World Cruise - Day 32 - Feb 13 - Dravuni Island, Fiji

I had difficulty choosing a sunrise photo today, since there were lots of low lying clouds on the horizon.  So I went with a vertical (portrait mode) photo instead:

The sun in the pic is above the first level clouds just above the water.  I took a few more shots, but the dark clouds to the left tended to make the contrast too stark.

Sonia and Patti, it was Samoa (not American Samoa) moved to the other side of the international dateline.  Samoa used to be Western Samoa and German Samoa.  Its trading partners are primarily in New Zealand, Australia and Asia.  So when it was Monday in NZ, AU and Asia, it was still Sunday in Samoa, so many people ended up having to work on Sunday.  Yet on Friday in Samoa, it was already Saturday in NZ, AU and Asia, so their trading partners were typically not working.  On the other hand, American Samoa’s primary trading partner is the US, so it makes sense for them to be on the same day as the US.  Samoa jumped to the other side of the dateline at the beginning of this year, so now Samoa and American Samoa are 24 hours apart (it’s always a day later in Samoa).  As far as being the first to enter the new year, I do know that there are islands further east that are also on the west side of the international dateline (islands in the Kiribati chain, including Caroline Island, a/k/a Millennium Island), but not sure how the time zones work for them vs. Samoa.  I do know that there are many Samoans that live in both Samoas (Samoa and American Samoa), so it probably is confusing for them to be off one day from each other.

It’s pretty hot and humid here.  When we opened our balcony door this morning, the big mirror in the room fogged up just like there was a shower going.  You can literally feel the moisture in the air (think steam bath).

Dravuni Island is one of the Kadavu group of islands of Fiji and apparently one of the smallest.  It is only 200 acres and there are less than 200 people on the island.  We were tendered ashore.  There are no vehicles, no real stores (although they did setup some stalls to sell stuff), no cinemas, all very laid back and generally pretty primitive (especially if you want to use a bathroom, bring your own TP).  As we approached the island, we had to first get inside the Astrolabe reef:

The island is part of an archipelago of islands in Fiji:

This is the island where we would be landing, Dravuni Island:

There is a small peak on the north side that we hiked early in the day, here is a view of our ship in the harbor from the top of the peak:

And a view of Krissie looking back toward the other side of the island:

View of the island from the peak:

Look at the beautiful colors of the water just offshore:

I’m on top of the world, first one to the top of the peak today:

The local natives dressed up in their cannibal outfits (Fiji was known as “Cannibal Islands”) for pics as passengers came ashore:

The huts in the background are as close as you’ll get to a store on the island:

There were several pens of pigs along the path around the island, Krissie thinks they are wild boars:

The island is very natural and tropical, just what you would think of when you think of Polynesia:

This dog beat me up the mountain in the morning, I was the first human, but he was the first up the mountain:

We then walked over to the other side of the island and walked along the beach:

The locals put on a show for us during the day:

This little girl was very shy, her mother was trying to get her to look at me, to no avail:

The local men sat in a circle playing guitars and ukuleles and singing music.  I think they would do that whether we were there or not, seems to be part of their daily life together:

Two locals started dancing to the music:

This little boy was having fun with his balloon:

While they were singing, they were serving kava, the local intoxicating drink:

This boy was trying to tell me he is three years old:

Coconuts are abundant on the island:

Their main diet consists of fish and coconuts:

Me with my coconut meat:

Sara was giving out cookies to the local kids:

She made friends pretty quickly:

Pretty soon, word got out and each one of the kids came forward and asked for a cookie:

The local school only goes to 4^th grade, after that they have to attend school on a different island and board there during the week:

More singing and dancing:

This boy was acting like he was playing a guitar with his stick:

Making kava looks a little bit like doing the dishes:

They offered me some kava to drink, I politely declined.  It looks like dirty dishwater, although that’s not why I declined.  It has a narcotic effect, which wasn’t something in which I wanted to partake.  A few people from the ship did try some.

Tonight for dinner, we skipped our normal seating at the main dining room and ate at the late seating with Chuck and Lorraine.  We watched Cowboys and Aliens outside for Movies Under the Stars.  Stupid plot, only one that Hollywood could have come up with, not recommended.

We found out today that we will be bypassing Tonga due to Tropical Storm Jasmine, which is currently on course to make landfall on Tonga the day we would have arrived.  So we will be making a stop at Bay Islands, New Zealand instead on Friday (instead of Wednesday for Tonga).

So tomorrow will be sea day #1 of 3 on our way to Bay Islands.