Chapter 171: Windy reef entrances and back to civilization…

We started last week on Beqa in Vaga Bay.  We had a few quiet days there waiting for a good window to head back towards the main island of Viti Levu.  We got to have a good paddle in the kayak around the bay as well as a chance to meet some local teens who stopped by to say hello on their way home from school.  The school is two villages away so they travel by long boat each day, in school uniform, to attend school.  They were very friendly and the girls were whispering and giggling with each other as the boys engaged in conversation with me – very typical teenagers for sure! We decided to plan to leave on Wednesday and travel to Natadola Harbor,  halfway back to Nadi where we need to be for my sister’s visit.  

We got up at first light on Wednesday and were pulling anchor by 7am.  We were anticipating some wind but thinking we would be motor sailing and it would take us 7-8 hours to get there. Instead, we had wind on the beam – just what Meraviglia likes.  We were able to sail for most of the journey and as we got closer to the approach to Natadola, the wind increased.  Because it was quite choppy as well, we decided to wait until we were through the reef entrance and in the bay to drop the mainsail, hoping it would be less choppy and safer for Bob up on deck as he dropped the sails.  Just as we turned into the pass,  the wind increased to 28 sustained just as we needed to drop sails and get anchored. That was definitely a new experience and not one that I would like to often repeat but we got it done safely with the anchor set as the wind continued to blow, gusting up past 30 knots.  All day we had been looking forward to arriving there and going to shore for some provisions and a meal after being off grid for a bit but with the wind, there was no way to get our dinghy and outboard motor safely in the water so we stayed onboard hoping morning conditions would improve. 

Thursday dawned bright and sunny.  It was still very windy but we decided to go ahead and get the dinghy in the water to go ashore.  We got Piccola in the water and headed for the beach where we could tie up the dinghy and visit the Intercontinental Fiji.  After being off grid and only visiting small villages for the last couple of weeks,  the Intercontinental was definitely a bit of an adjustment!  They are very welcoming to visiting cruisers and you can purchase a day pass that gives you full access to all the amenities of the resort including the pools, beach cabanas, restaurants, gym, etc… It was very nice to finally get a meal out after a few weeks of eating solely onboard and very limited access to fresh produce. As we sat at the pool and walked around the resort, it seemed to be mostly visitors from New Zealand and Australia.  It is a pretty easy flight from both locations to Fiji so definitely a very popular vacation destination.  We decided to return to the resort for a second day on Friday and wait for better wind on Saturday for the passage back to Port Denerau.

On Saturday, we left Natadola for Port Denerau in the morning.  We did some sailing and some motoring, arriving around lunchtime.  We plan to stay here until Monday morning when we will head back to Vuda Marina.  We will be a Vuda for a couple of days of boat projects and provisioning before my sister arrives on Thursday for her visit. We are very excited to have her come aboard and get to experience Fiji with us!

While we enjoyed our adventures this week, we also cannot fail to acknowledge all of the continued gun violence, racism, and the deep divides of the nation.  All of the people we love most are in the US and we pray daily for their safety, both physically and emotionally as we also pray for the country as a whole. As we continue to travel around the world, it has been illuminating and depressing to compare the rates of violent crime in the US, in particular gun violence and mass shootings, with the places we have journeyed.  I did not agree with what Charlie Kirk stood for, especially his view that deaths from gun violence are inevitable and acceptable. I disagree and won’t accept that anyone dying, especially children, is a worthy price that we have to pay. But ALL deaths from gun violence should be condemned equally, whether the victims are public figures or not, regardless of their beliefs or speech. While some of the places we have visited may be poorer in financial terms, they are infinitely richer in community, safety, and peaceful coexistence even when something may divide them. We could and should learn a lot from them.

*Editors note: Thank you to my children for helping me process how to write about the events of this week. Nick and Kat, as always, I am so grateful for your insight, integrity, and thoughtfulness. 💛