Things to do in paradise...

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February 29^th. A leap year. Traditionally the day when a woman can propose to a man. I thought about which eligible men I could propose to today and then realised not only did I not know any, but secondly, I’m having far too fantastic a time on my own to worry about such things. Good things come to those that wait, so they say. I’ll keep on waiting with my fingers crossed that Mr Right appears off the transfer boat later on this afternoon…

Today the plan was to do not very much at all, other than greet Mr Right with a marriage proposal. I woke up early but seeing as I was asleep by 9pm, this was no great surprise. However I decided to go back to sleep again, and only woke up 5 minutes before breakfast ended. Fortunately Fijian time was in operation as not only did I get down to the restaurant in time, but the newlyweds arrived half an hour after me and were still able to get everything they wanted to eat. I think I’ve finally found a place that operates in the same way as me – state a time then be flexible about the actual time you mean by about an hour each way. Those who have patiently waited for me to arrive at weddings, birthday parties etc will know what I’m saying…

So I took to my sunlounger, a mattressed affair underneath a tree, before donning my snorkel mask and flippers (yes, appreciate the flippers might be overkill, given the size of my hooves) and taking to the ocean. The reef is about 5 metres from the shore so before I knew it, I was swimming with the fishes once again. These lot are a friendly sort – diving around you as you paddle your way through. Similar species to Australia but some really spectacular ones thrown in for good measure. One which looked like it had an extendable mouth, and one which was totally bright red all over. Another few unfortunate souls too which at the point they were created, were given a paint job that looked like someone had spilt an entire fluorescent paint palette on them. The coral wasn’t too bad either – not as bright and luminescent as others I have been to but the further out from shore I went, the better it got. A sure sign that previous tourists had trampled where they should not have trampled.

Returning to my lounger, it was soon time for lunch, before returning to my lounger again for the afternoon stint. A brief interlude to learn how to make Kokoda – a fish and vegetables local dish – and I was back on my lounger again. It’s been a tough old day. I even threw in a bonus snorkel at 5pm to check out some more fish but the tide had gone out too far for me to be able to swim over the top of the coral so I just headed back to my lounger again.

After dinner tonight (another 3 course delight of curry, rice, pappadoms etc - amazing!), me and 3 fellow Brits (West country Brits at that!) joined a Norwegian family to take part in the 'Survivor' game show that was being staged. The 9 of us had to pit our wits against 4 other teams in terms of Fiji knowledge - both practical and theoretical - to win a champagne breakfast on the beach tomorrow morning. Not that I'm competitive but I was determined to win this...and from taking part in the physical challenges as well as answering the general knowledge questions about Fiji at the end, we triumphed victorious over the Aussies, who had spent the day gloating about the 20 bonus points they'd mustered from getting the Immunity Item from a member of staff. It took them all day to find it. Our team just lazed by the water, topping up the tans, and still ended up victorious. A veritable Ashes victory in its own right - and I'll make sure I gloat a-plenty tomorrow morning when I'm supping my champers and eating my poached eggs on toast....

It's a right old struggle in paradise, what to do on a daily basis. I can honestly say that it goes like this...

1) Breakfast - all you can eat

2) Say goodbye to inmates leaving for other islands

3) Say hello to inmates arriving from other islands

4) Eat lunch

5) Take part in an activity (maybe - if you can just about muster the energy)

6) Snorkel

7) Swim

8) Eat dinner

9) Sleep

Repeat...

I've decided I'm going to stay here until Sunday now. There's a lot to be said for island hopping but I'm more than happy here. Blue Lagoon has everything - great company, staff, entertainment and peaceful relaxation time. Cold wet and miserable Burnham couldn't be further away from my thoughts if it tried....

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