Nothing is open in the morning, so we dinghied to town and ran some errands. We stopped at Mangoes on the way back for some Fish Curry.
In the evening, we took our dinghy over to a beach village across the lagoon for a huge feast they were having there. It cost 50 panga per person (about $30) and included a free shuttle, but we decided to take the dinghy so we could leave whenever we wanted.
The beach was right on the tip of the south side of the mouth of the bay and had great views of the surrounding islands and sun set.
As you can see, we were one of the first people there.
They had us sign our name on a guest list when we arrived.
There was a band of four guys rocking out when we arrived. They were playing a banjo, ukelele, and two guitars. There were a few older women dancing to the music.
It wasn't long before the main shuttle arrived and the rest of the party arrived. There were only another five or six couples/families that came, so it didn't lose its intimacy.
It was then prayer time, led by the village priest.
Followed by the kava ceremony, where they shouted your name and you responded by clapping your hands together to say you wanted kava. They would then bring it to you in a little coconut cup after the village virgin girl freshly ground the root right there.
Their kava was much lighter than what we had made the other night. I think we made it with like 10 times concentration. They also drank it cold, not hot.
Here is what kava root looks like before being ground.
The priest then demonstrated how to open the inner shell with one quick swing of his machete.
They then took us around the village and demonstrated their way of life while dinner was being cooked. They first showed us how the ladies make tapa cloth for clothing, bed sheets, and artwork.
They take the inner bark from a mulberry tree, dry it, and then slam it with a wooden mallet until it is as flat as can be and ends up being about ten times wider than when they started.
They also showed us the importance of the coconut tree in their culture. They use every single part of it for something. Here they are showing us how they take the outer layer off the coconut by slamming it against a sharpened stick and then peeling it away.
Then they sent one of the boys up the tree to demonstrate how they climb them and remove a coconut.
They also had some booths set up by the beach where you could buy some of their handmade goods.
I chose to buy some fresh coconut water to drink.
Dinner was served buffet-style and I got to try many different local dishes.
(Poisson cru, various fish dishes, Octopus, various chicken dishes, beef, some grass-like stuff, salads, watermelon, papaya, and some coconut). They kept bringing more food out and re-filling your plate faster than you could eat it. I was painfully full after finishing my plate, and then they brought out dessert.
I took a bit to try it. It was fried breadfruit with some sort of caramel sauce.
After dinner the kids in the village (princes and princesses supposedly) showed us some of their dances.
Things got a little strange when people started shoving money in their clothes like they were strippers...
We got to see about ten dances in total and ended with the boys showing their war dance.
We then sang a 'Goodbye, until next time' song and said our end of the night prayer. They invited everyone to hang around and dance with them, but we chose to head back to the boat.
The ride back was pretty rough in the dinghy. It was really dark and no one had their anchor lights on in the anchorage. It was also very windy/wavy, so I was soaking wet when we got back.
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