Fiji - Finally

Fiji Finally! Pics and video @ https://www.oceansfive.net/fiji

This blog may seem longer than usual, because (yikes!) it is! We arrived in Fiji on June 27th and departed on July 28th. Thus, a full month of experiences follow. This may be laborious to read through for you (I’m sorry!), but as I proofread it, I’m so happy to relive our journey through these words - it awakens memories which already lie dormant….

From other sailors who have circumnavigated, Fiji is the hands-down favorite destination. And not a long sail at about 48 hours from Tonga. After finally clearing customs, we depart around 4 pm (once you clear, they want you to leave the country immediately). Delightful downwind sail - Rob’s favorite thus far. On our customs forms for Fiji, we need to have a count of all food and drink, including canned and dried goods. Ellie counts every can and dry good product while Calvin and I count all the sodas, beer, wine and spirits. They also want to know where we purchased these items. Who remembers that?? We’ve had some canned items and pastas for a couple of years. Simple answer - everything came from Tahiti. Our tedious counting is interrupted by the loud whirr of the fishing pole! It’s something big - I can’t even turn the handle on the reel at all! After a bit of a wrestling match, Calvin pulls in a large skipjack tuna. They’re so strong - one big, very round muscle of a fish. Fortunately, we’re able to get the hook out without much damage and release him. Not our favorite type of tuna. Back to pulling up floor boards and counting stored supplies. After we finish, we receive a WhatsApp message from another boat that’s just checked in at Lomaloma on Vanua Balavu, Fiji, where we’ll be checking in, too. Customs people at this location (the previous boat had checked in at Savusavu) are quite lenient and only briefly checked their supplies without confiscating anything. Nice. Although, we wish we learned this earlier!

The customs and medical team prove to be very friendly and not-demanding. After the clearance from them, we head into the small village of Lomaloma. It’s a sweet little place, where the only road runs along the oceanfront and the small, well-kept but basic homes, businesses and church line the other side of the dirt road. As we walk along the tree-lined street, we pass the high school kids who’ve just finished classes. They’re all very polite and friendly, dressed in uniforms - girls in skirts and boys in sulus, which is similar to a wrap around skirt. We’d been advised back at the Fiji briefing in Tonga, when we enter into small villages we need to respect their customs. This includes modest attire - women have to have their shoulders covered and skirts/sulus that cover their knees. And men have to wear sulus. When we enter a village, we should remove hats and sunglasses. We’ve already blown it, having forgotten the sulus, but we were adequately covered and no one appeared offended. Actually, the opposite - these people were the friendliest and hardest working lot we’ve been exposed to since leaving the Galapagos. We passed a man holding 5 big bags of flour in his arms, yet he took the time to stop and ask us about ourselves and our travels. He’s the baker who supplies the tiny (teeny-tiny) grocery store with their bread each morning. Another man visited with us who runs five of the high school kids to school and back home to another island in his boat each day. There are few people out and about, but almost every one of them stops to speak with us. Very genuine in their interest in us. These may be the friendliest people we’ve ever met! As we stroll along, five young children, 5-8 years old, come giggling past us, all calling, “Bula bula,” and waving enthusiastically. Bula means welcome or hello in Fijian. It literally translates to mean “life,” thus they are wishing you a good life when they welcome you. Very pleasant. We are still in search of some Fijian cash. This town has no ATMs or banks, but we’re advised at the grocery store behind the church, we can get cash back when we buy groceries. Unfortunately, she’s completely out of cash until the next boat arrives and brings her more. She suggests we try the post office. No cash there either. These first islands we’re visiting are part of the Lau Group Archipelago, which is the most northern and least populated group of the Fijian islands. Maybe we won’t need any cash? There certainly isn’t much to buy thus far. After spending the night in the bay, we move in the morning over to the Bay of Islands.

Entering in the Bay of Islands proves to be a tricky endeavor. The accuracy of our navigation charts is questionable. We use satellite overlay on Navionics, and we take turns standing in the pulpit visually looking for large rocks and coral formations, tall enough we could possibly collide with them. Then we learn that Ri Ra hit a submerged rock trying to enter the area we plan on anchoring. Makes us all a bit jittery. Slowly proceeding through the bommies and rocks, we find our spot and drop anchor. Once we watch as the boat swings around, comfortable the rudders and keel won’t collide with bommies, we take in the area. Whoa. This place is magical! Our time here will be some of my most treasured memories of this trip.

