Levuka on Ovalau Island, Fiji

We cruised this area in August of 2014.

The entire ensemble of children that sang and performed.

Sometime pre-August of last year we decided it would be fun to do a circumnavigation of Viti Levu – a pretty big, but completely manageable undertaking for the three short weeks we had before our friend Jenn arrived in Nadi.

Levuka Church

Having made our way through the previously traveled east side of the island, we decided our first big stop would be Levuka, on Ovalau Island.  Since Levuka was the original capital of Fiji we thought it would be interesting to explore there.

While there was plenty of interesting older buildings and a very cool museum – the best part of Levuka turned out to be something we completely lucked into.  While exploring one of the larger churches – we were greeted by some young boys wielding spears and doing their best to look scary.

Turns out they were from the main school and all the kids were putting on a big performance for the big cruise ship that was in town. 

The youngest kids performing - some for the first time.
You should have seen how excited their moms were!

 Kids of all ages performed a variety of dances – some to welcome us and some that simply showcased Fijian culture.

Handing out welcome flowers to every guest.

They were just adorable and so serious about what they were doing!  But there were still plenty of smiles and quite a bit of laughter too as they performed their many songs and dances. 

The older boys performing a seated dance.

Seeing and meeting the children within the countries we've traveled has been one of the biggest joys of this cruising life.  Their shyness, followed by beautiful smiles and a total willingness to interact with us has made us grin more times than we can count.

 We are very grateful that this community decided to include us in their lovely celebration!

The young women sing.