Busy Having Fun!

Since our last update, we've been busy having a lot of fun and doing nothing!  Tomorrow we have been invited to dine with a Fijian family in a neighboring village.  Wednesday, we are finally getting to do our shark dive.  We plan to leave on Thursday and head back to Latouka and Vuda Marina.

Monday, June 6, 2011 - Cave Diving
We visited Sawa-i-lau Island about an hour's boat trip from where we are anchored.  Our boat captain, Tui, skimmed over shallow reefs with the greatest of confidence.  We would have had a heart attack in our dinghy.  When we got to the Island, we descended into the caves for a swim.

There was the main cave, and another one that we had to dive under a rock to get to.  Yipes!  Can't say we enjoyed that.  We had our snorkels and masks on, but no fins.   The tide was high so there was absolutely no air space under the rock.   I am so buoyant that I hit the top of the rocks, and our guide had to pull me through.  It was very claustrophobic, and I thought my lungs were going to burst.

It was pitch black in the second chamber, and we couldn't see a thing, except for when one of the other people in our group took a flash photo with their underwater cameras.  We followed our guide's light into a smaller chamber that had an open chimney to the sky.  Interesting, but I think I could have done without that second chamber.

The main cave was quite lovely.  It was colder water than the sea as it was a mixture of fresh and salt.

Our boat captain Tui has invited Russ and me over to his village tomorrow night to have supper with his family.   The Fijian people are incredibly friendly and generous.

Sunday, June 5, 2011 - Diving at the Zoo
We signed up for a a dive to a place called the Zoo.  It's a reef and deep shelf where huge fish hang out.  Saw some Spanish Mackerel, Walou, Shark, and Lion Fish.  Our dive master also pointed out some soft coral that changed colors when we touched it.  Very fascinating.

We bar-b-qued chicken marinated in fresh lime juice given to us by Va and her family.  Also made a wonderful cucumber, onion, pepper salad with green coconut shavings, coconut juice, and limes.

Last night the moon was gorgeous.  It looked as if it were smiling down on us.

The Blue Lagoon cruise ship was anchored further down the beach from us.  The combination of the moon, tiki lights, star light, and Fiian music being sung on the beach, and a gentle sea breeze was magical.

Saturday, June 4, 2011 - Climbing the mountain at Nacula Island


Russ and I took our dinghy to a neighboring island about 2 miles across an open pass to a place called Oarsman Resort.  Manase, Va's brother, is the village chief and operational manager for the resort that the clan owns here.

Laite, Russ, and Chief Manase

We gave him kava for sevusevu and climbed the mountain behind the resort.

Turns out there was yet another higher mountain to climb, but since we had started late in the day, we were satisfied with our hike and the photos we took from the tops of the lower mountain.

Grass was 7-8 feet tall

Later in the day, we snorkeled around the reefs close to the boat and had a wonderful dinner at the Nanuya Resort.

Friday, June 3, 2011 - Fresh Produce at the Farm


As we were getting low on vegetables, it was time to go shopping Yasawa style at the local farm owned by Toki and Meri.

We used the waypoints we had established on our first trip to the school with some modifications.  It was low tide when we arrived, so we anchored in the middle of a muddy bay and walked to the Bay of Plenty Resort, where one of the employees took us on the trail to the farm.

We picked peppers, onions, eggplants, corn, and cucumbers.  We also packed home some fresh bananas.  Yum!

Thursday, June 4, 2011 - Boat Chores

We hung around the boat most of the day, catching up on reading, doing laundry, baking cookies, working on the computer.  I made up some new fliers for Va and her family.  And of course, we enjoyed a lovely sunset.

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on Worrall Wind