Lautoka, Fiji

Bula,

It seems like it has been a long time since I have written a decent letter. No excuses, I definitely have the time. Since I last wrote I have left Tonga, sailed to Fiji, and have had to try and figure out how I am going to continue this trip in a couple of different ways. Your faithful narrator will now try and not bore you with some of the trials and tribulations of life on the high seas.

Tonga was a little bitter sweet, I very much enjoyed the place and the people, but I had a few problems, nothing serious, allow me to elaborate. First of all it is getting hot, you know those two weeks in the summer on the coast of BC where it is really hot, turns out that is not that hot. I don’t expect any sympathy from my readers in the middle of winter but the constant heat and 108% humidity can make life on a boat a little uncomfortable. I suffered from boils on my legs, I know, glamorous, they were a little painful and took quite a while to heal. Apparently it is not uncommon in the tropics especially for people who are not used to the heat. To add to my discomfort I also got a sty in my eye and some sort of ear infection probably from swimming which has yet to really go away. All this aside the heat in Tonga was manageable, I could swim off the boat to cool down and chill in the shade of my sun awning, usually there was a bit of breeze which helps, inside the boat on the other hand is like a sauna. The heat in Fiji, a little further into summer and a little closer to the equator, made me question if I was still enjoying myself, more on that later.

The other thing I discovered in Tonga is that my funds seemed to have disappeared, surprise, surprise. This was inevitable of course; I was just hoping it could have waited a little longer. At first I was beating myself up a bit thinking I shouldn’t have left until I had more money saved, I should have been more careful with my spending, I shouldn’t have pretended to be a rich dad, but in reality I am glad I left, life costs money, more than I thought, and I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with the kids and the experiences they had for twice the amount it cost me. So I set to coming to terms with the fact that my trip might be over and then trying to figure out a way to continue. I decided the facts are this, I am staying in Fiji until April, somehow, as that is when my sister and her family and my parents are coming. After that I can sail back to BC, or sail to New Zealand or Australia and put the boat up for sale, or get a job. Getting a job is the preferable option as I would like to continue travelling but not as easy as it may sound. All the ex-pats working in Tonga I talked to were only making enough money to live, which is fine, if I could have found a job there I might have stayed the thing is most of the jobs are based on the tourist and yachting season which is over. So off to Fiji, I haven’t been here long but it is not looking like a place for foreigners to make money. The getting a job option is now relying on my working holiday visa application with immigration services, New Zealand.

There are two parts to my Visa application, Tonga and Fiji. Part 1, Tonga. I have to thank my friend Ian who told me about the Visa and suggested I hurry up and apply while I am still 35 years old. The application process at first seemed extremely easy but I was concerned about two things, the Visa is for people 19-35 years old, after your application is approved you have 12 months to get to New Zealand, it didn’t say anywhere if it is OK if you are 35 when you apply and 36 when you get there and there was no way to inquire. The other concern was they ask if you have a criminal record. I decided I might as well pay the application fee and apply seeing as the continuation of my trip is probably depending on it. The whole process was done online and only took about ½ hour, the web site stated they would get back to me within 5 working days, perfect; I will discover the secrets of my future and can stop stressing. Just like they said they got back to me within 5 working days only they had another ½ dozen questions regarding my criminal record. I decided this was good, they didn’t say no. Understandably they had a few more questions to determine my character and I felt the answers I provided all leaned in the direction of someone a country would want on a working holiday visa, as far as criminal credibility goes my record is pretty pathetic. As they had given me a deadline for the information I explained I would be happy to provide any more information only I wouldn’t be able to check my e-mail again for another week as my time in Tonga was up and I was sailing to Fiji, so much for the timely revelation of the secrets of my future, to be continued…

