We arrived back in Suva yesterday after spending the past eight days on Vanua Balavu. We were scheduled to be there for ten days, but we were delayed getting out of Suva a few days because the runway on the island was 'wet'. If you look at the photo of the airport on Vanua Balavu, you'll understand better:)

This will be a long journal entry since quite a lot has happened since we last wrote. Where to begin ... ?

We spent almost a week in Suva with my cousin Alan and his wife. A tough time to be here since they were packing up their lives and getting ready to leave Fiji and head back to the US while we were on the island. It was an unexpected family emergency that send Alan home, so the 'pulling up stakes' had to happen quickly and it didn't leave room for problems to arise and solutions to be developed. When we left, they appeared to have everything under control. I have to email them to find out 'the rest of the story'!

During those last few days in Suva, we got to spend some time getting to know one another and we plan to visit them once we return to the States next year. Alan's brother Jeff (also my cousin obviously) lives in Baltimore and hopefully we'll get to see him again someday when we return. Here in Suva, Alan and Susan took us to several of their favorite restaurants, we met several friends, went to Alan's farewell dinner from the University, and he even arranged for us to leave some excess baggage at a friends house which is where we are staying now that we are back in Suva. Melanie, we can't thank you enough for taking in a couple of strays and putting us up. Hopefully we can repay your kindness somehow, someday!

On November 26th at the incredibly early hour of 4:20 AM, we awoke to depart for Vanua Balavu. Our rescheduled departure time was 6:30 and the airport is about 30 minutes outside of Suva. This was the first time we flew to Vanua Balavu. Our last tip here we took a 22 hour ferry ride and swore we would never do it again, but that's a different story. Today we had a one hour flight over some beautiful coral reefs and small islands. Flying over Fiji in a small plane lets you appreciate how many islands make up this country. Hundreds of tiny dots with little villages on most of them.

Upon our arrival, no one from Moana's Guesthouse was at the airport. They hadn't been told the flight was finally coming in, so we caught a taxi (a large truck with a covered bed) into the village and out to their property along the beach. They were surprised, but delighted we finally made it. After checking out the new 'resort', we moved into a large burred with it's own bathroom! Quite a novelty in a burre!

We spent three weeks here from December 1999 to January 2000 and it was an amazing time for us. We were the first people to stay in their newly completed burres down by the beach and we had the place all to ourselves for much of the time. Since then Carolyn and David (Tevita in Fijian or Tongan) have built their own little village down by the water. The original guesthouse was in the village of Lomaloma and about 100 meters from the beach. The new location is right on the waters edge as you can tell from some of the photos. While we were there, construction began on another burre. This time they brought in a stonemason all the way from Reno, Nevada. Well, not quite, but the mason had lived in Reno for many years during the same time Valerie lived there, so they had lots to talk about. Construction techniques in Fiji are not quite what they are in the US, but for all my Structural Engineer friends, you will never convince me that belts and suspenders are needed after watching how these buildings are constructed. I don't know how they would fair in a hurricane, but you probably wouldn't be in one this close to water if one was coming anyway. The Architecture on the island is not traditional Fijian, but is mainly Tongan. This is distinguishable by the rounded ends of the burres in Tongan construction as opposed to square ends in Fijian. Vanua Balavu is located in the Lau Group of islands and is very far east compared to much of Fiji. Historically, these islands had been fought over many times by the Fijians and the Tongans and thus the islands have been under both countries control for many centuries. The Tongan influence can be seen in more than the Architecture, but many of the locals have lighter skin complexion and straighter hair which are more Polynesian traits than Melanesian which are what most Fijians are descended from.

I had planned to do some diving while on the island, but a nasty cold kept me out of the water the entire week. In fact, it kept me in bed most of the week:( Hopefully this is the first and last cold I'll get on this trip, but the timing could not have been worse. Fiji has some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world, and I didn't get to see any of it from below. I did snorkel one day and had a close encounter with a four foot white tip reef shark. Carolyn, Moana and I were along the reef in front of their property one afternoon and I looked behind me and saw a white tip no more than about five feet away from me hunting along the reef. He looked at me, swam a little closer to see if I was food, and then decide to pick on something a little smaller. Got my heart pumping a bit, but the most disappointing part was not having my camera to capture it close-up!

While we were there, we were treated to a few local traditions. Wednesday, Moana graduated from Secondary school and we went to the celebration. In typical Fijian fashion, we were invited to take a front row seat for the festivities. There was marching, speeches, food and all the dancing that accompanies any Fijian celebration. Also, our last night on the island, David roasted a pig over an open spit and Moana and her friends put on a special Meke for us. Unfortunately, I was sleeping off my cold, but Valerie did take some very cute photos of the girls during their dancing.

This trip to Vanua Balavu was quite different from our last trip. During the Millennium celebration the island was bustling with visitors from all over the world and there were Mekes and Feasts going on in all the villages. This trip it was a sleepy island just going about live the way Fijians do. Both sides of this have their advantages, and it was great to see the island in it's typical state. Very relaxing and slow paced. The perfect place to get the batteries charged before we head off to New Zealand where we'll be on the go for most of the time.

We intend to write at east one more entry from Fiji which will recap what we've seen, done, eaten, read, etc.

Until then, vinaka moce! (Fijian for 'thanks and good-by')

Eric