The area is uninhabited, surrounded only by splendid nature and a few other boats, tucked into nooks created by the many, tiny islands. The small islands are like big, rock mushrooms protruding from the water, covered with green trees and bushes. They are similar to mushrooms because they have a “stem.” The rock around the base has been eroded to be narrower than the small island itself. At low tide, more of a short stem is evident than at high tide. Underwater, the rock stem is most apparent. Quickly, we blow up the paddle boards, excited to check out the areas we can’t see. Rob and I explore through all the little islands and search for possible snorkel spots. Some of the tiny islands connect above the water line and are eroded away below, creating a little bridge we paddle under into a small, protected pool area. Gorgeous, peaceful. The islands are tall enough we can’t see over them which lends a secluded, serene sense to each of the nooks. The larger island, Vanua Balavu, has taller hillsides which create a semicircle around the Bay of Islands, buffering the area from winds and nestling us all under its protection. We awaken to a rainy day and decide to snorkel anyway.

Close enough to swim from Jolie, there’s a lovely spot with big coral bommies and loads of fish of copious varieties. Beneath one side of a little mushroom island, the perfect growing situation exists for a variety of colorful soft corals - pale pinks, hot pinks and purples. They’re all growing in a small, shaded area and no where else. A treasure of a find.

One of the Fijian customs, on the smaller, more traditional islands, is in order to be welcomed on the island, we must approach the chief to ask if we may visit the island. He, in turn, may then have a welcoming Kava ceremony for us. Or we simply give them a gift of Kava and he may bypass the ceremony. We have purchased several bouquets of Kava root by Oyster, to present to various chiefs we may meet along the way. The locals pound the Kava root into a powder to then be mixed with water in a large wooden bowl, carved with legs, that sits on the ground. We are invited to a traditional Kava ceremony in the town of Daliconi, a short distance away. We move Jolie over there for the night, along with all the other Oysters in the area. Donned in sulus (Rob and I use a couple of sarongs wrapped around our waists.) and carrying a package of Kava root, the four of us head ashore for the welcome Kava celebration, along with about 15 other OWR boats. This is a very small “town” consisting of a small community center, a church and about 15 small homes which are fairly well maintained. There’s no garbage strewn about. We have the impression the Fijians are a harder working people than the ones we’ve seen in French Polynesia. Chairs are set up for us in the community center and the Kava bowl rests on the floor with mats around it where a man sits on the floor, and chants in Fijian while he mixes the Kava. Another, older man with a very kind face, whom we believe is the chief, welcomes us to the island in English. Some local people sing and then the Kava is passed around in coconut shells for us to drink. It’s a little iffy. But, most of us drink it. At first, it just tastes like dirty water, but then the inside of your lips and mouth become numb. But only for about 5 minutes. We’re told if you drink a bit of it, the response is one of relaxation and sleepiness. We’re not really tempted to drink more. After the ceremony, we head back to the shoreline where we see the tide has gone out, so all of our dinghies are resting on the sandy, muddy shore. Everyone works together to hoist the dinghies out to a depth where one can jump in without grounding the dinghy again. The camaraderie and helpfulness of this group is really wonderful. We spend a rainy evening on the boat - Ellie makes dinner, we play Yahtzee and then Rob pulls out his guitar and the four of us sing, focusing on Overkill by Men at Work. Calvin can actually reach the “I can’t get no sleep” high notes!

We so enjoyed Bay of Islands, we decide to return early the next morning to the same spot. Rock Lobster and Distraction also come to this tricky anchorage and are a little nervous about the shallow rocks and bommies that aren’t marked on the charts. Since we’re quite familiar with the area at this point, Rob and I hop in the tender and guide them through the questionable areas until they’re securely anchored. We venture around looking for snorkel spots on the outer side of the island. A little rough and sharky feeling in the late afternoon, thus we don’t stay long. In the evening, Distraction and Rock Lobster come by for Calvin’s Pain Killers and Emm’s Palomas. Fun group.

