BULA Fiji Part II

Friday 24 Jan

We were going to go surfing today, but there was no 'captain' to take us, so we spent another day lounging around the island. I really think this has been a great way to start what is, undoubtedly, to be an exhausting journey. It was really hot today. Stifling hot. We spent a lot of the day in the water talking to Carol and Sue.

The water here is beautiful further offshore, but against the island-- it’s a bit swampy. The water is still clear and refreshing, but there is a lot of plant debris floating about.

We did our best to stay in the shade as much as possible, but we were not able to evade the intense Fijian sun. Preston and I both have pretty bad sunburn.

Since it was just our small group again, Ace and Luke (some of the workers here on the island) took us for a sunset cruise. We went out towards the reef and watched the sunset, while sipping beers and kava (again!!). It was beautiful. We sang songs and played guitar. Ace taught us all a funny little dance that we did around the boat. It was a great time :)

We had dinner again in the garden, followed by a bonfire on the beach. It was the quintessential South Pacific experience…bonfire, guitars, beautiful island singing, and endless stars above.

BULA EVERYBODY

Saturday 25 January

We were up early today to go surfing!! Our ‘captain’ was, of course, on Fiji time and arrived about an hour late :P We headed out to the breaks in our tiny little boat.  After about 30 minutes heading north in the ocean, we reached “Cloudbreak”, which is a famous reef break. This break is used in world surf competitions. There are structures built in the water that rise off the reef as viewing platforms for the judges.

Judge's platform

Preston was very excited.  Captain Ben and I stayed behind on the boat while Preston paddled off. Luckily, another boat offered us to come aboard into the shade, since our small boat offered no reprieve from the harsh sun. Thank goodness, because I am already toasted!!

I couldn’t see Preston all that well, but I did meet a friendly sea snake that swam over for me to take his picture. I also saw a turtle, but he dipped under again before I could get his picture. I tried some sort of traditional Indian wrap that the captains had brought for lunch and shared with me. I gave them the donut I had snagged from breakfast.

Oh, hellooo

So blue

Preston's out there somewhere in red 

Preston came back with the biggest smile on his face!! He said the waves were really big…some of the biggest he’s surfed. The reef was close under his feet, which was a bit scary in the event of a fall. Pres said it was a very humbling experience, but he had a great time.

We returned to the island in time for lunch and a great afternoon thunderstorm. We spent the afternoon in our bure watching movies on the laptop and napping. We took a walk before dinner and took in the amazing fire show that the staff put on here.

We’ve had a great time at Robinson Crusoe Island. The experience was really best in the moments when the island was hardly occupied. Fiji has been everything we imagined and more :)

Today we are back to the mainland until early tomorrow morning. We are going to hang in the shade and take it easy till our flight :D Monday—Auckland!!

Goodbye song