Maandelijks archief: november 2017

2 oktober 2017 Vaarwel Fiji …

Fiji, nederlands, reisverslag, stefan, video

Na de trip naar Belgie om de trouw van onze dochter Hannah en onze nieuwe schoonzoon Wence mee te maken, vlogen we terug naar Fiji waar Sanuk op ons wachtte. We vertrokken nog diezelfde week naar Nieuw Caledonie.

Hier is een video indruk van dit afscheid en een van onze 780 NM lange zeetrip onderweg.

Eerst was er het touchante zangstukje (Isa Lei )terwijl we bij het tankstation lagen nadat we reeds uitgechekt waren (zelfs de chauffeur van de dieselleverancier komt meezingen), met de Fiji tekst en zijn vertaling eronder:

Isa Isa vulagi lassa dina
Nomu lako au na rarawa kina
Cava beka ko a mai cakava,
Nomu lako au na sega ni lasa.
Chorus:
Isa Lei, na noqu rarawa,
Ni ki sana vodo e na mataka
Bau nanuma, na nodatou lasa,
Mai Suva nanuma tiko ga.

….
Engelse vertaling:
Isa, Isa you are my only treasure;
Must you leave me, so lonely and foresaken?
As the roses will miss the sun at dawning,
Every moment my heart for you is yearning.
Chorus:
Isa Lei, the purple shadow falling,
Sad the morrow will dawn upon my sorrow;
O, forget not, when you’re far away,
Precious moments beside dear Suva.
Isa, Isa, my heart was filled with pleasure,
From the moment I heard your tender greeting;
‘Mid the sunshine, we spent the hours together,
Now so swiftly those happy hours are fleeting.
(Chorus)
O’er the ocean your island home is calling,
Happy country where roses bloom in splendour;
O, if I could but journey there beside you,
Then forever my heart would sing in rapture.
(Chorus)

 

En hier is een impressie van onze overtocht ergens halverwege:

Sailing to the Yasawas

English, Fiji, ilse, reisverslag, toerisme

This blog took a while to post but here are some nice memories of Fiji and its people. We have since sailed to New Caledonia. Hopefully we can post on this before the boat goes on the hard for the cyclone season.

We left Savusavu on August 21 with clear skies and little wind. We had a week to sail around the Yasawa group of islands before we had a meeting with our insurance expert at Vuda Marina on Viti Levu.

On our way to the Yasawas, all colours of blue.
The beach at Yasawa-I-Rara
Typical house at Yasawa-I-Rara village
In the houses there is very rarely furniture. People sit , eat and sleep on mats.
The village of Yasawa-I-Rara
The future of Fiji.
Stefan in Bula shirt and sulu skirt with one of the elders of the village.
The beach on a sunny day.
Fiji mother and son, even here the smartphone is not far away…
Preparing beignets the Fijan way.
Family pictures at Yasawa-I-rara
The village chief and his wife. We were invited to have a wonderful dinner with them.
Eating beignets and drinking tea sitting on the floor. The generosity and hospitality of the Fijans is truly amazing and heartwarming.

Before we left the village we were able to print out the pictures and this was the best present we could give them.

We left Yasawa-I-Rara to sail to the Blue Lagoon where we had 2 days of rain šŸ™ and decided to move on to Naviti Island where the snorkeling should be excellent.

and the snorkeling was excellent…
lots of beautiful coral
in all colours
and shapes..
A crown of thorns, this is a large sea star with 13-18 arms. The spines are venomous and can deliver a painful sting even when the animal has been dead 3 or 4 days. You do not want to touch this one.
The next village we sailed to was Yalobi village on Waya Island
Another warm welcome after the Sevu Sevu ceremony with the chief. Fijieans are very curious and in every village, children and adults ask how old you are :-).
I will remember the Fijeans always with a smile on their faces.
A small traditional “bure”, a house made from wood , bamboo and pandanus leaves. There are not many left in Fiji, new houses are built in corrugated steel boards. Goes faster and lasts longer but unfortunately is not as pretty.
A typical “bure” would last about 3 – 5 years if a cyclone does not come by. The floor is covered by woven mats.
School had been out for 2 weeks, tomorrow it was “back to school” again. This school took children ages 6 till 13. Most children stay at school for the week and go home by boat on friday afternoon to come back on sunday. The children learn Fiji and English in school.

Too bad we did not see the boys and girls in uniform as we had to leave early the next morning to be on time for our meeting with the insurance expert in Vuda Marina on Viti Levu Island in Fiji.