Speaking of fun, Mike and Emm organise a Paddle Board Olympics for owners/crew of those anchored in the Bay of Islands (Distraction, Rock Lobster, Skana, Babiana, Altaia and us). The four of us dinghy over to the predetermined area dragging our two paddle boards, feeling a bit hungover and not very enthused about exerting ourselves. However, once the conch blows, we’re all in! The races begin at a loose starting line (turns out we aren’t all that great at controlling our boards) then a mad paddle around two little islands.

First the men’s race, then the women’s race, followed by couples relay, and a three person relay(instead of handing off a baton, we have to change shirts so whoever’s racing has our team shirt). All forms of cheating and deception are encouraged. And finally, we tie all 10 of the paddle boards together, end to end, and have to attempt to run or walk along them as far as we can without falling off. However, you are allowed to fall on the board and get back up and continue.

What a blast! At the start of the men’s paddle board race, Rob thought they were racing in the opposite direction, thus he starts facing the wrong way. Miraculously, I win the women’s race with Emm coming in a very close second. Rob and I come in second in the couples relay, beaten by Anne and Nick in their kayak Our relay team is Rob, Calvin and me. Rob is leading in the final leg, when all the cheating breaks loose with people diving off their paddle boards to hold Rob’s board back. The Distraction team is declared winners of that race. But, the most fun was had in our attempts to run along the paddle boards. This proves to be way more difficult than it appears, with most of us falling off by the second or third board. The shining star, who like a gazelle runs to the 9th board, is 12 year-old Jackie, from Skana. Delighted with her success, shining smile with enormous dimples, she taunts big Calvin when he doesn’t make it as far as she does, yelling “My grandmother can do better than that!” Great fun by all!

One of the unique occurrences we see at Bay of Islands is the evening exodus of the large fruit bats flying high in the sky in their search for a meal. After exploring the area, one of the boats finds the forested hillside with thousands of these bats hanging from branches. We organise a Bats, Boats and Booze dinghy flotilla to watch them as they awaken and head out for the night. We tie our tenders together and pass around munchies as we sip on our cocktails.

These creatures are nothing like the little erratically flying bats we have at home. The name flying foxes really does apply. Their furry body and head does resemble a small-sized fox. And they’re quite graceful flyers as they fly high above us. Once we get over the notion they’re bats, we can appreciate their beauty and contribution to the uniqueness of this remote place. In the stillness after the sun sets, we all make our way back to our boat-homes.

Our last full day at Bay of Islands, we begin with a trial of Gym Club on paddle boards tied to the back of Jolie. Because there are no beaches in the area, we give it a go. We’re all a bit tired from our Olympic efforts the day before; we spend more time lying on our boards looking at the clouds than exercising.

Later we participate in a snorkel parade of an area Rob had scoped out the day before on the ocean-facing side of one of the islands. Emm, Rock Lobster and Altaia join us. It’s interesting how unique each place we snorkel may be. This particular area has a large field of leather coral close to a tiny beach, very full and all encompassing, like they’d been planted there. Also, a pillar of coral, solitarily growing out of the sand, away from the other coral. On the top of it, there are several anemones growing deep inside crevasses, with clown fish hiding down inside them. At first, I didn’t see them at all. After floating above it, a couple of the clown fish give themselves away by swimming out to challenge me. Only then do I spot all the anemones. A small crab emerges from a hard coral next to them. So many little creatures. It would be interesting to plant a time lapse camera in one of these spots.

At the first hint of light, before sunrise, we pull anchor, with Distraction and Rock Lobster following close behind as we depart to Taveuni Island. We’re all motoring out through these tight islands, steaming and navigation lights on in the darkness, until we clear the islands. Sails are launched, all configured in the same way for our sail - pole out to port, main out to starboard - wing on wing. Wonderful downwind sail, 16-20 knots of wind with Jolie cruising along at 9-10 knots to Paradise Resort on Taveuni Island. This resort is located across the channel from Rainbow Reef. The name is apropos, as we see about ten rainbows arching over the island during our single night stay. It’s Friday, which is Fijian night at this adorable, Bohemian, intimate dive resort. We begin the evening by participating in their Kava ceremony and end it with a drunken Conga line. The cocktails are so strong! We wonder if they’re made extra strong in an effort to get all us yachtees out of there early?

