March 23

All the seniors met at the temple parking lot this morning at 8:30.  We are going net fishing with Brother and Sister McGoon today.  It works this way.  He allows/teaches us to net fish and then feeds us lunch with the fish we catch.

His house is right on the beach about three miles down a dirt road off the Queens Highway in Navua.  He lives in a paradise; coconut trees, flowers, ocean.  When we arrived Sister McGoon had breakfast ready for us.  Pancakes which are eaten by hand, pawpaw, breakfast cake (a crust with fruit on top), and lemon leaf tea. 

When we finished we went fishing.  Following a row boat that two of McGoon's grandsons dragged along, we walked about 1/2 mile out into the ocean.  The water never got deeper than just above my waist.

Getting the net out to the fishing spot.

Scott on the net.
Notice the hat on backward.
Principal Tennis would never have allowed it!!!!

 

Sister McGoon and Elder Jarman
Notice Elder Updike in the background.
To his left are three other men manning
the net.

The first part of the net was dropped off the boat and we held it in place as the rest of the net was dropped out of the back of the boat in a huge semi circle.  When it was all out, we began to pull it in catching any fish unlucky to be in the middle.  There were few unlucky fish, but we did pick up two of the cutest little fish.

If you look closely at the pictures above.  The one on the left is of the right side of the huge enclosed circle the net made, and the picture on the right is the left side of the net. (Shouldn't the editor of this blog have gotten these pictures on the right side of the page?  Do not ask!)

THE CATCH

This picture is only in because Scott insisted.

We had so much fun playing with these two little fish.  Everyone wanted their picture take with them.  Every so often I would remind whoever was holding them to put them in the water so they could breath.  The puffer fish just suffered through the ordeal, but the box fish was scrappy.

When he was out of air, he would flap his fins and suck his lips in an out.  In fact, I put him next to my cheek when he was doing it and got a real life fish kiss.  A Fiji first.

A Box Fish and a Puffer Fish     

The One and Only Big Fish

After cleaning up the net and putting the puffer fish and the box fish back into the ocean, we began the long trek back to McGoon's beach.  We were told that we would follow a river bed and that it would be over our heads, so I climbed into the boat to stay dry.  No river.  

Ride back included great conversation though so it was worth it.

Gathering up the Net.

Sister Osborne, Me, Sister Updike
Riding Back to Shore

On the way back, one of McGoon's granddaughter rode in the boat, just to bail water.

                                    

                                 THE MIGHTY FISHERMAN

Elder Wells, a McGoon relative, Sister Whiting, Sister Jackson,
a McGoon Grandaughter, Elder Jarman, Sister Whiting, Sister Whitehead
McGoon relative, Scott, Me, Sister Osborne, Elder Osborne, Sister McGoon,
Elder Whiting, Sister Updike, Elder Updike, Sister Hogge.

 Just after this picture was taken, Brother McGoon informed us we had to fish again; of course we did, we wanted some lunch.

The Second Catch

Barracuda?  It is Iridescent Blue
And the Largest Fish we caught.
Nummy too.

Largest Fish/Smallest Fish (in the hand on Scott's arm)

Resting After All the Work.

Our lunch included ika vaka lolo (fish in coconut milk), steamed fish, boiled fish, and fried fish along with several salads, dalo, and a kool-aid type drink.  I tasted fish cooked each way and they were all so good.  We caught enough to feed the McGoon family their dinner also.  What a nice day.

MORE OF OUR DAY AT THE McGOONS 

The McGoons home and yard are a kid's paradise as these pictures show.  Look carefully at the picture on the right.
Can you see what looks like black poles sticking out of the water behind the rope?  They are actually the tops of monuments in the family cemetery which ended up underwater after an earthquake.

Standing on a palm tree root.

After we finished fishing and before the fish were cleaned and cooked, one grandson was sent up a tree to pick green coconuts.  I had a hard time watching.  This coconut tree is at least 40 feet high.  It was amazing to watch him climb.  It took less than two minutes to reach the top.  Getting the coconuts loose was a hard job, because they are not ripe.  He dropped about five coconuts.  Climbed back down and proceeded to cut the husks off another hairy thing to watch.  After chopping a hole in the top, he passed the coconuts around for us to get a refreshing drink of the milk which is much better than ripe coconut milk.  It is very acidic and is almost like drinking soda.

Picking the coconuts

The Coconut Tree

                                                                                             

Husking the coconuts

Pausing for pictures coming down.

               

Sister McGoon and me

          Sister Updike, Me, Sister Wells 

                on the front porch

The following pictures are of the McGoon's house.  All the pictures on the walls are of family.  Notice that the blue wall does not go all the way to the ceiling.  The master bedroom is behind that wall.  Both curtained doors go to bedrooms. This is a three bedroom home which along with the furniture and carpeting--really a large rug--  indicate that the McGoon's are well off.

Sister McGoon is a good housekeeper; the house was spotless.

The Kitchen.
Yes Sister McGoon cooks over a fire hence the smokey haze.
Notice the hanging lantern.  No electricity out here.

We are so grateful to the McGoons for their willingness to share their corner of the Fijian world with
us.  What a wonderful day.  What a wonderful family.