Arriving to Navadra Island, we experienced the shark welcoming committee, as about 10 fat reef sharks (with their remoras stuck on) circling our boat until the engine turned off.
The night in our first of the Mamanuca Island Group was quite rolly and we left early the next morning, spending our last nights in Fiji between Mana Island and Musket Cove. The Mamanucas are the sites for movies such as Castaway and the Survivor Series.
We spent two nights in the cruiser-famous Musket Cove (on Malolo Lailai), where we purchased our one-time full life Musket Cove Yacht Club membership. Who knows…maybe the kids, now each with their laminated membership cards, will sail back here on their own boats someday.
We connected with some friends, ate lunch at the Funky Fish, played Farkle, enjoyed the best pizza in the South Pacific (except the margarita pizza which curiously had green olives rather than basil), loaded up on fresh produce from the local store, and went for walks around the island.
Calder purchased a like-new used wing-foiling wing (size 4.5) from a man that we found out to be a world-class skier and stuntman for James Bond movies and others. All this time, keeping an eye out for a weather window for passage to New Caledonia.
To Mana Island, where Survivor has been filmed (Seasons 33 & 34, filmed in 2016, and more recently for Seasons 48 & 49 in 2024-2025), where there are great walking trails and a low-key resort that fully embraces cruisers.
The winds came in and Calder got to try his new wing. We ate too much at the lunch buffets (no need to cook dinner!), took walks, played ultimate frisbee, tennis, fooseball, and pickleball. It felt like summer camp for cruisers!
My meditation this morning was to think of a person or people who have provided us with a gift along the way that we are thankful for and to write a letter. Today, I was overwhelmed with the gifts the Fijian people have given us. We have been welcomed warmly into remote villages, into people’s homes to share food, into resorts where they open their beaches and grounds to us. They ask nothing in return and say “Vinaka” for visiting, the skin at the corner of their eyes crinkling with genuine smiles. They bring us a fish to our boat, a crab they caught at 4am that morning. They’ve woven us baskets on the spot to carry our fruit more comfortably. They’ve made carvings for our children and exquisite purses as gifts. They’ve sung to us as we’ve departed and made beautiful Fijian leis to wear around our necks. They’ve shared their culture, their environment, their way of life and I have felt the line between us and them blurring in a warm “bula” of shared humanity. I will forever be grateful to the Fijian people.
Sota tale Fiji. Off we go on a passage to New Caledonia, leaving tomorrow!
SV Terikah Adventures 