Wishy-washiness and the Road Back to the Main Island

When I came to Taveuni, I thought I would fly back to Nadi or to Suva. Then I talked to Anna and thought I would take the ferry back. Then I found out that the ferry left Taveuni at 10 am and arrived in Suva the next morning at 6 am. Then it seemed the best option was to fly again. Then I talked to someone else and the flights from Savusavu on the nearby island were cheaper, so we worked out how to get to that airport by using a ferry and a bus to get to the airport there. It would be in time to catch the flight from there to Suva. So this morning, I went in with the late morning bus to see what could be arranged for that ferry. While I was on the bus, I got to thinking. I was going to spend the better part of the day getting from the lodge to the ferry terminal, across the strait, to the other ferry terminal, on a bus to the airport, on the plane to the airport at Suva, with a taxi into town and then finding accommodation of some sort. And by that time, I would be doing nothing much other than sitting in the accommodation overnight. And it would all cost a fair amount. Or I could simply catch the ferry to Suva and have accommodation included in the price, which would end up being about a third of the price. So I went to the ferry terminal and bought a ticket to Suva. I hope the airline understands why I won't show up tomorrow for the flight that I booked (but didn't pay for).

After last night, I got up and had breakfast and wandered around the area for a few minutes taking photos of some of the daily sorts of things that happen around Lavena. There were people out in the water catching crabs and other things. The beach was the beach. The waves were the waves. It was nice.

I also caught a hermit crab.  He came out of his shell and tried to pinch me.

I went in to town on the 11 o'clock bus. Anna went on the same bus, as she was taking her monthly trip to town to see her son and other family there. When we got to town, Anna really wanted to take me around to a couple of things. She was there to see her family and she wanted to make sure that I saw the things in town that I wanted to see. She was even taking care of lodge guests on her time off. They are so nice here.

The first place she wanted to take me was the local church. This is the largest church on the island of Taveuni. It seems fairly old as well. I guess for the big Christian events, like Easter and Christmas, every Catholic on the island comes to this church. And once a month Sunday mass is held here. The other weeks the priest travels to other villages to hold mass. That seems to be a very good priest, as far as I can conceive of good priests.

Inside it was also quite nice, but it does show its age. There are cracked windows and splintered wood here and there. There are no traditional pews. Everyone sits on the floor. Anna sat on the floor and waited while I had a look around.

The view out the front door is quite amazing.

And they have an interesting church bell as well.

Then it was off to see the whole reason I chose to come to Taveuni: The Date Line, 180 degrees longitude. We walked along the road towards the spot and I was quite excited. Anna told me it was just ahead. I couldn't really see anything that stood out, but I figured that it must just be kind of hidden from view. And then Anna announced that we were there. I looked around. I looked down. And I have to say, I felt a rather profound sense of disappointment. This was it? No sign? No trumpets? Just a little white marker that didn't even say what it was? Hmmpph!

With the taste of bitter let-down in my mouth, we went to the ship dock to ask about getting passage to Suva for tomorrow. And I remembered that there was a couple who had come to the lodge who had a photo of the dateline that was more impressive than what I had seen. But Anna didn't know where it would be. She did know where the natural waterslide is that is close to where the couple said the dateline is supposed to be. So she told me how to get there. And so it was that Anna and I said good-bye. I am indebted to her and the rest of the people at Lavena for making my stay so memorable. I had such a good time and I will remember it always.

After getting the information about the ferry, I then asked about the dateline and received much more heartening news. It was up at a soccer/rugby field just at the top of the hill. So I went and found a much better dateline marker. It still seems a bit old and run-down, but it does mark the spot much better than the simple white pillar of the other spot. But if it were me, I would be making a big deal of the spot. It is a great marketing tool to bring in tourists.

There are people in the area who seem to be trying to capitalize on the idea, but overall, it is pretty much ignored as a tool.

After the dateline meridian, I went into town to find a bank machine, possibly the only one on the island. Then I got myself a haircut, got some lunch and caught the bus back to the lodge for my last night here before heading back to the main island of Viti Levu. Although it wasn't a completely satisfying day, I did get to see the dateline, so it counts as a successful day.