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Published: October 3rd 2006
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Watching me watching youMonday I got up early like every morning - well actually like every morning when I am on holiday - work days I just hit the snooze button again and again.
Even showering in Fiji is exciting - I bumped into a very tall, very fit naked man walking out of the showers at 6 a.m. Fortunately for him and very, very unfortunately for me I didn't have my glasses on so it was all just a very fit blurry outline, it is times like this when I seriously consider laser surgery.
I love Monday mornings now - I really do. I have always hated them and slept badly on Sunday nights, now I just love Mondays. I just think of what I should be doing if I was home and the grim scenery and grey sky and just wallow in Mondays here. The sky was so blue and the sea was so beautiful, it was completely amazing. I never get over that blue sky thing - England has no sky, so you have to forgive me this small luxury.
In the morning, once I had got over the blue sky and the naked man I went for
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Another sunset my first proper qualified scuba dive. I had some company for the first time - Vasili from Greece and Rafi from Vancouver. We had to wait ages on the boat for Vasili to finally make an appearance, then when he was about to climb on board he asked us if we had a wetsuit for him - we didn't. So we waited another age. Everyone just grabs a shortie that looks like it might fit - Vasili clearly was trying them all out for fit, colour, skin tone ... whatever. The second time our little prima donna made an appearance he asked if we had water for him - I said yes just to get him on the boat.
After about 10 minutes he asked me for his water, I pointed to the sea. He looked genuinely hurt that i could play such a cruel trick. Rafi's girlfriend had come with us to go snorkelling - she had some water for him. Then when he asked us if we had bought him a mask and we all looked at him in stunned horror she explained he could use his snorkelling mask for scuba diving. We were all very grateful
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Yet another sunset (I like them!) for her help because the rest of us were in fits of laughter. For me it was an experience just not to be the most high maintenance person on the dive.
The dive went OK - we saw this really huge-faced colourful orange fish with huge whiskers in a cave - I couldn't make out what it was, and spent ages looking in the "Guide to Fijian Fish' kind of book looking for it, but when I asked the divemaster it turned out to be a giant lobster, so I won't be taking over from Jacquest Cousteau any day soon.
In the afternoon Roz and Dennis and Maria and Paul left. That was weird. All my little gang going. I had made other friends, but the resort seemed strangely subdued. Some of the little ones from the village were playing in the pool and kept us all entertained in the afternoon.
Half the resort was struck down with a really nasty stomach bug, including Katena, so I went snorkelling with Caren. The fish and coral were amazing and we paddled about for ages looking at them - the colours and assortment of different fish are just beautiful.
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Coconut palmtree I can't believe how lucky I am to have such amazing reef just on our shoreline. Then I wandered off to photo yet another sunset - I only have about 80 sunset pictures so felt in need of a few more. I was transfixed by the little sand crabs. They are so hilarious scuttling up and down the beach. One just in front of me was very wary of moving. I tried to get a picture of it when he popped out of his little bunker, but even if I just pressed my finger on the camera trigger - he was in before the shutter opened. I tried sitting there and not moving a muscle. One time when he popped out I swear the only part of me that moved was my eyeballs. But crabby went scuttling back to his hole. Then another time when he braved it enough to sit just outside his bunker, he cleaned his eyes - the most amazing thing to see. They are on bendy stalks, and he just ran his dangerous looking pincers over them. If only he had let me film it!!
At dinner I recruited Tom and Natasha to our table.
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Waya island school's beach I am one of those incredibly irritating people who approaches strangers and demands they have fun, even if they hate every second of it. Natasha was doing a similar trip to mine - but in 4 weeks, and had spent 2 weeks of it in Fiji. She hated the whole experience so much she refused to stay in a dorm ever again. This was a pity because the dorm at Octopus was really lovely - obviously, I was in it.
Tom was from Cork, the friend he was travelling with was struck down with the dreaded lurgy. The management were dosing all the sickies up on the quiet, but not advertising the fact that it was doing the rounds or urging us to take precautions. I suppose the benefit of a desert island is that there is loads of sand to bury your head in.
