Our first stop in Fiji was certainly a memorable one. In the morning we stopped at the small village of Loma Loma which is home to 300 residents. It is not a place tourists go and other than a few private yachts they had not had any visitors in over two years. They had apparently been preparing for our visit for a couple of months and we could not have been made to feel more welcome. Fromm the moment we disembarked from our zodiacs the whole experience was incredible. We were greeted at the beach with music and dancing accompanied with wide smiles and lots of bulbs. Once everyone was ashore we were led to the village square to partake in a welcoming ceremony and to be entertained. On the way all the villagers young and old lined the way like an honour gaurd and sang a welcoming song while reaching out to shake our hands. Thank God for sunglasses to hide the tears of emotion that this stirred up. Once we were all comfortable we were greeted by the chief and after a prayer by the minister as the Fijians are very religious the cava ceremony took place and we had our first taste of kava which is widely used in the part of the world. Kava is against the law in Canada but still legal in the USA. We were all given leis which the women had stayed up most of the night making so they would be fresh. After the ceremony we were taken in small groups for a tour around the village where our engaging guide described the way of life in this isolated piece of paradise. Local trucks then took those of us who did not want to hike up the mountain in the 30 degree heat and high humidity,which was all about 8 hearty souls with Eric being one of them,up to the top of the mountain where the 360 degree views were stunning. Back down to the village square we were entertained with lots of local dancing, coconut water,fresh juices and local treats they had made for us. A lovely farewell blessing and song brought our visit to a close but the whole village accompanied us to the beach to bid us farewell. It was an experience of a lifetime and we felt so blessed to be a part of Fiji that most do not even know exists.
Later that afternoon we had a wonder snorkel on a reef not far from Loma Loma. The corals were the healthiest we had seen though the fish not as plentiful as this was the villages fishing grounds. An exceptional first day in Fiji.
Our first welcome to Fiji
Dancers at the beach to welcome us as we stepped off the zodiacs
Every age was out dancing
The village drummer started the welcome pathway
The children were at the beginning of the welcome honour guard and were all singing enthusiastically
The kava ceremony. Looked a lot like mud to me but did not taste too bad. Made our tongues feel a little odd.
Eric’s first taste of kava
Could not be out done
The homes were nicely spread among the trees
Very simple homes yet everything was very clean
The view from the top of the hill was stunning
The children were beautiful and friendly
The local hospital
More should pat attention to this sign though we did get a chuckle from the reproduce well
The song and dance continued
All the costumes were made by the villagers. No stores here
One of the local children was fascinated with one of the guides camera. Thank goodness for digital photography because she snapped dozens of photos
This little one was proud of the job she did with her Mom’s lipstick
An emotional farewell blessing and song
The villagers down at the beach to bid us farewell
These two got very enthusiastic with their goodbyes and jumped in right beside the boats. What a fantastic day
Nice to see healthy corals
Sponges added even more colour
It was like a beautiful underwater garden
The variety of corals was wonderful
Though the fish were not plentiful on this reef we did see a good variety
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