Voyage to the South Pacific 2017

We woke up this morning to a picture perfect day. The sky is blue, and there is not a cloud in the sky. It's going to be a great day to spend at the beach! Our new hotel is older than the last but definitely has its quaint appeal. We are staying in studio cabins with two to a building.  They are all on one level and have little walkways between them. We took Captain Cook Cruises to Tivua Island. The weather was picture perfect. We took a short cruise in a glass-bottomed boat and also the opportunity to snorkel, kayak, play volleyball and paddle board. Lunch was prepared by the boat employees. It was so good! I had an interesting thing happen on the boat. It was the same company I had traveled with 11 years ago. I had taken a picture then of one of the crew that I have always loved. I pulled it up on my phone this morning and asked one of crew if he happened to know him. He looked back at me with amazement and said, "That's my uncle!" And his uncle was in the galley...

We sadly left our wonderful accommodations at Naviti and headed to the sand dunes. I prayed that the weather would be favorable and not too hot. It turned out to be a perfect day for us. Our hike began in the forest. Parts of it have been lost to fires or logging,  so we assisted in a reforestation project. We encountered an entire area of trees that were planted by People to People groups. We did our part today by planting a line of candlenut seedlings. We could choose to hike up the dunes,  or around them. I had no desire to get stuck in the sand, like I did in Tangalooma, so I went with the group that choose to go around. That path took us along beautiful views of the ocean, until we ended up on the shore. The sand was black and rich- looking, and I learned it was volcanic sand. The ash from volcanoes in neighboring islands mixed with the sand over the years to create a very dark sand . On our way back to the station,  we constructed a "tree-hugger" our of driftwood...

Today we learned about the Fijian educational system while visiting Sigatoka Methodist School. We went to the secondary school, ages 14 and up. The students have never had an outside group, such as ours, visit them. They were very excited about our visit. They had prepared several songs and dances to perform for us. They love to sing and have wonderful voices. They also asked us to sing for them. We did a decent rendition of our national anthem.  At the end of their program,  they invited us all to dance with them. An interesting thing happened at our presentation. We present the assistant principal with a $7 commemorative bill, too. He told us that 3 of the players on that team had attended that school.  After a snack, the students broke into small groups to visit classrooms and get to know the students better. It was gratifying to see the interactions. After lunch, we witnessed a drug-prevention assembly. The entire school was decorated with banners and a member of ...

After a great night's rest, we were refreshed and ready for a new day of adventures. We were all pretty tired last night, leaders included. When we went to breakfast this morning, we were amazed to discover that the ocean was just beyond the dining room! We had several iconic experiences today. First, we traveled to a small Figian village by longboat. When we got there, we all word our sarongs and sulus to show honor to the village. We began with a traditional kava ceremony. For that, our selected "leader of the tribe," Alex, represented us and shared the kava with the village elders. We were then given the opportunity to try the kava,  too. It gave a slight numbing sensation on the tongue, but wasn't too bad. Then, the villagers treated us to some music and dance. Both men and women danced to traditional music and we ended by joining into a conga line. After the dancing, we went out to see where part of our lunch was being prepared. There was a small pit with chicken...

Thanks to the Melecas for hosting our Bon Voyage Party!! It was a wonderful time, with great weather and company. They even decorated for the theme! We had a great send-off with friends and family in attendance to wish us well. We even had a family of ducks drop by to include their best wishes! :) Good food, good times, good people. Just a week from departure. Please feel free to share this blog with friends and family so they can follow along with our travels.                                           What a great looking group!                                          A little more formal.                                             Always good to have frien...