Special Moment To Mourn A Fallen Friend

This Wednesday the ferry came to Kavala Bay at 5 am in the morning instead of 2 pm in the afternoon.  Jason, Pete, and I piled into the boat in the middle of the dark and navigated to the bay just before sunrise.  On the way there, Pete was saying there would be many people on account of a death/funeral in Suva.  A local Fijian was a part of the British military in the Middle East where he was killed while on foot patrol just days before his 27th birthday.  I only thought there would be many people coming back from the funeral in Suva, but when I went in to pay for the supplies, I saw the casket of the soldier covered in a British flag right in the middle of the holding bay. 

An hour went by as we loaded out cargo, then it happened.  The special moment where everyone,  I mean everyone on the ship, closed their mouths and opened their eyes to watch his mates carry the casket through the cargo hold to a small boat outside.  They walked slowly, arm in arm, looking just high enough to see where to go and just low enough to convey their sadness.  It really is special when everyone can connect on such a basic level of respect.  No matter the age, race, religion, background, we all understood to show respect to this event.  I was in awe to see such a moment, but also sad that it was at another person’s expense.

Read more about the fallen soldier.

Is it better to bury your friends or to have them bury you?  I only hope the friends I have now continue to be my friends until we are all gone.

On a lighter note, the rest of the day was a perfect day in Paradise.  Snorkeling with some girls from Aussie and then taking a nap on Paradise Beach,  snorkeling with manta ray,  and finally having a stiff cocktail and a big dinner.

Oh, there was a kid at the dock with a New York Rangers jersey on as if anybody cares about that team!