Greetings from the southern hemisphere from a little place called Vorovoro, Fiji. This is home for the Tribewanted project, where people from all over the world visit and participate in the building of the Fijian eco village. And each month there is an elected chief for each calender month, it was one of my travelling highlights. Here's a day in the life of a pretend chief:
5:58am
Open
one eye. Open second eye. Stretch and vacate the four poster bed made from driftwood. Put
on some boardies and leave my thatched hut. Stop. Take a deep breath
and absorb the serene surroundings. It’s another glorious day in
Vorovoro.
6:00am
Bang
the village ‘lali’ (drum). This signifies the sun rise and I getta kick
outta waking up the whole village. Good morning Vorovoro!
6:01am
Grab
some snorkelling gear and leg it to the ocean before an angry tribe
member batters me! Haha, too late, I’m off with the fishies. The sea is
warm and clear. Warm and clear. These early morning coral sessions are
the best starts and one doesn’t have to go far before and underwater
kingdom reveals itself. Loud shout going out to the blue sea-stars.
Respect to the sting rays. Easy now Mr Shark.
7:00am
Hang
out on the floating bamboo raft, appreciating Vorovoro in all its lushness,
contemplating and waiting for the kitchen bell to ring.
7:15am
Breakfast.
Cuppa cha (tea), bowl of porridge, slice of papaya. Sorted. Rolling on
to the picnic tables by the beach. Perhaps watch a baby turtle hatch
and scuttle down to the sea. God speed little fella.
8:50am
Blow the ‘duvui’ (shell horn) to alert the tribe for the 9am meeting. I am musically handicapped
so it was no surprise that my first attempt sounded like a pathetic
raspberry fart. This is no good, so I took a trip up to the waterfall
and practised. It has now been mastered and a deep, rumbling VOOOOOOOOOOooouuuuu is produced each time. Yes yes.
9:00am
The
tribe and Team Fiji congregate in the Grand Bure (giant hut) for a quick meeting.
This involves talking about current trips (reef trip, school visit etc) projects (maybe weaving some coconut leaves for a new roof), and letting people
get involved as much as they want to.
9:30am
Get those fingers green with some gardening... the baby seedlings need moving.
10:30am
Morning tea with banana cake. Or chocolate cake. Maybe a pancake (or three).
11:00am
Maybe a cultural class... learn the traditional dance or language. Maybe go on a foraging tour... perhaps even spearfishing.
12:30pm
Lunch time... pawpaw curry with roti...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
12:45pm
A little siesta. That cheeky lil’ power-nap to recharge the batteries. Ideally up in the hammock in the treehouse.
3:30pm
Afternoon
tea. With yet more cake. Perhaps donuts. If anyone coming to Vorovoro
thought they would loose weight, they would be mistaken.
4:30pm
As the day winds down, everyone gets together for some volleyball or football... or you can just hangout in the hammocks.
6:30pm
Dinner time! Cook up some fresh fish in coconut milk. The food here is delicious. All dietry requirements are catered for.
7:30pm
Grab
the sulu (sarong) and settle down at the top of the mat for some high
tides of kava the traditional drink. Indoors or outdoors, it always turns in to a Fijian
acoustic concert…
“Dulaaa duuuuuuuuula laaaaaaaywaaah…”
10:30pm (ish)
Swim
out to the pontoon and try not to think of ‘Jaws’. I recommend
distracting yourself by backstroking and looking up at the milkyway.
Lay on the floating raft and count the shooting stars. But it gets better…
the sea is full of magic… when you swim thousands of illuminated
twinkling algae appear. What is this called? Phosphorescents or
something? Whatever they are, no LSD is required, this is a natural trip. The best sort of trip. Twinkles everywhere. As above, so below.
If you're coming to Fiji... check out tribewanted.com
