quite daily, but almost. In fact it's drizzling right now. Not pouring down rain like in Savusavu. But enough drizzle to make it difficult for leilani to do laundry. I'm running short of underwear. I know, TMI.

Sototale, John

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