Travis in Fiji

G'day!

Bula, as they say here.

Sorry I haven't gotten in touch for a few days. My older ones explained to me that uploading pictures is taking a very long time. I don't really know where the pictures actually go "up" and what's different up there.

A lot has also happened here and my older ones have often been out on the diving boat in the last few days. You took a lot of beautiful photos again.

They even saw a sunken ship. That's called a wreck when it's broken.

Over time, a lot of coral grows on the surface of these wrecks and various animals make their home there. Nature is taking everything back, say my adults.

First of all, for your information: We have arrived here safely at the southern tip of the island of Viti Levu, Fiji (or Fiji).

When we landed in Nadi (luckily I didn't have to do anything because of the emergency exit on the plane) we had a 1.5-hour drive in the dark on a route that ended up being quite adventurous. But we are now here in a little paradise far from the beaten track: Waidroka Bay Resort.

My adults have friends here: the two who run the diving center - Ciara and Gary. They know them from a trip to St. Eustatius - that's a tiny island in the Caribbean. That's why they felt a bit at home here.

And I met the dog of the house, actually the house next door. He's really nice too.

The two managers of the house, Debbie and Rod, also gave us a very warm welcome.

Pictures of me with all these lovely people will be coming soon ☺️

I haven't dared to go into the pool here yet. Maybe I'll try it with one of my older ones one day. The issue of water will probably remain a constant companion on this journey.

Today we're taking a break for a day because my oldest has something called a migraine. Seems stupid. But she said it would definitely be over soon. You can take a good break here:

In addition to the "normal" dives, my older ones did something totally crazy here - or so I thought: They dived in a place where there have always been a lot of sharks at once for a long time, because at some point the fishermen there always throw their fish waste into the sea have thrown. And then later someone turned it into a diving spot where you can supposedly safely dive with the many, mostly bull sharks. I was skeptical and then really happy that they came back safely. But it was apparently worth it because they were very fascinated and impressed by the many sharks. There were probably 30 or more of them!! 😯

And at the same time they were a bit strange when they came back from the dive. I later understood that this was because there had been an accident - without any involvement of the sharks. It wasn't anyone's fault, it just happened that way. And when something bad happens to someone, the people around them are always somehow affected and sad. That means compassion when you feel with them. It was probably something like that. I was all the happier that my two older ones were completely safe and healthy and were going on this great trip with me. You've said something a few times in the last few days that I don't really understand: "Carpe Diem" or something like that - but it seems important.

The pictures of the sharks are pretty cool, I think 🦈

There was a ceremony here last night that Fijians do every week. Kava is drunk. This relaxes you and makes you a little sleepy. And above all, we sing a lot together. This is called a ritual, my oldest said. Because it follows certain rules. It was a nice feeling of community. The dog also thought so.

So far for now.

Greetings from Travis the Buddy Bear ☺️

PS: Now I was a bit “in the pool”. First I looked at the whole thing up close. Seemed rather harmless:

And then I took the chance - holding on tight (!!!) - to sit on my hat:

Maybe someday I'll learn to swim after all. And/Or even diving?! 😯😳😅