Tom and I sat drinking beer and chatting until nearly midnight. Tom admitted he had bitched about me earlier - for being so pushy and not remembering him. Actually I had remembered him, I was just trying to think of something to say to break the ice, so I said 'did you just
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Fijian education arrive today' even though I had seen him 2 days earlier. He and Owen had walked past me when I was having my massage - I was mortified. I am not too comfortable with massages anyway, but people strolling past when you are lying there with just your knickers on is just weird. I know it is no different from lying on the beach with a swimmie on, but somehow it is different - I don't generally lie on the beach and let people beat me up for a start. Anyway over a few beers we both admitted our tendency to be overjudgmental and were lifelong friends ... at least until the bar shut.
Tuesday I went on an island hopping tour and a visit to the island's school, which the resort supports. First we went snorkelling off Black Rock where I had been diving the day before - and we saw two reef sharks. They were amazingly graceful which really surprised me. We headed for an island for a picnic. A lone goat stood on the shore - I wondered if it was the only goat on the island ... Billy Goat No Mates. We went for a
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Schoolchildren picnic on the beach after another spot of snorkelling. Our guides showed us how to shell and chop up coconuts - it took them a few seconds, it took us ages.
After this we visited the school. It is the only school on the island, the children board there. They have 4 dorms, one for each village. It looked fantastic, huge playing fields (a rare luxury in the UK these days), lovely dorms, the children were really happy. They kept on demanding we photo them and then show us their images. They all spoke very good English, even the 6 year olds. It was a lovely day, also I saw Saloti, our dorm maid who had gone that week to cook for the children, so it was great to say goodbye properly.
In the evening they had crab racing again. I wasn't going to bother, but the profits go to the school, so I picked a little crab and it did really well - it went to a photo finish with another crab for third place and my little crab won claws down so I was very proud. It meant a whole $10 off my bar bill, so
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Sunset - again I celebrated with a $5 hot chocolate. I really know how to live.
Wednesday was pouring with rain and stormy. Poor Barbara and Ed were nearly swept away in their tent, it was a good day to be leaving. Margaret from Canberra and I walked along the beach to visit the little craft market. Whilst we were there they had a radio on. Margaret asked if they could receive ABC (Australian BBC kind of thing). She was just curious, but they are so hospitable they immediately tuned the radio to ABC. we were very embarrassed. they had been listening to a Fijian music station, now we were all listening to an ABC report into UK football corruption - fascinating! I concluded that absolutely bugger all must happen in Australia if bung-taking in English football are such big news.
When I checked out the resort management seemed to have had some kind of conversion on their own personal road to Damascus - they were so nice to me. I was starting to feel a bit queasy - I always get a bit uneasy about flying. I am not scared, just can't cope with sitting still and being quiet for
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The sunset and I any length of time, gives me hives.
The rain was so bad that when the staff gathered on the beach to sing the traditional farewell to our boat they were all huddling under umbrellas. Because of the stormy sea it was a long ride to the mainland. Moses, one of the boathands, cosied up to me and asked if I was single. I said I was meeting my boyfriend in Australia - which may be true. I might meet one! Moses edged slightly further away - but was still very close, and told me he was 25. I told him I was 41. Moses went and sat way over the other side of the boat.
At the airport I met Maria and Paul who were flying home to NZ. Maria had the same experience with Moses - except for she didn't need to invent a boyfriend, she had a real live husband with her. It was lovely to see them again and I hope to meet up with them in NZ.
And so ended my trip to Fiji - it was a beautiful place and the people are so amazingly friendly and happy. I would love to
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Photo of the photofinish crab go back, but I am never ever drinking Kava again.
I sent some postcards from the airport. I bought a Billabong backpack (because I now need more luggage) to fit in with the Ozzies. I watched 'Sentinel' on the flight - typical American movie. I ate crap airline food. I landed in Brisbane at midnight - I finally got to Australia, after waiting 10 years, and it was too dark to see a thing. But at least I got there.
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DEBBIE DUNSEATH
non-member comment
WRONG VOCATION!
Just read and caught up with you on your travels! Sounds fab! Viv, I always thought you had never found the right job. I think travel journalism is for you - hilarious. Lots of love XX