Wild Times in Fiji!

Company came to visit - all the way from the USA - all 8 of them!

The Gang - so much fun!

6 from Washington State; 2 from Montana - a long way.

Lot's of pool time

They were WONDERFUL and we had such a great time vacationing with them.

Ring toss on the Conehead

The Gang rented a house at Musket Cove - Vale I Yata.

It sleeps 8 with a big kitchen and living area, a pool, and a great view of the Mamanuca Islands.

Goofy Games, but so fun

I would highly recommend it!

Pam and Annette kept us entertained by organizing daily games, plus a scavenger hunt.

The Relay Race!

Great competition with lots of laughing and celebrating.

We were definitely entertained!

Go Doug Go

There were also two very successful fishing trips.

Big Fish - way to go Gail and Annette

Gail and Annette scored big the first day out.

A big Mahi Mahi and a big Wahoo.

Mark and Keith had a good day too!

They were excellent eating!

Mark and Keith got Giant Trevally and a Walu.

Keith and Annette relaxing at the Island Bar

We had fish for days - prepared so many different ways.  Yum!

A great time at Cloud 9!

We also chartered a boat for the day to take us on a snorkeling/bar hopping adventure.

Koroi on Take A Break Cruises spent the day entertaining us and putting up with us!

Hamming it up at Cloud 9

Our first stop, Cloud 9 - the floating restaurant.

Nice form George!

Fun snorkeling and drinks and diving from the top.

Great snorkeling at Castaway Wall

Group Consensus:  We should have stayed longer or come back another day...

Next time!

Then, Koroi took us on a drift snorkel along Castaway Wall.

Lots of small aquarium fish, colorful coral, and no sharks (yeah).

Drinking Blue Drinks at Castaway

It was pretty amazing.

Fun Fun Fun boat day

Then to Castaway Island Resort for lunch.

It is located on the island of Qalito.

George ready to go

Good food and a gorgeous view, but lots of rules about where you could eat - interesting!

Checking out the Funky Fish resort

Last stop, drinks at the Funky Fish Resort back on the island of Malolo.

Funky is a cute little  backpackers resort that always take great care of the Yachties.

Josie and Sevu working on the lovo

What a wonderful day!

Gail and Mark - big smiles!

Josie, from the Island Bar, volunteered her husband, Sevu, to make a lovo for us - on his day off!

Sevu and Annette making Palusami's

In Fiji, a lovo is an underground barbecue in which the entire feast is cooked over hot rocks while buried in earth.

Sevu and Walter weaving baskets

Sevu and friends prepared the lovo for us, while we watched and learned.

Palusami's cooking on the Lovo

Making the Palusami's first.

Lots of fresh coconut milk, combined with onions, herbs, and spices wrapped up in Dalo leaves.

Baskets of food - perfect

Lots of work, but they tasted sooooo good.

Then Sevu and Walter weaved baskets to hold the marinated chickens.

Bula Phil!

Fish was prepared and wrapped in foil.

And everything was layered onto the hot rocks and covered with palm leaves and a tarp.

One hour later, the lovo was done and our baskets filled with the feast.

What a wonderful experience!

Exploring at the Sand Bar

We also visited the Sand Bar twice to do some beachcombing and snorkeling.

Blue Starfish - amazing

The Sand Bar is only visible at low tide.

Beautiful Danette

You can find lots of Sand Dollars and other shells, plus wade around checking out the star fish and the colorful aquarium fish.

Beach time

Even knee deep, we were able to see the sea creatures all around us.

Kayaking around Musket Cove

Loved the small little flounders (maybe).

You could only see their eyes and a puff a sand when they swam around - pretty cool.

George and the Pool Girls

Plus, there was kayaking, hiking, diving, shopping, a pig roast and Meke, and bar hopping (of course)!

Doug and Mark sizzling sausages

Whew - 10 days went by so fast and we were very sorry to see our company leave, but know that we will see them all again - soon!
 

Giggling with Annette

Thanks for coming to Fiji!

Love Carla and Doug 

PS: Now we are getting ready to go sailing - to the Lau Group. The remotest islands in Fiji. Going to be an adventure!

Towers of beer were flowing!

Pam playing in the pool

View from Castaway Resort

Mark skipping along

Company came to visit

Ahhhh...

Party time

Fiji Time!

Keith ready for dinner!

Watching the Meke at Musket Cove

Enjoying the Vacation

Checking out the orchids with Danette and Phil

Relaxing at the Zip line

View from the Momi WWII cannons

Got a plan!

Cyclone season is "officially" over.  We made it!

Fiji Carving

So, now it is time to start making some plans for the cruising season.

You wouldn't think two retired people living on a sailboat in Fiji would have to have a plan - but we do.

Here's what we have going this year.  Of course, always subject to change!

• May - Family and Friends coming to visit - yeah!
• June/July - Sail south to Suva and onto the Lau Group - the most remote islands in Fiji.
• July/August - Sail to Tonga or Wallis (French Island) - our yearly get-out-Fiji run.
• August - Explore Taveuni and Vanua Levu and make our way back to Port Denarau.
• September/October - Fly to the Washington State (USA) to spend time with the family (anniversaries, birthdays, Pendleton Roundup - lots of celebrating).
• Then back to Fiji for some more fun in the sun and water!

For cyclone season, we have a hurricane mooring ball reserved in Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu.  We will spend some time on Moondance exploring, but are also planning to do some traveling - the easy way - by air.

We aren't  sure where we will go, but we are thinking of places like New Zealand, Asia, Europe - who knows.

Good thing we have lots of time to think about it!

Visitors from New Mexico - Yeah!

