For the new readers, sevusevu is the ceremony whereby you request acceptance into the village. It is really the essence of Fijian culture and of course we try to do the right thing. So this morning, we headed over to the main village of the atoll (there are 3, so important to go to the right one!). We met another boat on the beach, so went together to the village to pay our respects to the chief.

I’m not sure how interested the village chiefs really are, but Simon accepted our kava (a root from a plant in the pepper family which they grind up and then drink). A few mumbled words, and some handclaps and you’re welcomed into the village.

Fulaga is unique in Fiji in that they charge an anchoring fee. There’s much debate about this in the cruising community. Its not a lot - F$50, but it makes it more transactional and rather than take in extra gifts (such as childrens clothes, sports equipment etc), you just take the money. I’m not sure what is better, or even sure where the money goes (though we are told its to a community fund rather than the chief). Still, its the way they do it here, and its such a beautiful area, they will be able to get away with it, I’m sure.

Along with the charge, we get a host family to look after us whilst we’re here. Alas, we’ve not met ours yet as the son didn’t seem that interested and his dad wasn’t around. We’ll go back on Monday to see them and try again.

In the meantime, the anchorage continues to excel in beautiful views. Here are a few more photos.

We want to go Ogea next (though I think we’ll be here a week or more). You can see it in the distance below…

I hope the pictures are ok at medium quality - trying to save satellite data a bit…!