Day 84, 85 and 86 - Reef Sharks, a wonderful view, and the Blue Lagoon

Day 84 - Wednesday 14.12.2022
First encounter with sharks in Fiji

After a fitting breakfast, we went on a trip to the nearby reef to observe the resident reef sharks. Together with Jenny, Felix, Josh, and one of his nephews, we set off on a fishing boat out to sea. After about 40 minutes of ups and downs, we arrived at the reef. Waya-Lailai was hardly visible anymore, only a faint outline in the distance. Josh, Ece's husband, gave us diving masks and snorkels. The latter was full of mold, so we left it on board and got into the water. When we discovered the first reef shark, we were amazed at how peacefully these approximately 1 meter long creatures moved in the water. There was never a feeling that these sharks wanted to attack us. We enjoyed our time in the water and explored the entire reef. However, the sea was a bit rough, so Anna, Jenny, and Felix had to go back to the boat after a short time as the seasickness returned. Meanwhile, Josh tossed fish heads into the water to attract more of these blacktip reef sharks. Manfred continued to bob in the water. The more fish heads Josh threw, the more sharks there were. By now, at least 20 of these graceful animals were swimming around the boat. Even Manfred was starting to feel uneasy, not because of the waves, but because the sharks were getting closer to his face the longer he stayed in the water. After one to two hours, we made our way back to the island. During the journey, we enjoyed delicious mangoes, although Anna, Jenny, and Felix were too preoccupied with their seasickness to fully enjoy these tasty fruits. On the way back, we also dropped off two spear fishermen who had been brought out to sea from the village. Ece had already prepared a lunch on the beach, and after a short time getting accustomed to being on land, we enjoyed the delicious home-cooked meal made by the Fijian woman. We spent the whole afternoon at the beach, taking regular swims, reading our books, and enjoying the country's motto. In the evening, Anna and I returned to the beach, which wasn't too far, and watched the sunset. It was definitely a successful day, but now it was getting dark again and the night of insects began once more.

Day 85 - Thursday 15.12.2022
The Goat Rock and our Kava Fail

Today, we wanted to explore the island a bit and told Ece that we wanted to hike up the tallest mountain on the island, which loomed right behind the village. They arranged for a guide to pick us up shortly after noon. Before that, we had to do our laundry. Just like a hundred years ago in Austria, we did it on the island using rainwater and a large bucket. It was a valuable experience for us, as it made us appreciate the washing machine, which is usually a basic household appliance in Europe, much more. Finally, we set off. Anna, Manfred, and Jenny started their ascent up the Goat Rock. The path took us past the pigsties of the village, mango trees, and the village garden (20 minutes from the village, as the earth near the beach was not fertile enough). Jenny was visibly struggling with the climb, and we had to stop and let her recover from time to time. Despite all that, she hardly stopped talking. After an hour and a half, we finally reached the top. The view was more than breathtaking. We had an overview of the entire island, the neighboring islands, and the sea. The sun reflected on the water, and we were overwhelmed by the beauty of this island archipelago. We stayed on the rock for a while and enjoyed the wonderful surroundings. We have rarely seen, experienced, and felt something so beautiful, extraordinary. On the way down, we ran into a few men from the village who were harvesting bananas, and we brought Ece a few fresh mangoes. The hike was a very special experience for the two of us. In the evening, we went to the village elder and brought him the kava roots we had brought with us. We were full of anticipation to finally experience the kava ceremony. However, contrary to our expectations, we neither drank kava with them nor was the village chief particularly grateful. After not even 10 minutes, he sent us back, and we were more than disappointed. Then the last night began, one of our worst so far. Cockroaches were everywhere, we discovered three more giant spiders in our kitchen, and the mice were in our walls and ceilings, squeaking non-stop. We could hardly close our eyes because something was constantly moving around us. Thank goodness it was our last night here.

Day 86 - Friday 15.12.2022
Nanuya Island and the Blue Lagoon

Today, we headed to Nanuya Island. An island in the far north of the Yasawa group. We had to take the Yasawa Flyer (the extremely expensive boat) again as it was the only ferry that traveled this route. When we arrived there, we were picked up by our host, Lice, with a boat. We were accommodated in a bungalow on the beach. It was much cleaner and nicer than our previous accommodation. We were glad that not everywhere was as 'rustic' as Ece's place. After a short period of getting used to it, we headed to the Blue Lagoon. On the way, we passed a small shop, which was the only one on the island, and bought some snacks and a bottle of beer. We lay down on one of the countless sun loungers, which were actually intended for the guests of the cruise ships, but no large ships were docking today. We enjoyed the tranquility, sipped our beer, snacked on our cookies, and swam a few laps in the bright blue water. In the early evening, we had to make our way back so that we were back in time for dinner. The resort had multiple rooms, bungalows, and dormitories, so we always had someone to chat with during dinner. After some nice conversations, we sat on our mini-terrace and had phone calls with Evi, Peter, and Paul. These conversations always cheer us up, and we enjoyed talking to them. Then it was time to go to bed, and we were relieved that tonight would be a slightly calmer night than the ones before.