Morning after our evening of festivities, we groggily pull anchor and move across the channel to Viani Bay on Vanua Levu. This sparsely populated bay is quiet and lovely. A tiny dive resort, owned by Marina (from Germany) and her partner, appears to be the only business. Rob schedules two dives with them, one for today and another for tomorrow. We’re excited to dive Rainbow Reef, known to be one of the most beautiful dives in Fiji. The dive boat picks us up at Jolie in the afternoon. Three local fellas are the dive masters and boat captain. Very friendly and laid back, willing to take us where we’d like to dive, seemingly not too concerned whether we have our advanced certification or not. Some dive operators here are very strict and won’t take you down past 60 feet if you’re not advanced certified, no matter what your experience level. None of us have the advanced certification, but we wish to dive the White Wall, which is 100 plus feet. Fortunately, they agree to take us. Our first dive is beautiful from the moment we dip our faces into the water.

Another gorgeous reef packed with healthy, thriving coral and adorable splashes of colorful marine life. Combinations of hard corals and vibrantly coloured soft corals. We gradually dive deeper, then through a tunnel. When we emerge on the other side, and swim to the left, the wall of white soft corals fills our vision, extending down into the abyss as far as our eyes can perceive. The white corals are similar to small white trees covered in white blossoms, each only about 1 1/2 feet tall, growing horizontally out of the wall - not turning upward to seek light, like typical sun-loving plants. After warming up, our second dive is of Rainbow Reef. Beautiful. Marina invited us to a pot luck at the resort restaurant with the other boats anchored in the bay. None of them are from the rally, so it was interesting hearing their stories. I really enjoyed talking with Lindsay and Paul, along with their two boys who were 12 and 10 yrs-old. They had bought their boat in New Zealand and were gradually moving it back home, to Alaska. The experiences these parents are exposing their children to are tremendous! Rob chats with an older New Zealand man who’s been living on his boat for several years. Two of the other couples are from New Zealand, as well. A number of these people sailed as a group in a rally from New Zealand to Fiji.

The following morning, we complete two other dives. Both beautiful, but the one called “The Cabbage Patch” is uniquely amazing. The area is covered by enormous, dark mustard-yellow, hard corals which look like enormous open cabbage plants, each easily the size of a person.

There are hundreds of them growing close together; no space exists between them. An other-worldly scene. After returning to Jolie, we pull anchor and motor (no wind at all) through the day and night to Viti Levu, one of the largest islands, to get out of the predicted high winds. Anchored near the dive resort, Volivoli Beach Resort, the mountain range in the distance is tall, barren brown, high-desert appearing. Quite the contrast to the lower land, which is green and lush. We discover the dive shop at the resort is a proper, well-organised operation. We schedule at 3-tank dive for the morning, as well as massages for the following day. It’s nice to hear American accents in the reception area - it’s been awhile. Surprisingly, most of the people staying at the resort are divers from the US. The next morning, I woke up not feeling well and had to cancel my dive. Rob went and was thrilled with the beauty of the coral and huge fish population at the nearby reef, especially little orange anthias. I was able to reschedule my dive to the following morning with Emm. After looking at Rob’s photos and video, we were very excited! The high winds the next morning prevented us from diving the same areas Rob went, but the dives were still beautiful, with tall pillars covered with coral and fish. We even spotted some tiny, colourful nudibranchs. Fiji is simply stunning underwater.

Post-dive beer and lunch, spa appointments (turns out Rob’s masseuse was a man dressed as a woman, or maybe a woman with a full shaved beard? Took him awhile to relax.)

One odd occurrence in this area of Fiji, near Viti Levu, is the frequency of fires, which then blow ash all over our boats. We had this happen once before at the marina after passing through the Panama Canal. Some fires are from the sugar cane fields, which they burn before harvest time. But others seem to be in random places, and of varying sizes. This is a common theme.

