Qamea

We spent a week anchored in a bay on the eastern side of the island of Qamea. Riki had been here twice before in 2012 and he always spoke so highly of it–kindof glowing as he gushed about it. So I have been wanting to go there for the past two years.

To reach the village of Waibulu you approach carefully through a narrow shallow channel in the mangroves. Then the vista of the green grass reaching down to the water’s edge, dotted with small houses and breadfruit trees comes into view. When we got out of our dinghy, Dan Lulu, Chief Dan’s son, came down to meet us. He remembered Riki, and gave him a big hug. Several other women and children gathered as Riki introduced Wade and I. The women complimented me on my sulu jamba, the traditional shirt & skirt that Riki had gotten me for my birthday. I learned how to say “birthday present” in Fijian. I complimented a woman on her hair; we talked about our babies and how old they were. Everyone was surprised by my Fijian skills (which are rudimentary, but I’m learning)…meanwhile Riki and Dan were up ahead, and they kept encouraging me to come on to get to the sevu sevu. I looked at Riki and said, “wow, these people are so amazing”–it was such a beautiful village and such a warm welcome.

Waibulu Village

During the sevu sevu, the chief’s wife and I were talking. She was happy to learn I spoke some Fijian. She said, you stay the night at my house tonight. I said, no, too many mosquitos. She said, no, not so many mosquitos. I had to nurse Wade, and she unzipped my dress for me.

Then a girl of about 12 wanted to hold Wade, so I passed him over. She promptly stood up with him & went outside. I followed. I saw her holding him surrounded by about 10 other kids, all of whom were calling his name & touching his face and arms & smiling at him. Which was sweet, but also a little worrisome to me. I don’t think of myself as an overprotective mom–yet here, I am worried about his exposure to the sun; mosquito bites b/c of the possibility of Dengue Fever; and Wade getting sick from some village kids who don’t get immunizations. Wade will get his MMR at 1 year old. A doctor on another boat advised me to try not to have kids touching or kissing his face and hands. Easier said than done! I found myself torn between trying to be culturally sensitive (ie. not rude) and also trying to protect the small one. In this moment, I took Wade back from the girl, and we went back inside. Later we went on a walk in the village and I asked my 14 year old guide, Rosi, how to say “please don’t touch his face” in Fijian. I also learned how to say, “he’s sick” in Fijian, thinking I can tell a small white lie as an explanation why they shouldn’t touch his face.

Wade has a new Fijian name: Tomasi. We call him Tomás when we speak to him in Spanish, which is Tomasi in Fijian, or Tomu for short.

We went to church on Sunday. Riki brought his guitar & played along with Dan Lulu. Then we had lunch at Dan’s house. Then coconuts to drink. Then tea with bread and butter. We were sent back to the boat with presents of a necklace for Riki, a shell bracelet for me, some pumpkin, a hand of bananas, 2 drinking coconuts, and some cassava. Fijian villagers are so generous. They don’t have much, but they give and give. Riki gave back a little by helping Dan install some windows in the church.

Family Pratt Bailey en route to church

Tomasi at church

Lunch at Dan Lulu’s house

Tomasi tries coconut water

Mom drinks some too.

The rest of the week in Qamea was spent socializing with the villagers and an Indo-Fijian family. Biju is the caretaker for a fancy home owned by an American guy. He and his wife Asifa and their two young children, Aryan & Aarav, live across the bay from Waibulu. Biju approached our boat with his fiberglass boat and he was so happy to see Riki. He said, “In my 10 years of living here, I have only 3 friends from yachts. You are one of them.” (The other two being Jason from s/v Bodhran & Dave from s/v Riada II). He also instantly held his hands out to hold Wade. Biju also remembered so many details about Riki & Guava Jelly: that the halyard bangs inside the mast and that he made yummy cabbage salads. He invited us to come over anytime that day. We went over later and were invited to stay to dinner. Then the next night, too. Everything that came out of their kitchen was delicious! It was nice for Wade have some space to practice crawling on their floor. We would put Wade to sleep in their bed, then pack him into the Ergo for the barefoot walk to the dinghy & the dinghy ride back to Guava when it was time to go home. Riki was so at ease talking to Biju. My heart felt full and warm and fuzzy by the beauty of the human connection.

One day we hiked from Biju’s house all around the bay. It was about a 2 hour hike, and he picked us up on the beach at the other side. Then he & Asifa watched Tomasi for 2 hours while Riki & I went snorkeling. Another day we took the family out for a daysail. We are hoping to come back to Qamea when Susha & Christy come to visit in December.