The Yasawas

Tadd & I had some time off after over a month of teaching... so we decided to treat ourselves and head up to the Yasawa islands north of where we live... so off on another catamaran ferry... for 4 and a half hours!

We established ourselves in the air-conditioned passenger lounge, next to the power socket to assure entertainment for the whole trip.

I popped up to the top, sun deck to check out the view... lots of newly arrived, pale foreigners up there.

The Yasawas are generally a lot more mountainous and than the Mamanuca's where Mana Island is situated.

The ferry stops off of almost all the islands to drop off and pick up.

Finally we made it... and did our first open water boat transfer. The long boats from each resort cruise up one by one and they toss your luggage off the big cat, and then the people climb down. Luckily the seas were calm the day we went, and we had no luggage to end up in the drink.

We arrived on Nacula ("Nathoolah") Island, at Safe Landing "resort." The room was nice... but shortly after arriving we sat down for lunch and had the most pitiful idea of a meal we have seen in Fiji. Two tiny pieces of fish the size of a big English chip (fries), a pile of rice and sauce...

When we remembered that there was also no electricity in the rooms at night... and no cold beer at Happy Hour... we decided to explore our options for the rest of our trip. So we started hiking over to the next resorts along.

It was a pleasant walk, and only took us 40 minutes... not the 3-4 hours that one Fijian told us it would take! Typical... ask 3 Fijians a question and get 3 completely different answers.

We had to cut across the jungle... I felt very at home.

And got to see a fair amount of the mountainous island of Nacula.

Sadly there was no room at the other place we wanted to stay... so we headed back for coolish beers and the nice view... while calling other places on the nearby islands.

We hooked ourselves up and enjoyed an improved, if not great, dinner. We also decided to take the tour the next morning to visit the Sawa-i-Lau caves.

We headed out in the typical Fiji "Better Boat" with and English couple, Simone & Mark.

It was a soggy ride... and even more exciting when the engine began to give out... and the driver said, "Oh! That's REALLY Bad!"

The setup was pretty impressive... compared to what we have seen in Central America!

The water is brackish but really nice.

And then they make you swim down under the rock into the caves inside.

It was pretty spooky inside when I was left there all alone... before Tadd came in with the next "transport"

A Swiss lady started singing Amazing Grace, and the sound bounced all around.

Then the guide started swimming off into the darkness.... so we followed.

Along a long tunnel to the end... there he had us all shout "Bula!"... a little too loud for Tadd.

It was pretty amazing!

The next day we transferred to Coral View on the island of Tavewa... much more to our taste... and with plenty of yummy food!

We got in a free dive, though we ended up working for it.

And communed with the local wildlife... while enjoying some cocktails.

And we even found a real sandwich in the shop... big enough for two.

Then it was back to the ferry for another open water transfer... very amusing... and after 8 months in Fiji, this was the first time anyone made us wear life jackets!!