Joe and Leah, our long time friends from New Mexico traveled all the way to Fiji to see us - and to play in the water and do some birding - of course!

Joe and Leah relaxing and cooling off!

We had a great visit with lots of time for exploring and catching up.

Beautiful Leah

First thing - we bussed them to the Nadi fruit and vegetable market for supplies (and lots of culture).

Snorkeling the Sand Bar

Then we untied the lines and headed to Musket Cove for some play time.

We even got to put up the sail - so nice to be on the water again even if we weren't going fast!

Love these Blue Starfish

We spent a couple of days enjoying Musket, but the winds were kicking up.

Touring Garden of the Sleeping Giant

So we decided to head back to Denarau and rent a car - road trip!

Our first stop - viewing the beautiful orchids at the Garden of the Sleeping Giant.

Over 2000 varieties of orchids - it is amazing to see all of the colors and shapes. Plus, what a beautiful setting.

Love this place - always something new blooming.

Wow - so many beauties

Next to Nadi to tour the Sri Siva Subrahmaniya Swami Temple.

Sri Siva Subrahmaniya Swami Temple

It is said to be the largest and most colorful Hindu temple in the South Pacific - completed in 1994.

Very colorful

We were allowed to enter the temple as long as we were properly dressed - no knees showing and no shoes.

So much to look at

So many colorful paintings and so much symbolism.  Next time - we should have a guide explain it all!

Raintree Lodge - cuties

Then a 3-hour ride to Suva to stay at the Raintree Lodge.

What a great place - wonderful rooms and scenery, good food, and it is right next to the Colo-I-Suva Forest Reserve.

View around our lodge

The cost - about $150 FJ a night for a two story room - perfect!

The Reserve has miles of paths, waterfalls, amazing mahogany trees, plus lots of birds - which is just what we were looking for.

Lilly pond pretties

We had a great time strolling around with our Fijian guide looking for birds.

Sorry I didn't get any pictures - it was pretty soggy (Soggy Suva) when we started our hike.  Oh well!

Grand Pacific Hotel

We also visited the Fiji Museum and a quick tour of the newly renovated Grand Pacific Hotel - it was gorgeous.  Wish it was in my budget!

We also found a great places to eat - Cafe Victoria in downtown Suva, plus the food court in the MH.  Check'em out!

Natadola Bay Golf Course

On our drive back to Moondance, we stopped at the famous Natadola Bay Golf Course.

This is where the Fiji Open is held - it is beautiful - but can be windy!

Birders!

Back on Moondance, we loaded up and sailed back out to Musket Cove for some more fun.

We hiked, did some birding, snorkeling, and lots of R&R'ing, plus enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Dick's!

Leah relaxing on Honeymoon

Just for fun (and some snorkeling), we took Moondance around to the little island of Honeymoon.

Leah and I relaxed while the guys snorkeled, then we all checked out the tiny beach.

Even scared up an eel - yikes.

Namotu Island

On Joe and Leah's last day, we motored back to Denarau with a quick stop at Namotu Island where the famous Cloudbreak surf break is.  The picture doesn't capture the colors of the water - it was beautiful.

Love that water

Leah and I were just getting in for dip, when the guys mentioned getting stung (Sea Lice). Not for the Girls!

Sad to see Joe and Leah leave, but know that we will see them again soon.

Frogging it

Thanks for coming to visit and for bringing the Sadies Salsa - yum!

Getting ready for company

In like a lion, out like a lamb?

Well, we hope that's true for March and continues all the way thru April!

Weather chart - looking good!

March has been an active month - with lots of  systems, depressions, storms, etc. to keep track of.  Doug (Mr. Weatherman) has been a busy guy.

But, as of right now, Fiji is riding a big high.  Lots of cool, comfortable weather coming from the south with lots of sunshine.

Fine Fiji weather - we are loving it!

View from the top of Malolo Lailai - a beauty!

So, after 3 months, we finally got out of Port Denarau Marina.

Don't get us wrong, it is a great place to be, but we were ready for some island time.

Having some fun

So off to one of our favorite places -

Musket Cove on the island of Malolo Lailai.

Watching the sunset from our cockpit - ahhh

We were only there for 4 days, but had such a great time.  Surrounded by lovely people, beautiful water, and what a view.

Plus, Doug spent 2 days in the water scrubbing our bottom - it needed it.

Unfortunately, we had to get back to Denarau, but promise to return to Musket real soon.  We love that place!

Loving Flavio's

Besides all the weather watching and working on projects, we have been having some fun.

Just getting started

A group of Yachties splurged and had a wonderful event at Flavio's Italian Shop.

We spent over 3 hours drinking wine, eating, and socializing - what a treat.

Besides the wonderful antipasto, Flavio cooked a yummy pasta with a white truffle sauce, pan grilled beef tenderloin, ice cream, and finished off with a glass of Grappo.

Antipasto - yum!

All excellent, plus Flavio entertained us with his stories while he cooked - he is quite a character.

The meal (including wine) was $50 US a person, but we all felt it was a wonderful way to spend our money.

We plan on going back for dinner one of these days!

No shoes required

We also got invited to a 50th birthday bash for David who owns Yacht Help. It was a hoot!

BBQ - Fiji style

David arranged to have all the Yachties (and others) bussed to his place south of Nadi - what service .

Live music, lots of beer and spirits, plus a big BBQ - Fiji style.  Plus, we met so many new people.

So glad we went!

Celebrating Women's Day

Plus, lots of shopping, exploring, and socializing. We definitely aren't bored!

Happy Doug!

Now, we are getting Moondance prettied up for company.   It needs it.

Our best friends from New Mexico will be here in a couple of weeks.

Can't wait to show them Fiji!