Kava, school children and crab racing!

---

Left Suva yesterday morning and headed towards the north of the island. Our first stop was Wailotua Village where we took part in a sevusevu (kava) ceremony. The root of the kava plant is ground up and the powder is used to infuse water to make a drink. It is supposed to have narcotic properties and is generally thought to relax you. It is apparently very good for stress and depression.

The kava is made in a special way and you have to accept the first cupful you are offered or you will offend the chief. Also it is polite to drink it in one go. It looks a bit like muddy water and tastes a bit like it too! I am not sure about the effects – it makes you sleepy so we were all very quiet on the bus after that.

After the village we went to a Nayavu Primary School. Feejee experience supports various schools on the island through donating some of the ticket money to them. The children at the school were very cute and SO excited to see us. I imagine they see tourists fairly frequently but that did not stop them all rushing up to say hello. Just like the children in Vietnam they love having their picture taken. When they saw themselves on the digital cameras it caused a bit of a frenzy!

When we arrived it had just been lunchtime and most of the children were back in the classroom. A bell rung and all the children rushed outside and started brushing their teeth! It is such a good idea and helps keep the ‘Fiji Smile’

After that we head to Volivoli where we were staying overnight. We decided to ‘hop-off’ the bus and spend 2 nights here, as all this non-stop action was getting pretty tiring. We had a nice relaxing day today. We went swimming and kayaked over to a nearby island as well as just sitting about chatting. Tim played volleyball but that was a bit too energetic for me! In the evening they staged some hermit crab races which were fun even though my crab was a bit dazed by the whole experience and did not seem that keen on running to the line!

---