We had been told that there is a trail from the beach at our anchorage up to a road that would lead to the village, so figured we could find it. We did find it, but we later realized we took the long path up to the road. It was a damp and muddy walk, about 30 min, to the village, but once we got there, we found the people of the village to be very nice. After we presented sevusevu they invited us to stay right then for some Kava. It seems we tried to beg out of it by saying we wouldn’t be able to stay long because we wanted to walk back before dark, but they didn’t take that to mean no kava, they naturally took it to man not *much* kava. This is actually a rare treat; you don’t often get to drink kava with the chief right then and there after the sevusevu. So, I was glad for Marcus and Robin and kids getting to experience this aspect of traditional village life. The kids were all bored, though, and we were all grateful when one of the women brought in bananas for them to eat. The village kids were all very curious about us but very, very shy. Carine, the youngest daughter on Caminante broke the ice and had a great time running around and playing with them. And as usual, 1 year old Benjamin from Fluenta stole everyone’s hearts.
Kids in the doorway during our sevusevu
Group photo in Gau
For some reason after the bumpy passage and then walking an hour in the rain to and from the village to do sevusevu, and then after having to carry dingies over the coral and rocks because the tide had receded so much, the Bellini’s still looked like they were having fun. They really were getting the real deal with their cruising vacation, that’s for sure.
Gresham Family Exodus 