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It’s an incredible
combination (Surprise’s highly efficient steward, for instance,
is the son of a tribal chief) that makes a charter aboard this yacht truly
unlike any other: polished Western accommodations and service in the midst
of local church services, feasts, and celebrations.
“The Fijian way
of life is quite different, and it’s really mind-blowing,” Dunlop
says. “People come here, and they’re tired from the long trip,
they’re uptight from their busy life, and they really relax.”
That’s easy to
do aboard a 115-foot yacht with spacious staterooms and plush couches,
especially after an evening of passing the bilo around the kava bowl on
a quiet island in the Yasawa chain. I was happy with everything and everyone
in the world when I stood up after my four or five helpings, and I had
nary a concern as I walked toward the steaming hump of dirt that was covering
my supper.
The kava ceremony was
part of a lovo, a traditional style of cooking in which the locals dig
a hole the diameter of a wading pool and build a fire within it. They
stack rocks in rows above the flames and heat them like a grill, then
place fish, chicken, and other food atop the rocks. Banana leaves (and
their more modern variation, canvas bags) cover the food, and dirt is
piled atop that. The whole thing is left to simmer underground for several
hours until men with garden shovels reclaim the evening’s feast.
White smoke pours onto their bare feet as they dig, and they take frequent
breaks to wipe the sweat from their foreheads.
To be honest, some of
the meat tasted like tree bark, but our charter party ate heartily nonetheless.
We were starving after what had become our daily itinerary of shelling,
snorkeling, and diving under the searing sun.
Huge, healthy reefs
ring the shorelines of Fiji’s islands, just as they appear to in
the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away, which was filmed in Fiji’s
Mamanuca chain. Surprise must anchor fairly far out to avoid disturbing
the coral around each island, so the crew brings guests to the beaches
and reefs in a tender, then stays to snorkel and dive with them, being
especially attentive to beginners.
I’m no beginner
at watersports, but my sunburn made me look like one after the crew dragged
me away from the glorious cobalt-blue sea stars, giant clams, and “magic
coral” that fades from purple to white, then back again, at the hint
of movement nearby. There are parrotfish and Moorish idols, just as in
other parts of the world, but there’s also a form of coral I’ve
not seen elsewhere. It looks like trees—if branches were made of
marshmallow clouds and tipped with exploding red, blue, and yellow fireworks.
Next page >
Part
3: Fun-filled days always
seeped into culture-filled nights, even when we stayed aboard. > Page 1,
2, 3, 4
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