Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Okay – so we are trying to sort internet on the island …. but until then, Im catching up on my news, so please excuse blog overload …. just when I was deciding to come out, blogs really helped me know it was the right thing to do … to come …

I was right …

So some days on the island are happy-sad days. Sad that some of our tribe members are leaving and happy that I have met some incredible people and made some amazing friendships.

Six of our tribe members left today …. Andy, a lovely chap from London who had a cool job making videos, Susan, Gary, Debbie and Bob, semi retired best friends from the USA who were taking a few months off to travel together.

Susan had bought some beads along and we had spent an afternoon making bracelets with shells from the beach and beads. Susan and I shared a really good chat about stuff while making our bracelets, how I was missing my Dad and how proud I was of him after having cancer – Susan understood through her own experiences and it was good to talk. Although they had only been on the island a week, the USA gang really bought a lot of fun, style (fab cheeky cocktails) and a lovely different dimension to VoroVoro.

I was also losing my fellow island explorer and coco-nut hunter Tom as he was leaving to travel back home for his graduation.

So we were all up at 6.30am to say our first goodbyes to Tom and Andy, and to sing the Isa Lei, a truly beautiful song which in essence (my interpretation) talks about how hard it is to say goodbye to good friends who leave the island, how the distance, the sea and high waves were going to part us, but that if we lived to be old we would always try to make our way to see them again. Pertinent in the circumstances.

Local tribe members play the guitar and lead the singing as people leaving the island move down a line to say goodbye to their newly made friends.

It is a really touching ceremony – the song is so very stiring…..

I found my self choking back tears and finding it very difficult to talk and say goodbye as the largest lump suddenly welled in my throat.

As the guys got into the boat, that was it – game over – time for a good sob. Soppy git that I am.

I hope that the island friendships made will last when back home. I am truly lucky to have met such lovely people.

A few hours later it was time to say goodbye all over again, to team USA…… Oh god – that song.

I’m here for another 5 weeks!! I’m going to be a wreck with all the good byes.

But it’s good news on VoroGym membership – eight people joined in Abs Assault (now the official name of the class) while Chiefy Jim watched from the side-line eating cake representing the newly founded ‘Hammock Society’.