Setting foot in today and yesterday

Day 6 of a 7-day Fiji Islands cruise

Being Sunday, the plan was for passengers to attend church in the morning. Since the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 19th century, the religion of Fiji has been predominantly Christian (60%). We joined a special Palm Sunday choral service at the 1907 stone Catholic church in Waiyevo, on the westerly side of the island of Taveuni.

Services are usually held inside the church, but an exception was made as it was Palm Sunday, and so they were held outside.

Again we were required to cover shoulders and knees and no hats inside the church. Thankfully, being outdoors the no sunglasses rule wasn't so important.

This is one side of a U-shaped seating area, with the stage and altar to the right in this photo, under the palm tree. I estimated the crowd at more than 500, so they certainly wouldn't have fit inside the church. A second service immediately followed the first, so I expect the attendance was well over 1,000, in a community of 7,000 people.

Our group stayed under the covered outside area of the church building itself, behind the vehicle in the first photo. It was the best place to accommodate our group, and it also allowed us to go inside the empty (no seating) church, to cool off. That's me, on the right of the photo.

In the covered areas, all attendees from the community sat cross-legged. There wasn't sufficient space under cover, so many sat or stood in the direct sun throughout the service.

Girl wearing sarong, father & son wearing sulu

Again, children were well-behaved and respectful. All the children were well-dressed, and all little girls wore dresses.

Although English is an official language of Fiji, the service was in Fijian. It is still the first language for all.

I noticed the resourceful recycling of a giant clam shell for the holy water.

The view back to the water from the entrance to the church was picturesque.

After church we stopped by "The first shop to open in the world".

I thought that was a pretty bold statement to make, until I realized it was near the international date line, where the eastern and western hemispheres meet, as do today and yesterday. Then I better understood its claim to fame!

Next we visited the Taveuni Time Line, the 180th meridian marker, to experience having one foot in today and the other in yesterday.

Here you can see me sharing that experience with Greg. Our thanks to the Rotary Club for setting this area up.

Back to the ship in time for my favourite lunch of the cruise; Fijian curries, chicken, beef, and fish. Delicious.

The ship then cruised across the Somosomo Straight to the beautiful beach on Vanua Levu, called the Whispering Tide.

Whispering Tide is on a private island owned by an American who owns a chain of jewellery stores. I didn't learn any more than that. There was a beautiful home on the left side of the island, which apparently he (or she) only uses a few weeks of each year. The building stretches either side of what you can see in white in the photo.

Some of us stayed at the beach area for snorkelling and beach activities (we had kayaks and paddle boards with the ship), while others went on the dedicated snorkel boat to snorkel further out from shore. The water each day was warm, but this day it was amazingly warm - a similar temperature to what many would use for a shower at home.

After our evening meal, the entertainment was a Fijian fashion show, past and present, with great commentary explaining the outfits. The Reef Endeavour choir (yes, the crew) closed the night with some lovely singing. I'm not sure if they practise, given they sing in their communities from an early age, but they were really good.

Another full and interesting day.