December 28, 2024
Equator Crossing - 12/21/24 I became an official Shellback!
I never knew this Ship tradition, but passengers and crew who have never crossed the equator on a Ship need to participate in a Crossing the Line or Neptune Day Ceremony. It's an ancient naval tradition, involving a series of tests and pranks that prove you are worthy to change. Our test involved the Captain willing plunging into the pool and all of us Pollywogs kissing a fish, getting sprinkled with sea water and then presented with a flower lei, graduating to a Shellback! We technically crossed the equator at 5:29 a.m. but they let us sleep and have breakfast and did the ceremony at 10:00am! Must say the Welcome to the Equator signs were impressive!
Today we went to see the coastal Naidiri Village that has recently won the Top Prize in global restoration, for their ocean reef project. The reef restoration was borne out of necessity to solve their dwindling food/ main protein source for the village, of fish. It was started by 2 of the villages rugby players and today is run by the local teenagers (mostly boys) in the village. It was great seeing how empowered and proud they were of their amazing efforts.
The port agent offered several trips to areas around Lautoka . We chose the trip to Serenity Island Resort which included van and boat transfers and lunch. It was a really nice day enjoying the sun, reef, pool, turtles and amenities!
I organized a group tour for a fun day experience. We had a great day despite the rain that decided to join in. We started with a 45 minute van ride out through the city, into the countryside. Then we got in long boats and went up river to a waterfall, some swam or cheered on the guides to cliff dive. Then back in the boats to visit Sabata Village where 50 family members live as a community existing totally off the land, along the river. Next was a quick boat ride to our BBQ lunch spot. After lunch we got to tube down the river, through light rapids, for just about an hour. We ganged our tubes together with the guide - we had a chain of 14 in my group and the guides totally blew us away singing hymns for a good chunk of the journey. It was truly moving in that place with the rain drizzling and all of us linked together. Loved it!