Scheduled to be in Vuda Marina, we head there via one night at Saweni Bay. At night, we see huge fires burning up high on the hill side. It appears to be taller trees burning, not sugar cane. The following morning, once again, we clean Jolie of ash before heading into the small, but well-protected marina. There’s a spacious outside restaurant and an intimate bar/eating area at the marina, along with a surprisingly well-stocked small market and chandlery. And more ash covering the boat the next day. Hrummph.

Feeling ready to explore the island and get some exercise, Rob and I come up with the brilliant idea of renting a car, driving to a trailhead and hiking up to Mount Batilamu Lodge. The All Trails app says it’s a “hard,” 4.3 miles with 2300 feet of rise in elevation. We’ve done a bit of hiking over the years, so this really shouldn’t be a problem. Right? Well, 7 months of primarily sitting on a boat, with some short walks, no running for Rob, and sporadic, small bursts of exercise for me, should have given us pause. The drive up the tortuous gravel road for miles, where we wondered numerous times if we should turn around (Is our rental car capable of making it?) should have also given us pause. But, nope. We finally make it up to a tiny village, where we purchase tickets to go into the Koroyanitu National Park for the hike and receive basic directions on how to make it to the lodge and the waterfall. Another reason to pause… we don’t have hiking boots, but we do have old tennis shoes. Rob’s in particular, are so worn there’s almost no tread, and part of the sole falls off part way through our hike. Not ideal for steep rises and descents. The lower part of the hike through fields with beautiful views of the hills before us, as well as the waterfall in the distance, is quite pleasant. Then, we head into the steep, rainforest portion, which is most of the hike. The shade from the trees is lovely and cool. And the root systems are like stair steps in the path, allowing us to climb this steep ascent. Climbing, climbing, climbing, the longest staircase of our lives…asking ourselves if we should just turn around, but feeling like we’d passed the point of no return. And, surely, we must be close to the top? And, how the heck are we going to get back down in one piece? Finally, with the aide of big walking sticks, we make it to the “lodge.” An empty camping hut; it lacked the rest and refreshments we were longing for. The path continued on for about 10 minutes to an open viewing area of the vast landscape and ocean far below. Gorgeous scene. Rest, granola bar, water, then time to descend. Our trusty walking sticks prevented a number of sliding falls. In spite of them, we went down more than once (well, Rob once, and three times for me) - the path being too steep for adequate traction with our skate-like shoes. The last mile, I hobbled along on knees informing me like never before that I’d overdone it this time. Dang it! These reminders, sometimes whispers, other times hollers, suggesting we have limitations as we get older, make me cross.

Our hike and return in the rental car took much longer than anticipated. Also, Rob trying to repair the broken latch on the trunk of the rental car, further prevented us from attending a low-key happy hour birthday celebration for Toby. He and Nicole are the owners of Skana. Unfortunately, Toby had developed sepsis from a wound on his foot. He became very ill and had to be flown to a proper hospital on Viti Levu, where he could receive IV antibiotic therapy. He’d been quite ill and was now recovering at the Sofitel Resort on Denarau Island. Toby is one of those very pleasant, optimistic, clever-humoured, helpful people, who everyone loves. Thus, this illness has been quite concerning for us all. If he had to go home, could there be a rally without Toby?? We had been looking forward to seeing his face and the reassurance of his improved health.

Our last day at the marina, Gakyung and I bring coffee from our galleys and walk over to hammock-like chairs to appreciate the sun rise and gaze out over the ocean. There are so many interesting people on this trip! Gakyung is one of those people - from Korea, her father was the ambassador to Korea, she’s lived all over the world. She decided she wanted to go to college in the US, attending Harvard undergrad and Medical School, where she met her husband, Bob, another Harvard grad physician. After recently retiring, she convinced Bob they should buy an Oyster and travel the world. On the crossings, she’s using her down time to figure out their next adventure. I’ll be sure to see what that looks like! We’re open to suggestions….

