We spent February 22, 2019, Ken’s 63rd birthday on the east side of the island of Fiji. We didn’t see the beautiful white sand beaches one sees in travel brochures, but what we did see was still beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Fiji was once known as Cannibal Island. Tribal chiefs believed that by eating the flesh of your enemy you would gain power and control over their people and transfer that individual’s knowledge to yourself. It was also the ultimate revenge! As Christianity spread across the island, cannibalism occurred less and less frequently. The last known act of cannibalism occurred in 1867. In an effort to thwart Christianity a tribal chief killed and cannibalized Reverend Thomas Baker and six Fijian student teachers. Ultimately Christianity prevailed (Go, Christ!), and the chiefs formally agreed to end the practice. Interestingly, in 2003 Fijians from the village where the Reverend and students were killed formally and publicly apologized and asked for forgiveness. They believed their village had been cursed because of the killings and plagued with misfortune. They sought to atone for the sins of their ancestors. We don’t know the name of the village, so we’re not able to tell you if the apology worked, but we do know that action without faith won’t get you what you’re looking for, so we hope they had some conversations with God, too!
We left the port, and drove an our out of town, past urban residential and business areas and into the tropical rainforests of Fiji, past rural villages with simple but heat, well-cared for homes, some with beautiful gardens, all with open doorways and windows. Our guide explained that the villages in this area continue to use a barter system to exchange goods and services, there are no fences around individual houses, and there are no doors or closures on windows. This is because in the Fijian culture everything is shared and one’s open is always open to one’s neighbors.
We arrived at the longboat facility, where we were given waterproof bags and life vests and loaded into long boats, long narrow boats designed to navigate shallow waters. We were a little concerned when we saw a guy scooping water out of the hull of his boat while he waited to load passengers, but everyone survived just fine. The boats took us another hour upstream where we had the opportunity to swim under a giant waterfall. Along the way we noticed bamboo rafts parked here and there. Longboats are the main mode of transportation for villagers along the river to get to town for shopping. They run twice a week. If someone misses the boat or needs to get to town when they are not running, they cut down a couple bamboo branches, make a raft and oar and make their way to town. Our driver said it takes all of about 10 minutes. When they get where they’re going they park the raft for others to use, kind of like our free bike programs in the U.S.
At one point in the ride the river was so shallow we had to get out of the boats and walk. After exiting the boats we walked about a quarter of a mile into the rainforest up steep and narrow steps, and were rewarded with the beautiful falls and a refreshing swim in the river. A couple of the young guides also gave us a bit of a dive show, scrambling up the rocks of the falls and diving in as if it were nothing.
On the way back the boats dropped us off at one of the local villages where we were treated to a traditional welcome ceremony, complete with a bracelet dance by the women and a warrior dance by the men, and fed a delicious lunch that had been prepared using the earth ovens of the village.
When we returned to the ship Ken was greeted with a really sweet surprise. Our room stewards had decorated the cabin with balloons and banners and left a special friend on the bed with a message for him. Later that night we enjoyed dinner at his favorite shipboard steakhouse overlooking the end of the ship as we sailed away from Fiji and onto our next adventure.
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