Leaving Tonga was a little hard, it was the longest I have stayed in one place and had made some good friends there but this is the life. Fiji is actually fairly close to Tonga but kind of a difficult country to sail to. There are three ports of entry all are on the two main islands which lie to the west and north of the many small islands and reefs which extend well over a hundred miles out. This would make it inevitable to sail through the night between the islands and many boats come to grief on the outlying reefs. (Come to grief is nautical for end of cruise.) I decided the only way I could safely sail there was to sail south of all the islands and then head north and arrive at Lautoka on the west side of Vitu Levu. This worked out well; I had great sail, steady winds mostly on the beam, small seas and arrived after six days. Prior to leaving I went to the book exchange and got a bunch of new novels, strangest thing, I had a hard time finding five that weren’t horror novels, apparently someone reads that shit. Other than reading the most exciting thing that happened was a visiting cockroach. Suddenly the nasty bastard was just sitting there on my cabin sole, I was a couple days out and feeling disgusted that I had this travelling companion, I was a few miles off some island and decided he must have flown over and just arrived. Not sure if that is even possible, don’t want to know. I trapped him in a cup and threw him overboard, then decided that was pretty stupid as he is just going to fly back. It is not that I had any aversion to ending his life, the aversion is to the sound and mess an insect that large makes when squashed. Sure enough he appeared again later that evening or maybe they can’t fly and it was a different one, either way, squashed the little bitch.

After arriving at a country the first thing is always to check into customs. It usually involves filling out a whole bunch of forms and paying some fees. For the first time my boat was boarded, I had to bring the Bio Security Officer to the boat for an inspection; he was on board for about 30 seconds. Guess that is how they justify the $172 fee. The harbour at Lautoka is very industrial and dirty and after talking to a couple that lives on their boat around there I decided there was no way I was going to stay there. The big thing is it is hurricane season. I was on a mooring that belonged to the couple and they explained they had two moorings for depending on which way the wind was blowing and drew me a map to the hurricane hole which was up a river that ran out through some mangroves across the harbour. The thought of sitting there for four months in the ridiculous heat, not swimming and staying close to the hurricane hole just in case did not appeal to me at all, actually nothing was appealing to me and I was feeling quite discouraged. I was very grateful the couple let me stay on their mooring until I finished sorting out the rest of the customs stuff, figuring out where I was going to go, and getting a chest x-ray.

Part 2, Fiji. I anxiously checked my e-mail as soon as I could for a response from New Zealand. They now explained that because for more than three months I have been in places considered not to be low risk for TB I needed to provide a chest x-ray. I had misread this part of the application and thought it was only if I had been in one of the countries for more than three months. This was good they still didn’t say no. Again I was given a deadline that was only a few days away so I asked if they would accept faxed copies of the form and report, graciously they said this was acceptable and could wait till Dec. 17th for the originals in the mail, three days before I am 36. This kept me busy for the next couple of days, first visiting a doctor, then going to the hospital for an x-ray, then picking up the forms the next day, getting them faxed and finally putting them in the mail. At this point I am waiting for a response, I am really hoping I get it; I would love to live and work in another country for a year, especially one with real seasons. Wishfully thinking I have already checked the classifieds in New Zealand and it seems they are desperately looking for carpenters in Christ Church, which is being rebuilt after an earthquake, and the wages are about the same as Canada. This seems preferable to picking fruit.