Today is Saturday, July 13th. And that means Jacob’s arriving in Fiji today!!! Woohooo!!! Rob and I drive over to pick him up at the airport - his flight arrives at 5:45 am. It’s really great to see his face and be able to give him a big hug! We’ve really missed our family. Starlink has helped us stay in touch, but there’s nothing like actually being in their presence. We plan on exploring the Yasawa Island chain during his 11 day visit with us. Later that morning, after Jolie is prepped, we move from Vuda (pronounced “Vunda”) Marina over to Musket Cove Island Resort for the night.

Despite denying feeling jet-lagged, Jacob’s first night begins with a “Birthday” party arranged by Mike and Emm (from Distraction), for Tony (from Ahlam) and Gabby (from Mexican Wave) at the beautiful Lomani Island Resort in Musket Cove. It’s Friday, so the resort is having their special Fijian night celebration with local, traditional dancers, as well as fire dancers. Twenty-five of us attend this special birthday celebration. What makes this occasion extra-special, is that it isn’t Tony or Gabby’s birthdays. Gabby quickly steps out of the picture, so the full focus is on Tony. Initially, Tony is trying to tell everyone it’s not his birthday(with Mike reassuring everyone it really is) but as the festivities grow - the staff is bringing cake, singing to him, etc, he eventually embraces it and finds himself dancing with the staff, along with his cute wife, Ana. Very fun night. All these people are such a pleasure getting to know. Standout aspects of people’s personalities are becoming more apparent. For example, clearly, Mike is a bit of a rascal. In a good way. And Emm, his wife, is his silent, mischievous partner in crime. As I sit at our long table of friends, I glance across at Jacob, who is sitting upright, but appears to be sound asleep. In Utah, it’s about 4am. He’s done remarkably well for his first day.

One of the unanticipated pleasures of Jacob’s visit, is our mornings together. I’m usually the first one up, but due to the time difference, I find Jacob sitting quietly in the cockpit, when I arise. We have coffee together and watch the sunrise. Rob and I really appreciate how he enjoys snorkeling and sailing. He’s always ready to don his fins and mask to accompany us snorkeling, paddle boarding or helping with sheets/lines, anchor, etc. After a short snorkel by the break, we move Jolie over to a bay between Navadra Island and Vanua Levu. We’re greeted by 7 small black tip reef sharks, easily visible in the clear water, as they nonchalantly circle our boat. Jacob’s hesitant response to getting in the water, makes me realize how comfortable we’ve become with some varieties of sharks. Although this greeting is not typical - people on boats are clearly feeding these sharks - we know they’re not interested in us and we have a jump in to cool off. We’d love to go ashore - there are beautiful beaches on both islands - however, large signs are posted saying the islands are private. Someone along the way said these private, uninhabited islands are frequently used for filming. Instead, we enjoy a lovely snorkel the following morning with three turtle sitings, as they zip away from us. They nap under ridges in the coral. We must have startled them awake. Also, a not so lovely or successful snorkel searching for our water intake filters which had blown overboard during the night. Oops.

We lift the anchor just in time, as a cruise ship enters our lovely bay, and sail over to Drawaqa Island. This special spot becomes one of our favorites! The combination of a) a cute little resort open to us “yachties”, b) absolutely some of the most gorgeous, healthy, densely growing, expansive coral beds, and c) this is the most exciting one for me… frequent visits through the pass by majestic manta rays, creates a complete wonderland for us. The mantas regularly feed in the pass between Drawaqa Island and Naviti Island. Mantaray Island Resort has watchers, who notify them when the mantas are seen. In response, they blow a conch shell to let everyone know they’re in the pass. With our dinghy already set up with our snorkel gear, we scramble to get ready and go! When we pull up to the pass, the local guide tells us there are three mantas in the water. In my haste to see them, I skip donning my fins and dive in. The others are quick to follow. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! Three of these gorgeous, massive creatures, swimming in slow motion, are underneath us, feeding. The largest is about 10 feet across and has five small yellow pilot fish swimming between its cephalic horns. When we dive down, they glide towards us and then gracefully away, not seeming to be bothered by our tiny presence at all. They are a wonder of nature. How cool Jacob is here to witness these creatures! And to think mantas may grow to 20 feet across! Twice the size of the ones we’re viewing! Hard to wrap our heads around!

