Caqalai

After catching the local bus for a couple of dollars from Navua to Suva, we booked into Suva Motor Inn which was great because we could have a hot shower and our own toilet - Whoo Hoo! We had dinner and an early night and went to Colo-i-Suva Park the next day. While we were there, we had another tsunami warning. We were blissfully unaware and swimming in the rockpools when a text message from Oz came through again. This time, Shane, my son was also in Fiji on the side where the tsunami was supposed to hit. We started walking back to the road (about an hour away) while listening to the radio on Phils phone and then heard that the warning was cancelled. Meanwhile the whole of Suva - only 15 mins away was being evacuated! Also everyone was preparing for Fiji Day which was on that weekend.

When we got back to Suva most of the shops had started opening again. Time to pack and move on to the next island, Caqalai. We caught a taxi to the Waidalice Landing. A Small longboat was there waiting for us and a few more people, so we sat and waited for another hour. While we were sitting there, some of the local kids were jumping off the bridge into the river. It was very high and I'm sure not many kids in Oz would attempt that height.

Caqalai was stunning when we arrived after an hour, and the bure we stayed in looked like a postcard. No electricity, a trickle of cold water in a comunal shower, and great meals. The only drawback was the thin foam mattress on the hard wooden board - I think I still have the bruises on my hips. I lost my mobile phone on the island, but who cares when you are in paradise. The snorkelling was good with lots of soft coral. There was no alcohol on this island so we took our own beer and drank it warm - Hey sometimes you just have to compromise!

We had a great Lovo on Sunday - Fiji day, and ate a great milk fish which (I know you won't believe it) jumped into the boat when they were bringing people to the island. It hit a girl on the head, and she thought that the Roof was caving in! One of the other girls who was staying there, actually lived in Fiji and took us back to Suva as she had a car at the place where we were dropped off.

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