Above is a shot of Quest anchored off of Buliya. You see the light patch of water between the shore and the boat. You also see that the boat is parallel to the shore, so the wind is keeping her off the reef. Two years ago the wind was blowing the boat onto the shore, so I didn't feel I could leave the boat. Even so, you see that this is NOT a place one would wish to spend the night! The inexperienced might ask, "Why not just anchor further out?" The answer to that is that it gets very deep very quickly, so the amount of chain needed to have proper scope would put you on the reef again!

These ladies are making mats. Since the Fijians routinely sit on the floor instead of in chairs, it's important that floors are clean and somewhat soft. It's also part of the tradition that people entering a house take off their shoes. This custom of not tracking dirt into the house breaks down if people don't wear shoes!

This lady on the right has boiled the pandamas leaves and is setting them out to dry as part of the mat making process. In the background you see a big cement tank used to store rain water, gathered from off the roofs.

Here's another group of women making mats in Buliya. We noticed that the young women with children were not expected to make mats. Their job was to look after their children.

It's very interesting that even though this village does NOT have water it is a much more prosperous village than Nangara (across the way). These folks are very industrious and the appearance of the village is much more upscale. The guys on the right are getting their fish ready to take to market. You may notice that the names of villages are spelled many different ways.

This is the man that keeps the accounts for the village - including keeping track of the fish that are caught and sent to resorts and other markets.

The main meeting house on Buliya boasted cement floors, louvered windows and hand painted murals of island scenes. We were quite impressed.

It seemed that most people work in this village. These men are scraping cocoanuts to make oil which is used in many cosmetics.

We also noticed quite a few fruit bearing trees and plants. Here Scott is holding a breadfruit - a starchy staple across the Pacific islands, fixed differently in many places. We westerners prefer them sliced thin and deep fried like potato chips.

Here's a nice big bunch of bananas! Also you see a water storage tank on the left.

This is a great big citrus tree - probably a type of lime, which looks like an orange!

This is the village that will take you out to see the manta rays (when they're present on the reef). They also entertain tourists from time to time and receive income from both activities.

You see how pretty they've made their beach area for visitors!

I couldn't resist placing this photo from our previous trip to Buliya. we couldn't see the mantas this year because it wasn't the right season, but we did try!