On to Mantaray Resort

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I woke up for our last day on Coralview. We'd be here for the morning but after lunch our boat would be shuttling us to the next resort. I only had a 2.5hr ride this time so I was hopeful the seasickness wouldn't destroy me again. Breakfast was the usual fare of coffee, fruit, an "onion" pancake thing, and bread that was similar, but not, cornbread. Sometimes a crepe instead. We had wanted to do one last snorkeling trip but it turned out the water was choppier today. Not good for snorkeling we were told.

We had another surprise awaiting us, though. Last night, the resort employees had come across a sea turtle. So they saved him for us to examine (gently) and then release back into the water. It turns out Coralview participates in turtle conservation. Long ago, turtles used to be eaten and they almost went extinct. Now the locals save the smallest of hatchlings and raise them until they're big and and strong enough to avoid predators. Eli gave us a lesson on turtles while Toki carefully handled the big guy. I learned that males have "hooks" and tails, females do not. Which begs the question... are they really tails then? I'm not an expert on this topic, and was too embarrassed to ask with all the children present. The turtle was so beautiful, and soon we released him back into water.

After that, Eli taught us how to weave bookmarks out of leaves. It turned out to be a comfortably lazy morning. We were all pretty sunburnt and bit up by mosquitoes by then anyway.

We packed up our bags for the next leg of the trip. It was then I discovered the ants attacking my pack. Dammit. I searched through my bag to discover what they were after- my trail mix from the Routeburn Track. Damn- had totally forgotten that was even in there! I cleaned out my bag the best I could and hoped the remaining straggling ants would find their way out before I hit customs in the States in a few days. We piled our bags in the lobby and closed out our bills, which were shockingly cheap. We weren't sure what the tipping custom was here. We were afraid to ask at first but we really wanted to leave a tip for the incredible service and attention we'd received while here, especially from Eli and Toki. But if it was considered rude (like we found out in Japan the year before) we didn't want to insult anyone either! Finally, I braved it and just asked the receptionist. She said that instead of tipping individual staff, they accept tips as a group. She pointed to a container where guests could leave money for their Christmas fund. At the end of the year, they throw a party and buy gifts with the money. Well, that broke our hearts further. We asked what the typical tip was (which was something stupidly low) and tripled it. All of our friends followed suit, with the tipping and tripling.

For lunch I ate more of the deliciously amazing kokonda. I was so stoked to be eating it, which the staffer serving it to me found amusing. Before we knew it we were saying goodbye and boarding the Yasawa Flyer to head to Mantaray Island Resort. This boat ride ended up not being so horrendous. I listened to music and tried to focus on not being sick, as much as something like that is even possible. Just like Coralview, we were greeted with cold drinks. We sat at the communal area near the bar, signed some paperwork for check-in and listened to the various protocols for the resort. Basically, when and where to go for meals and activities, what different drums meant when calling guests to activities. Much to my surprise, the staff mentioned they had seen mantarays the past couple days! It was the wrong season for mantarays, they don't normally make their appearance for another month or two. So we were told that if we heard the early morning drums, come running with your snorkeling gear to hop a boat and swim with them. I was so excited! I hadn't expected to see mantarays this trip at all but it's the main reason people come to this resort.

Chris and I were then lead to our Villa. This was our huge splurge on this trip, and it ended up being far more useful than I anticipated. The standard accommodations are bures with no AC and no bathroom. The bathrooms and showers are communal and a separate building entirely. The Villas were beach front, had AC and a stunningly gorgeous bathroom. They even have TVs which were absolutely useless because there was nothing to watch on them lol. Presumably you wouldn't be wasting your time inside watching TV, though, when there's an island to explore and activities to partake in. So I considered the TV more of a decor piece anyway. First thing, we found a praying mantis in our room!!! He was so cute! He had jumped right onto me somehow. Thus ensued screaming interspersed with picture taking. I was equally freaked, amused and curious about the little guy. I freed him on our front porch after.

I wasn't sick at all at this point- not like I would be later. Maybe a little nauseous from the boat ride but that was it. We found the heavily air conditioned reception and paid for our food for our stay. Unlike Coralview, Mantaray has a fixed food menu to choose from. You pay one fee for your meals for each day regardless of what you order. There was always plenty of food so it's not like you're going hungry. And if that wasn't enough food, the bar serves brick oven pizzas, hot dogs and snacks during certain times of the day. Yeah- we were all over that pizza first thing. I hadn't realized it would be so big and I wasn't exactly starving but it was good stuff. I also ordered a sangria from the bar, thinking it would be a glass. What was served to me was a PITCHER. Okay! The alcohol content was pretty low but the drink was good. We had arrived too late to participate in much of the activities so we just lounged around the main deck by the bar.

This was around the time I started to feel blech. But I attributed it to drinking and eating and sun. So lounging around was just fine with me. The weather was getting less pretty. We could see storm clouds gathering in the distance, and it was windy. We thought maybe the rain would finally catch up with us. We'd been damned lucky this entire trip so far. We walked through the manicured gardens of the resort- they were very beautiful- on our way up to the dining hall deck. It was placed high up and you had wonderful views up there. Unfortunately, it was open to air with no glass window panes, so the wind was pummeling in and blowing table settings to the ground. A few of the guests helped the staff batten down the hatches so we could eat. Dinner was good but I didn't have the stomach to each much of it. By the time the meal finished, I was bloated past the point of reason and miserable. I left early with Chris and headed back to our room to sleep. Just as we got there, the sky opened up and the loudest thickest rain I'd ever seen and heard fell from the sky. This must be what a monsoon is like. I think my jaw was hanging open for a little bit. As a Californian I have little concept of rain. Holy hell did it dump water. I was very glad my bathroom was attached to my room.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Great photo
artsy