The Supply Ship Party

The nearest town to the wharf is called Oinafa, and on our first day we went ashore to pay our respects to the chief. There’s no sevusevu ceremony practiced here, but we thought it would be good form to go introduce ourselves and all. We quickly learned from the people in the village that this wasn’t necessary at all. We are free to explore the island and come to the village whenever we want.

So, when the supply ship, that only comes once a month, arrived and was docked at the wharf, we figured we should go check it out. There were so many people gathered around that we thought it would be a great opportunity to meet some people. Everyone was very nice and friendly, and we found out that it’s not just a supply ship but also a passenger ship taking people to/from Suva. There were tons of kids on board, because there was a sporting tournament they were going to participate in. We were approached by many people curious of where we are from and how we like Rotuma so far, but later, as I reflected on all those we had spoken to and most were in some official capacity like police officer, marine safety person, self-designated yachtie chaperone, etc. So, I have to say my favorite person from that day was Freddy. Freddy is just an old guy who lives in the village who wanted to come and welcome us and find out about our story. He’s never left Fiji, and when Tim asked him if there was phone service on the island, I’m pretty sure he had no idea what he was talking about. Freddy seemed particularly interested in the boys, and later I had to chastise them because they didn’t engage at all. They were grouchy at us for making them go ashore, and they couldn’t see past that and give Freddy the interaction he so obviously wanted. We were there talking to people for some time, so the boys went to run along the beach, an absolutely beautiful beach by the way. They came back to let us know the storm was coming, and by the looks of the sky they were right, so we ran to the dinghy, but it was too late, we got caught in the downpour on the way back anyway. So, already wet, we decided to take advantage of the torrential rain and have showers. Well, three of us anyway, the fourth spent the time setting up rain catchers so then our tanks and jerry cans were full.