Fiji is quite a bit different from the rest of the south pacific countries I have visited. I am pretty sure it is the largest and has a few different cultures, Fijians, Indians and Chinese are the main ones. Walking down the streets of Lautoka can be similar to walking down the streets of surrey. It is by far the cheapest place I have been to, one hour of internet time is $.50 Fijian and the exchange rate is around 1.8. Lautoka is a fairly large city and has everything one could need, getting the chest x-ray stuff done was actually fairly easy and cheap, well not compare to BC, but say the states. Lautoka is not a tourist city and I could walk around all day and not see another white person, the children look at me like they have never seen a white person in real life before. With a big city comes everything that goes with it and I got suckered into one scam, it was a good scam, I appreciate a good scam. Two older Fijians approached me, greeted me warmly and handed me a package, before I had opened it they asked me my name and then took the package back, opened it and very quickly carved my name in the carved stick, I admitted defeat and they carved my boat name in another stick then started negotiating the terms. At this point you kind of feel obliged, they assume white people are rich, I told them I have no money and they started at $35 I talked them down to $20 and felt a little guilty when I opened my wallet and it was full of $50’s to pay my customs and immigration fees and doctors’ fees. Good scam. In the evening I went to a bar for some cold beers and again only white dude around. Instantly a couple invited me to sit with them and I found out about the strange way Fijians drink. The beers are on the table and one small glass is used, the designated person pours the beer into the glass and passes it, you drink it like an oversized shot. The strange thing is they are adamant about shaking out whatever is left in the glass but don’t seem to give two thoughts about how unsanitary the rest of the tradition is. After a while of my beer intake being determined by buddy I decided to walk around and meet some people, hoping not to offend. Everybody was friendly but I found everybody was warning me to stay away from certain people until at the end of the night one girl who had warned be about other girls pick pocketed me, seriously, very Oliver Twist without the catchy songs. Not a good scam. Luckily in my somewhat inebriated state I still stay very aware of my surroundings and felt the pull. I got my wallet and my cash back and decided it was time to leave. Two other girls decided they were coming with me, I politely told them they weren’t then rudely told they weren’t and they still wouldn’t stop following me. A friendly cab driver told me to get in and because me dinghy was at the Queens Wharf past security they wouldn’t be able to follow but they still got in the cab. All in all it was a pretty fun evening; I went back the next night.

Back to my predicament, and again I don’t expect any sympathy, how am I going to stay in Fiji for 4 months and not constantly be stressing about a hurricane and not be extremely uncomfortable at all times. I will try and explain why, believe it or not, I really feel like I need to relax. In the past 6 months I have sailed some 6500 nautical miles, in reality it is much more but that figure is based on the shortest route between harbours which I usually end up varying from due to winds etc. Out of the 195 days I have been gone I have spent 68 at sea and the rest at anchor or on a mooring. Although all my ocean passages have gone well and I wouldn’t say I have been in a storm, travelling by sail alone is a little stressful. I am always concerned about bad weather, getting run over by a tanker whilst I sleep and to top it off I sail without any safety nets, no liferaft, no EPIRB or Sat phone, which is to say no chance of rescue, if my ship goes down I go with it, romantic eh. Even while at anchor or on a mooring there is always the chance of dragging or a line breaking, this can sink a ship as well and although I probably wouldn’t drown I don’t have insurance. And now to top it off the heat is getting to me and the constant sweating is probably contributing to health problems. My answer to these problems is simply to stay at a marina; I mean that is how I lived on a boat for 9 years before I left. I cannot afford to stay at a marina but I decided I have to, where there is a will there is a way. The good thing is the marinas here are actually way cheaper than in Canada. So I am now happily at Vuda Point Marina, (pronounced Vunda, in Fiji there is an invisible N in front of D’s, once you learn this it settles much confusion.) It is very nice here, clean, washrooms and showers, laundry, restaurant, bar, 24hr security, small store, short bus ride to town. I wouldn’t swim in the yacht basin but there is a resort right next door with a nice beach and a swimming pool and restaurant. Many yachts are left here for the hurricane season and their owners fly home but there are also a bunch hanging out for the season. The marina staff are all super friendly, I even went clubbing with a few of the bar staff the other night in Nadi, (Nandi.) Basically it’s all good for now, I am relaxing, my health problems are clearing up, I can concentrate on trying to figure out any other ways to make some money, do some work on the boat and my only problem will be fighting boredom, not too worried about that.

Well, this turned out to be a rather lengthy letter; I hope you have enjoyed it. Please don’t think that I am whining, these are just the facts and they are all part of the adventure. No matter what happens I know I will be all right and have no regrets. I am really hoping to get the working visa so those of you that pray thanks in advance, and if not who knows what other adventures may be in store. Because of the weather here it really doesn’t feel like Christmas Season to me, which is good, maybe I won’t miss the family time as much but it is going to be hard. My cousin Jon and his family are coming out for New Years so I am very much looking forward to hanging out with them. Happy holidays my friends and family and I look forward to your responses if you can find the time.

Lots-o-Love,

Jonathan