See video @ https://www.oceansfive.net/fiji

The corals in this area are probably the best we’ve seen thus far. Snorkelling along the beach behind our boat - Smoked Mackerel Beach - is beautiful. The coast on the southeast side of Drawaqa Island is even more gorgeous. The landscape of corals in a huge variety of shapes, textures and colors is indescribable, without any signs of bleaching, unhealthy algae, etc. And it extends along the entire coastline. A long, deep shelf of shallower water, covered with coral, which then leads to a 30ish foot drop off, also carpeted with corals. Deep crevasses and caves interrupt the wall of the drop off. One small black tip reef shark makes an appearance, then darts off down into the deeper water.

We end the evening with cocktails on Serafina, a beautiful 885 owned by Canadians Chad and Amber, along with their three young daughters. Lovely people who we haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time thus far.

Sunshiny, sparkly morning, one more glorious snorkel on the southeast side of Drawaqa, then off to the Blue Lagoon, a protected anchorage surrounded by four islands (Tavewi, Matacawa Levu and Nacula Islands). We anchor in the bay by Nanuya Lailai Island, near a resort of the same name. Each of these islands has a small resort. Unfortunately, they are full and have no room to accommodate us in their restaurants. Shortly after anchoring, Simi, a local, invites us to his home on the beach for a curry dinner. We gladly accept for the following night. Pleasant day of hiking on the island in search of the elusive “Tea House,” which we decided was more of a hike than our feet in flip flops could withstand, and postponed it to another day. Low key evening on Jolie; Ellie made a lovely dinner, and we crashed early. Then, ugh - Jacob and I must have eaten something bad and we were both hit with the yucks during the night. Jacob recovered quickly, but I needed to stay boat-bound the following day. Rob hiked up to the Tea House in the morning, reporting back to us that it was quite rustic. Like the Castaway movie with donuts. The day ended with a delicious curry dinner on the beach at Simi’s, along with JaZoFi and Babiana. I was content with white rice and a peaceful evening on Jolie.

We awaken to another beautiful, sunshiny morning, revealing why the area is known as the Blue Lagoon. The three of us snorkel one of the other bays - not as stunning as Drawaqa, but has its own unique beauty. This particular area is dotted with a variety of anemones and clown fish. Anemones with long, flowy tendrils; others with short tendrils that are more densely arranged. Bubble tip anemones with small pink bubble tips and others with large bubbles, the size of blueberries. The usual, Clark’s anemone fish, snuggle down into the anemones and then dart out at us, daring us to swim any closer. In the other anemones, Orangefin and Pink anemone fish play the same game as we swim closer. They’re so similar to angry chihuahuas, somehow unaware of the reality of their minuscule size and strength.

Ahlam joins us in the evening for drinks. Tony, Anna and their adult sons, Carlos and Nicolas are from Barcelona. Delightful, passionate family! A big, rowdy discussion ensues about the Barcelona soccer teams and every player, which Jacob knows, from the past 10 plus years. Rob knows many of them, as well. Tony is so impressed and excited by Jacob’s knowledge and enthusiasm regarding Barcelona, he invites Jacob to come sail with them on Alham! Then invites us all to come to Barcelona to their home to attend a Barcelona game. Tony reveals he is very close to the vice president of the team, hinting this may come with special privileges. Sounds intriguing! We’re in!!

Jacob brought some boat supplies with him when he arrived. Rob had ordered a tiny movie projector which he’s been excited to try. Ellie made burritos to pack for dinner for our trial movie run on the beach. Just the five of us watched Captain Ron. Surprisingly lovely way to enjoy the uninhabited beach. Chatting afterward, we decided we’d move tomorrow back toward Drawaqa Island, on our way back toward Musket Cove, where Jacob would catch the ferry to the airport (I can’t believe we’re already planning his departure! Time has passed far too quickly!!)

Other anchorage ideas proved to be too rolly, so we happily returned to Drawaqa Island. Rob’s eager to revisit our favorite snorkel spot to capture more underwater scenes on his camera. He’s taken some gorgeous photos. Who knows, we may see the mantas again?!

