Sunset Hike on Tavewa . . .

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This afternoon, right after lunch, I said farewell to the island of Nacula where I’d been staying on a stunning beach. Then I cross the water to the next island over, Tavewa, where I’ll be staying for two nights. I’m staying now at another backpackers resort called Coral View. It doesn’t have the gorgeous beach out front, but I still really like it here. The property is spread out. All the buildings are within gardens. The pathways are lined with bushes with brightly coloured flowers. And my bed is super comfy!

I spent some time exploring the property and the area around it. Behind my dorm is a pathway that leads to another beach on the Eastern side of the island. It’s nice but when I went over it was low tide so it wasn’t the nicest to hang out on at that time. I found myself another hammock along the beach to lounge in.

Mid-way through the afternoon I went for a swim. The water was so warm! Like, crazy warm. Like as warm as bath water. There’s a constant cool breeze here coming in off the water so it was actually warmer in the water than on land - and it’s not cold here at all! I’ve never felt ocean water like that before.

The property here sits at the base of a small mountain, facing the East, so there isn’t a view of the sunset from here. But one of the first things the host here mentioned is that there’s a path up the mountain to the top where you can watch the sunset. One of the things I’d read about this island was that it is interesting to walk around, so I decided to take the walk up just before sunset.

The walk up wasn’t long - it took me about 20 or 25 minutes. But it was steep! The first half in particular was pretty wearing. I can walk for long periods of time but when climbing I get really winded, so I had to stop a couple times to slow down my breath. But wow was it worth it!

The sunset itself was just nice. Not in any way the best sunset I’ve seen. But the view from the top of the mountain was fantastic. I could see around to the neighbouring islands - Nacula (where I’d just come from), Nanuya Lailai (home of the Blue Lagoon), Matacawalevu (which I won’t be going to) and the famous (and famously expensive) Turtle Island. There was a full moon in the sky over top of Nacula. And one of the most beautiful parts of the sunset was how right after it went down, the sky over the islands in the other direction was coloured in shades of pink, purple and blue.

I’m still battling this cold I’ve had for the last few days. Some days it seems like it’s gone but then it comes back. Today has been a rough day so I’m heading to bed early tonight. There’s lots of tours and activities offered here so tomorrow I’ll be busy.

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