Your Thoughts
In our August 2022 issue “Your Thoughts” section, we received a letter from reader Marcia Blake asking how Holly Martin, writer of the “Postcards From Holly” column, was faring in her travels. Holly has been sailing around the world in her 27-foot-long Grinde sailboat, which she christened the SV Gecko. She left Maine in the fall of 2019, from Round Pond Harbor on the Pemaquid Peninsula. Holly sent this to the inquiring readers of Maine Women Magazine.
Hello from New Zealand! After leaving French Polynesia in the middle of June, I turned my bow towards Fiji. Eighteen days later, I entered Savusavu to clear into my first new country in two years. Fiji is a country full of traditions that date back hundreds of years. My favorite of these is the kava ceremony. The local people consider the water in front of their villages to be an extension of the areas around their house. If a sailor drops anchor in front of a village, it's the same as someone rocking up to your backyard with a tent and setting up camp. It is therefore tradition to enter the village with a bundle of kava for the chief. This must be done as soon as your anchor is down and your sails are stowed. Kava is easy to find in almost any market in Fiji. It looks like a bundle of sticks wrapped in newspaper and tied with a bright ribbon.
Before going ashore to present the kava, there are a few protocols that must be followed. Fiji is a very conservative country. In the more remote villages, women are not allowed to show their knees. While all the village women wear colorful pareos wrapped around their waists, the men get away with wearing shorts. Sometimes they also wear a pareo, but for the most part the dress code isn't as strict for men as it is for women. The body part that must not be exposed for either gender is the shoulders. Throwing on a simple T-shirt will do the trick for that one. These two rules are overarching for almost every small village in Fiji. However, some take it one step further. Some villages forbid wearing hats and glasses. Fijians believe the top of the head is sacred, and only the chief is allowed to wear a hat. As a precaution, I always make sure to remove my hat and glasses before entering any village- just in case.
Usually before I've even landed on the beach with my dinghy, there's a crowd of children waiting to greet me. After presenting kava to the chief of the village, he blesses both you and the gift and gives you permission to remain in the anchorage. More often than not, I come home laden with gifts of fresh fruit. In return, I always make sure to come with my own gifts. Pencils, notebooks, and other school supplies are always a welcome surprise.
My four month visa passed in a blur. My sister flew in to spend a few weeks in Fiji and join for the passage south. A week before I had to leave, my engine broke and I was unable to fix it before my visa expired. Unphased, I cleared out anyway and accepted a tow out of the harbor. From there, my sister and I sailed fifteen days to New Zealand with no engine. We arrived safely and I managed to fix my engine (by replacing it with a “new” used specimen). I'll remain in New Zealand until May when it's time to head back into the Pacific Islands. It's easy-living being in a westernized country, but I already miss the island life.
Submit your thoughts, original work, or issues you’d like us to tackle to info@mainewomenmagazine.com.
