Totoya Island

Mt. K. P. Navesi Village

"Pita - what kind of flesh is she chopping up? "This mornin', a tortoise was captured. You ever tried a tortoise? Fresh chopped turtles. This was our first overnight stay in Navesi Villa on Totoya Island in Lau, Fiji. At the end of our sevenevu service with the head of the town, we were able to moor at their beaches, go fishing and swimming in their water and enjoying the local people.

At the end of the wedding we were asked if we would like to taste it. Naturally, we answered in the expectation that our cava roots would be cut and made directly in front of us. In Kadavu, the chieftain and the oldest remained with us and survived us in the ground shell. "Then we must go to the shop to buy cava.

Wasn' t the present from the handful of cava purely ritual? Not on Totoya, apparently. Not everywhere does so well and here as everywhere the village inhabitants had to buy it. As a result, their use of cava was greatly reduced. Drink caava for hour and hour every evening, until the early wee small hour. He' rollin' around in the shit, like.

On Totoya, they only allowed themselves two lessons twice a weeks. So we bought 6 pouches of cava from the local shop for $1 a pop and sat down in Pita's chalet for some candy. The tortoise cooconut broth bubbling over an open fire in the edge, we relax around the ground cup and play musical wishes from our homemade chilli bin stereom.

Sit around the cooker's cottage. Lessons and lessons of never-ending conversation. And we' re drinking dish after dish of rum and we' re around the dish and we' re smokin' it. You have no paper on wheels and no filter. We' gave them some real paperwork and a filter. That was our sound contributions to the island.

They were thrilled by our donations of filter and roll paper. "Now are you prepared to try the tortoise? "We' re going to try, but just a little. "A plate of tortoise flesh was placed in front of us, steamingly warm with coir milks that dripped off everything. Tortoise festival.

Serve with manioc, banana and brown and white butter. That tortoise was an utter deli. Its flesh was delicate, supple and full-bodied. Lithely melting on your lips and satiating your palate. This reminds us of the tenderest, slowly fried side of pig, but with a much richer flavour.

It was a mixture of coconuts poured with the flavour of the flesh, unlike anything we have ever had. Ok, enjoy eating turtles boiled in a secluded town on a secluded island in Lau Fiji in a tradition.