VISIT TO HIGHLAND VILLAGE-WHAT A DAY!

An early start with breakfast at 7 -picked up at hotel and then headed for the mountains.What a journey there! On reaching Sigatoka (local town) we collected a travel guide. Sandy needed the loo and was taken through the back streets to a tiny laundrette where a lady moved piles of junk to let her into an interesting loo! ( these places make our trip- ordinary places would be boring) On her return we wee driven by our kamikaze driver up into the mountains- he tore around hair pin bends,giving us a commentary on Fijian culture and history whilst flirting with an English doctor, currently working in Australia- he did not flirt with her colleague,with Sandy or with me! Way up in the mountains the scenery was spectacular. We travelled on proper roads for a while before hitting the dirt tracks- true to Fijian style we met short stretches of tarmac every few miles- why?who knows. Then we transfered to a boat ,which was on a trailer ,pulled by a tractor and proceeded to chug through the countryside- we had on our life jackets- well you have to be careful! Eventually we hit the river and slid gracefully into the mighty Sigatoka. The driver now came into his own-having established his favourite beside him. Before long he was doing wheelies in the water as we skewed our way up stream- knowing that I am a bad traveller,Sandy told him to proceed with greater caution, I bravely said that I did not mind( what an idiot). Like most men out to impress a pretty lady, he quickly forgot to be cautious and reved it up a bit. The local Fijians who lined the route loved our presence and the young boys showed off outrageously- jumping from any spare log or branch into the river with the utmost abandon. Meanwhile their parents waved and smiled as they continued with their washing and fishing.

Eventually, with much bravado, we arrived at Susalavu village high up in the mountains, where we were warmly received.The ladies in our group received sarongs to cover their modesty and we all had fresh flower garlands draped around our necks. We were led to the chief's house with Brian leading as the chief of the visitors(grey hair rules O.K).We were greeted with chanting and singing. We presented our traditional gift of a kava plant( we had tracked one down in the market earlier in the day). Then came the kava ceremony with Brian being presented with the drink on behalf of the group- something that was to happen many times during the day and Brian became very chilled!  Then we were given lunch- home made sandwiches and cakes,-all prepared on open fired ovens outside their houses-washed down with orange squash. Some of the food was great, but others were an acquired taste. Being the chief visitor has its downside- their chief insisted that every morsal on my plate should be devoured with pleasure! By this time it was seriously hot- the coast seemed cool by comparison. We were shown around the village and their lovely church which they were very proud of. Then we went to join the villagers on their mats under a tarpaulin. They started to play and sing for us which was wonderful-until they decided that it would be fun for us to dance with them- temperatures of 100 F in the shade and a stomach full of interesting produce did not not seem the best preparation for such energetic activities! We  danced for over an hour and had reached the point of collapse. They were such wonderful hosts that it would have been very rude not to join in their entertainment. Finally, we got to the last dance-I think that the song had 3 verses,but each time we got to the end the jolly guitarist thought that we should start again- the more tired and red that we looked the quicker he played and the wider his smile! Eventually he shown compassion and we were allowed to drip to the ground.Brian gave a farewell speech on behalf of the group. The villagers sang us a beautiful farewell song and accompanied us back to our boat. the driver who had been reasonably quiet during the day woke up and thought it would be good fun to do 360 degree turns at high speed - he said the children would love it! He was not showing off to his new friend of course! On the first attempt his new love left her seat and was heading over the side before we dragged her back aboard. This did not deter the driver- courting is clearly a harse business in Fiji. The ride back was exhilarating-is that the right word? But eventually we found the safety of the tractor and were hauled a shore. The drive back down the mountain seemed leisurely in comparison.We got back to the hotel smelly,dirty and exhausted,but we had an incredible day- one that we would never forget. In the evening we had a meal in the restaurant and were entertained with singing and dancing from the local villagers. Believe it or not, we both danced again! What is it with these Fijians - had they spread the word about us! we fell into bed exhausted and were immediately snoring! The end to a perfect day in Paradise!