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Published: September 23rd 2010
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One of Fiji’s most famous spots is the Blue Lagoon, from the movie of the same name. For the last 6 days I’ve been able to see the lagoon across the water from the islands I’ve been staying on. But today I finally went there.
The resort where I’m staying offers boat tours over there every morning and afternoon and there was a group of us piled in the boat this morning. It was a slow ride over. The water is really choppy today and the boat we were in was just a small motorboat so we were being tossed around with the motor just going slowly. But we made it without losing anyone - just getting really wet from the water splashing.
We went over to the far side of the lagoon first. Our captain passed out bread to toss into the water for the fish to feed off of. It was a frenzy! I couldn’t believe how many fish suddenly popped up to the surface. There were heaps of them!
Then we went back halfway through the lagoon and pulled up to the beach where we had time on our own. A couple of women had
tables set up on the beach selling jewelry they’d made. I bought a shell anklet for a little momento from there.
There were quite a few boats in the lagoon. About half a dozen private sailboats were anchored and there was a small cruise ship (of course, I can’t get away from them!). There is a small resort right on the beach there too. But considering all of that, it was very quiet on the beach and in the water.
I walked along the beach for a bit taking pictures. The water here in the Yasawas is so beautiful. I’ve mentioned a lot in my entries all the shades of blue the water can be. Here in the lagoon it just seems to be the brightest shade of jewel blue. I love it.
Then I spent quite a bit of time in the water, swimming and snorkeling around. The reef begins very close to shore and the water was very shallow. I actually found it really difficult to get around for the longest time. It seemed too shallow that I didn’t want to swim right over the reef, but I had a hard time find a spot
where there was a break in the coral to get to the deeper parts of the water. But while struggling to find a deeper spot or an opening, I stumbled across my coolest sight of the day - an octopus! I turned around and must have startled it because it immediately started shrinking down into a hole - that’s when I noticed it, as it was disappearing. I hung out in that area for the longest time, looking at the other fish and just biding my time, waiting for it to come back out again. It eventually did, though I couldn’t get too close without it returning to it’s hiding spot. Still, very cool.
Finally I found a break in the coral that I could pass through the shallow spots to where the reef dropped down. I swam along the wall checking out all the fish and coral. Some of the types of fish I’m getting used to finding now, but I still always manage to come across some I’ve never seen before. I imagine that my blogs and photos from under the sea may be getting old to people reading/looking at them, but I’m endlessly surprised and fascinated
by everything I’m seeing in the water here! (Side note - I’ve been travelling with my own snorkel for this trip. On a day off from teaching at camp this summer, in Giant Tiger I happened to find a snorkel on sale for $12. Best purchase of the summer! Well, also my Kobo . . .)
After some time in the water and on the beach, it was time to head back to the resort. It was another slow boat ride back, though not quite as slow on return. I think our captain was eager to get back to lunch because he rushed more along the choppy water - and I was even more soaked coming back!
I’ve been spending the afternoon reading on my favourite hammock here. But the sun is now hiding behind clouds and with the breeze coming in off the ocean I was getting kind of chilly. So it seemed like a good time to get caught up on blogging again.
Only a little more than a week left of my trip. It doesn’t seem like much time when I put it that way. But the days pleasantly stretch out here. Time doesn’t
stand still, but it does seem to slow here. I like it that way.
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Jordi Hepburn
non-member comment
Once again, this is amazing
Just wanted to say this trip has blown me away. What an incredible experience! What amazing photos! What an incredible country! I feel like I'm on a high just reading your blog, I can only imagine the high of being there in person. Wow. Keep the blogs coming. I am looking forward to reading more.