[password] TwinkY6433
[position] 16 46.631S 179 20.084E
[weather] ESE 5 knots, 1016 baro.
[speed] On a mooring outside the Copra Shed Marina.
[status] Yesterday we had a relaxed morning sorting out our internet, and then found a nice local place for a curry for lunch. We also went for a walk and found the Fiji Pearl farm. It was not well signposted, but after asking a few locals we found it. We had a quick look in the showroom, and then asked if we could have a look around as we heard they will give people tours. They said they had the technician here from Japan at the moment seeding the oysters. I mentioned Steve is a marine biologist who has done a bit of work in the aquaculture field in Nz but with mussels. They seemed happy to show us their operation, and since we waited patiently, we were rewarded with watching the Japanese specialist doing the delicate work of seeding the oysters (photos will be posted on Facebook). Basically he opens the shell a little but, and then using instruments similar to what you would find in a medical surgery, carefully cuts the foot out (the bit the oyster uses to attach to things) and then places a small round ball (made from mussel shell from the USA) inside the oysters ?pocket?. This is the ?irritant? that the oyster then forms the a coating over to create a pearl. Along with that, he also places a part of an oyster with the colour he wants the pearl to be, with the ball, and the oyster will then create a pearl of that same colour. Not sure how that works but it?s pretty cool! They then put the oysters back in net sleeves in the ocean and look after them. They get regular cleanings (water blasting) and apart from predation from various things like starfish and turtles, will then take 18 months (I think from memory) to product a pearl. The pearls are then graded on colour, shape, lustre etc etc (much like diamond) and the price set. I knew we wouldn?t be able to afford anything because there were not many prices on things. I cheekily asked to see the most expensive thing they had, which turned out to be a pearl necklace with huge gun-metal grey pearls, and a price tag of a mere $110,000. Nice! At the other end of the scale they had some loose pearls for $80. The sales lady didn?t look impressed when I asked ?what about just an oyster shell??! Hahahha. She didn?t give me a price, stating they only sold polished shells, as we would not be allowed to take a raw shell back to NZ. There were literally tons of the bloody things lying around, but I resisted and didn?t swipe one off the rubbish pile on the way out.

So they they do this whole ?seeding? and then harvesting about 4-5 times in the life of the oyster before they get past their use by date. I imagine they get pretty much over it by then as when I asked them ?so from an anotomy point of view what is this ?pocket? thing that they put the irritant into?, they sheepishly said it was basically their gonads. So, you kinda have to feel sorry for these little guys. They have something irritating put in their gonads (reproductive organs for the non biologists amongst you), which when they put a nice smooth surface over it to prevent the irritation, is taken out and replaced with another irritating thing in their gonads! Kinda like kicking the poor little buggers in the nuts and waiting for them to recover and then repeating the whole process!

So, it?s a pretty tough life being an oyster!

Later in the afternoon I left Steve on board and went off to run a few errands, like getting our cruising permit for Fiji coastal waters sorted. We had arranged to catch up with Varekai on Seaforth that evening for dinner. On the way back to the boat, I was motoring away from the dock, and just happened to turn to see ?Udder Life?, and our good friend Celia waving to me from the dock! These guys were on the rally last year and are good friends and bloody nice people! I zipped back for reunion hugs, and watched Wally fillet a lovely big wahoo they caught on their way in (see Facebook for photos). We quickly relocated the Varekai/Seaforth drinkies and dinner to Udder Life and had an awesome evening with old friends (including Caprice), and new friends (Muritai).

Today, we hired a car and drove over to Labasa with Muritai and Wally off Udder Life. We found a nice tropical rainforest walk, and had a lovely swim in the cold freshwater pool at the bottom. We enjoyed a curry in Labasa, and the sights and sounds of a bustling city dominated by the Fijian Indians. Lots of all types of shops, including loads of clothing shops.

As we were driving through the countryside we saw acres and acres of sugar cane, so went and found the factory that processes them. We knew we must be getting close when we saw trucks lines up loaded with sugar cane waiting to get in. What we didn?t realise was how long the queue was! It was kilometres long and 1-3 trucks wide in places. People were sleeping under their vehicles, gathering in small groups, or had simply parked up and gone elsewhere while they waited for the factory to start taking their huge loads of sugarcane.

After a long and eventful day, we were a bit tired, but still needed to catch up with Varekai before they leave for Vuda about 3am tomorrow (and will not be back to fiji until after we will have arrived in Spain).

Now, I might have mentioned this before, but I?ll say it again. There are some truly awesome things about this cruising life: we meet wonderful people who have a real spark and a joy for living life to the fullest - sometimes because of a medical scare, or maybe because they just realise that in the end, life is pretty short. The downside about the cruising life though is that you sometimes have to say farewell, sometimes forever, to people who have become very good friends. Luckily, we are fairly certain we will see the crew of Varekai again, but that may be several years away. They have become very good friends who we just seem to click with, and have helped us more than they will probably ever know. We share a lot of the same ideals and passion for living life and having fun, and will miss them dearly. We will, of course, keep in contact with them via the Internet, until we return to join them on a future rally. So farewell for now Hugo, Daphne, and Nutella Ella - safe passage, fair winds and following seas.

[END]