Rob and I thought we’d try a scuba dive off the dinghy at the reef behind the island, where we could see an interesting drop off when we snorkeled there previously. Jacob came along to snorkel. The ocean is truly a living, continually changing, diverse ecosystem. We’re reminded of this when we return to the crystal clear spot a few days ago, now laden with suspended particulate markedly reducing visibility. Bummer! Rob and I somehow, for the first time ever, became separated scuba diving. In some situations, this may be a real concern, but this was a familiar place to us and easy to navigate back to the dinghy. It was great to have Jacob there; he could monitor us from above and dive down to point me in the direction of Rob. He enjoyed free diving down into the caves and crevasses, while we were diving. He used to have such issues trying to clear his ears, which is no longer a problem. I’m guessing scuba diving is in his future.

We ended the day, continuing our movie-on-the-beach streak by watching Office Space on the beach of the little Mantaray Island Resort.

After another rolly night, we move toward Musket Cove. As we were sailing past Qalito Island, we notice a pretty, sheltered bay and decide to drop anchor there. Castaway Island Resort sits to one side of the bay. We are greeted by the usual “Bula” hellos and the Fijian big, warm, genuine smiles. They graciously allowed us ashore for a drink, but did not have space for dinner. Chatting with the bartender, I learned that he spends 15 days on the island, then only 2 days at home. I said it must be hard being away from his family so long, but he said we all are his family, which I didn’t quite believe. He explained, where he is from in Fiji, all the homes have their dining table located right by the front door. When they eat lunch and dinner, the door sits open, and they invite anyone walking by to join them, even if they don’t know them. This, I believe. The Fijian way is exceedingly warm, gracious and real. We have all felt more welcomed here than anywhere on our journey. I can’t help but think how different the US would be if we shared this philosophy. We return to Jolie for a hearty and delicious curry meal a la Ellie, as we watch an enormous, full, orange moon rise above the mountains across the channel. Another lovely day.

On Tuesday, July 23rd, we sadly return to Musket Cove, knowing Jacob departs the following afternoon. The day he leaves, the three of us head out to the reef for a last snorkel in the clear, aquamarine waters. The swift current threatens to swoop us away from where the dinghy’s anchored. A bit more of a workout than anticipated! On our way back in, we stopped at a bustling, floating tiki bar called Cloud 9 (the famous surf wave nearby is Cloud Break). All the people there have arrived via a large ferry. Very diverse variety of people, from Asians who are deathly afraid of the water (some actually bravely get into the water with big life jackets on), to a very large couple sitting on a padded platform (how did they climb off the ferry?) to girls in tiny thong bathing suits posing for photo after photo. I wonder how much time during a single day some of these young folks, whether from China, New Zealand, US, etc. spend taking pictures of themselves? Zingingly strong drinks and fairly good pizzas rounded out the end of our visit to Cloud 9. Back to Jolie for Jacob to prepare for his long trek home. We run him over to the ferry where the Musket Cove employees sing their farewell Fijian songs to all the departing guests. This is a tradition at most of the resorts - a sweet welcoming and departing serenade. Usually accompanied by a ukulele. Now it’s my turn to take a zillion pictures of him departing on the ferry. He leaves a big hole. “Parting is such sweet sorrow” really describes the feeling. We’re no Romeo and Juliet, but the feelings are similar.

Our last couple of days in Fiji, Rob and I decided to get away to a little resort not far from where we’re anchored. The quaint, small Tropica Island Resort has space available. Hooray! A couple days of no boat worries, good food, massages and entertainment by Ziggy, our favorite happy Fijian man-of-all-trades. He sings, leading in karaoke night, teaches us about Kava, runs the activity center and appears to be delighted every time he sees us! He tells me he works on the island for 26 days and then home for 5. I think I’d be quite grouchy if that was my work schedule.

Calvin comes by in the tender to pick us up at 9 am. We return to Jolie and reluctantly pull anchor to sail away from Fiji toward Vanuatu. Sunday, July 28th is a day I’m not ready for. All of us feel like we could have spent more time here appreciating the warmth of the culture, exploring the undersea world with its extraordinary corals and creatures, and trekking through the lush mountainous terrain. What will compare to this?