Vanua Levu, Savusavu - hot springs, pearls, etc

Newly paved highways roll out before us, leading to more and more beauty in Vanua Levu.  A gorgeous driving experience.

Caribbean pine in Fiji.  You're welcome, Fiji!

Delicious spring water on the way to Savusavu.  Cool, crisp, and light tasting.

Undulating, lush, and productive landscape in Fiji.

Hot springs.

Shamefully blurry but adorably curious school children watch USP students carry out tests at the hot spring in Savusavu.

A harbour perfect for pearl-making oysters.

Everywhere there is water, Indians worship.  The marigold wilts in the salt and sun.  It is typical in Hindu prayers.

Homes for small creatures shaped like narwhales' tusks.  Why didn't I keep this one?  I felt ashamed at walking alone collecting the discarded bits of nature's beauty from the beach - especially when they're free, and I should be on pins and needles anxious to pay $1200 USD to purchase a cultured pearl.  I prefer my nature uncultured.  I need to practice reveling in that preference instead of feeling embarrassed by it.

Beautiful Fiji pearls - almost gem-like, these specimens range from $600 - $1200 USD.

Japanese expert technician or craftsman spends some time in Fiji every year to facilitate or seed the oysters for future pearl cultivation.

Oysters bathing.

You can see the imperfections on a few of these pearls if you look closely.  These are not gem-quality and yet this strand is priced at over $100,000 USD.  Who buys Fiji pearls?  Fijians?  Doubtful.  The industry has squeezed out the small pearl-farmer - a form of artisanal revanchism that has displaced indigenous practices and products in a neoliberalist capitalist global economy where the rich benefit from the rarest resources that require the most intensive processes in ecologically precious areas of the world.