Blogs from Yasawa Islands, Fiji, Oceania - page 5

Now this is why we came to Fiji; the weather idyllic, the ocean waters crystal clear, the palm trees posing a natural shelter as you kick back and think of sweet nothings. For those that live on the island, Tiger Woods’ exploits or the latest outbreak of George Bush meltdown matters not. The islanders bask in paradise!! South Sea Island is a coral outgrowth no bigger than a football pitch. Its amenities totalled a puddle sized swimming pool, a rickety table tennis table and a row of inviting hammocks… Now maybe I’m alone in experiencing hammocking difficulties, certainly many ‘hammockers’ appear incredibly content, nestled in their roped cocoon. But I write to you today to think long and hard the next time you wish to hammock down for some quiet time. My initial hammock mounting attempt ... read more

We arrived in Fiji early in the morning. We didn’t sleep too much on the flight and were wrecked by the time we arrived. When we stepped off the plane, the heat hit us right away! Great to be back in the hot weather. As soon as we stepped into the airport, a few men playing guitars and singing met us at the entrance. It was the first of many warm welcomes we received here. The next step was the slowest immigration queue I have ever encountered and this too was the first of many of the laid back procedures of the Fijians! It didn’t help that there were about 100 Filipino men arriving to work on fishing boats in the region so I suppose it was more difficult to process this paperwork over the average ... read more

We left Matamaona early in the morning and caught a speed boat transfer to Bounty Island in order to catch our sailing cruise. It was very exciting to get on the 108 feet sailboat and meet our cruise and fellow cruisers. It turned out that this is the last two night Captain Cook cruise to Barefoot Island and we only had two other people on board (the boat has capacity for 40, so 4 on board was a real treat!). It was great to have truly personal service from the crew. We shared the cruise with Daniella from Switzerland who was on a one month vacation visiting various Oceania islands and Julian from Germany, who just finished his 5 months work and travel program in New Zealand. We very much enjoyed their company throughout the whole ... read more

I can't begin to tell you how emotional the last few hours have been. From crying my eyes out to laughing so hard my sides hurt. It's a struggle from minute to minute to deal with the facts that a) Grandma, my last remaining grandparent, won't be there to listen to my travel stories when I get back and b) the overseas leg of the grown up gap year is ending prematurely. I'm flying home today. And as heartbreaking as it is, it's been made a hell of a lot easier by the lovely, amazing people I've met the last few days, as well as the management and staff of the Blue Lagoon, my home since Tuesday. Nothing has been too much trouble - from opening up the office last night to let me arrange my ... read more

...allegedly has its perks. Or so I've found out today.... One of the girls in our dorm is so enamoured with her divemaster on a different island she looks like she'll burst into tears at any minute. She's spent all day in the dorm feeling ill and sorry for herself. Another - also in our dorm - has apparently been enjoying some night time entertainment with our resort's very own divemaster for the last week. My friend who I travelled with in Thailand stayed far longer in Asia than she had planned as a result of also falling for her very own Divemaster. Divemastering is clearly where it's at in terms of getting the girls - let that be a lesson to all those thinking of either a new career move or starting internet dating. Success ... read more