Wow, absolutely amazing trip! Judy and I saw 22 volunteers during our trip from Suva to Taveuni. I jumped off a 50 foot waterfall on my birthday and dove one of the top ten reefs in the world, the Great White Wall, Rainbow Reef. So our trip started out in a torrential downpour. The boat I planned on taking out of my village decided not go and so I ended up getting a private hire boat to the dock. As I was crossing the road to wait at the store the early bus flew by with Judy sitting shotgun. Man, how did I miss that bus? Oh yeah, that time change thing the day before, that is how I did not know a bus was scheduled to be passing by. Peace Corps has still not issued me a radio and so I never got the memo that the time was going back an hour the day before. Anyways, I waited an hour for the next bus and everything was smooth sailing from there. Upon arrival in Suva we dropped things off in the Peace Corps office and were off to buy ferry tickets and food. Around 4 o’clock we boarded the Suilivan. The great thing was Judy paid for first class with a bunk bed and so as she showed her ticket I just walked right in behind her, first class for free! The entire ferry was extremely nicer than I expected. There were couches, benches, flat screens, two empty cafes, and airplane style chairs. For the 55 Fijian dollars it was a deal! By 5 AM Tuesday morning we were in Savusavu, Vanua Levu.
Beautiful Savusavu Bay.
The bubbling hot springs. While walking around the quaint town of Savusavu we easily found our backpackers lodge (Hidden Paradise). The owner, Elenoa, was a beautiful, educated woman who was more than welcoming and offered us a complimentary breakfast each morning. The small yacht town of Savusavu entertained us with shopping, snorkeling near Jean-Micheal Cousteau's Resort, a neat pearl farm, natural hot springs, and an Easter celebration at a local school.
An eel. Touring J. Hunter’s Pearl Farm proved to be an educational experience. The world renowned company uses Mississippi Mussels as the bead, which is inserted by an expert Japanese man into a Black Oyster gonad and placed on a string 15 feet deep in the nutrient rich thermocline. I snorkeled the farm and found an oyster shell with a black mother of pearl nacre as my souvenir (since the pearls ranged from 500 to 1000s of dollars).
Next, we toured the hot springs right behind our lodge. A family was visiting their pot of boiling pudding. The water literally boiled up from the Earth. Judy and I ended up shell collecting at the pools because the Fijians bring their catches there to remove the slimy interiors and cook. The restaurants in Savusavu were limited, but delicious! We ended up eating at the Captain’s Café three different meals. Their chicken sandwich with grilled onions, a slice of ham and cheese, and slices of pineapple was to die for. Highly recommended. The shopping was also limited, but the Bargain Box never fails to have lots of good deals. Tokasa just had a baby three weeks ago and I found her baby all kinds of clothes for 25 cents each! Great finds! The last day we visited Hannah’s school (Peace Corps volunteer)
for an Easter celebration which included singing, a meke, Bible verses, and a re-enactment where the
children beat up Jesus with their belts… hilarious! Finally it was time to get on a bus that was jam-packed with people and things. Literally I had to push the standing people back so that Judy and I could get on. Although, just before we left, several people got off and Judy and I found the last seats to be had. At last we were off, traveling along the beautiful beaches of Vanua Levu to Navutu landing. We arrived in the pitch black, boarded the boat and were off to Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat.
The Dive Shop. Cute!
My room at Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat. The arrival at Dolphin Bay was surreal. Cyclone Tomas had just wiped out the landscape a little over a week ago and the clean-up efforts were just getting under way. There were Fijians holding lanterns at the landing and tiki torches lighting the paths strewn throughout the resort. We were told to grab any type of lodging we could and we would work out the details in the morning. Judy and I were led to a rustic, yet beautiful bure with Pure Fiji soaps! Lol, it’s the small things that usually get me! Soon we were handing over all of our fruits and vegetables.
Hey Nemo
Natural Coral grapes, ok, I don't really know what these are...
Shore Crab
A HUGE triggerfish.
Some kind of Indian-ocean Lionfish... very poisonous spines.
It's me, Again!
Anemone Shrimp... Do you see him?
Sean, another volunteer.
White-tipped Reef Shark
Moorish Idol
The volunteers, being safe with our lifejackets... on a DIVE boat. Hmmmm. In the morning we were sat down to a delicious plate of fruit, toast, homemade bread, and condiments. Soon, Judy and I were off on our own private SCUBA adventure. We had two dive masters, the boat captain, plus Judy and I went to the Fish Factory and the Mini White Wall on the Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo Straight. Absolutely stunning. The white corals were teetering from an overhanging coral head on the Mini White Wall while the Fish Factory was more of a beginners dive, not too impressive. I saw so many neat nudibranchs (sea slugs)! See pictures! Nudibranchs (glorified slugs)
Not sure, it was just beautiful.
Close up of the White Soft Corals.
The Mini White Wall.
It's Me! The next day I was told we would dive the Great While Wall first thing. So, I geared up, boarded the boat, did a backward roll into the deep blue sea, and scoured the wall for the soft white coral. It was not to be found. The wall was blank all the way down. The dive instructor (who also owns Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat) took us on a dive that they knew would be a bust. I feel like it was not right for them to promise me something that they knew was not going to happen. This is the one big drawback to my diving experience with Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat. Beware, the soft white corals only come out during certain moons and during particular currents. Experienced dive operators in the Rainbow Reef area know this and you should enquire beforehand.
The boys we dove with put on an absolutely amazing meke for us!
A beautiful Sea Cucumber.
I want a purse in this pattern!
My new favorite fish, a Semicircle Angelfish.
Cleaning Station The rest of our stay was amazing! Judy and I hiked to a nearby resort and snorkeled several hours back. I found a Spanish Dancer nudibranch that was about 25 cm long! Isn’t she just magnificent!?
Spanish Dancer Nudibranch
The jellyfish everyone was getting stung by.
My new favorite Giant Clam species.
Tiger Cowry
Unidentified fish... There was one day that the other six volunteers and I wanted to snorkel. Within 100 feet into the water they were attacked by swarms of jellyfish. I was luckily in the back and in a wetsuit and was not touched by the jellies. The ocean just loves me, that’s it. Our last day was on us before we knew it. Around noon we took the resorts boat over to Taveuni, caught a taxi with some Australians and a girl from the UK. Within 2 hours we were at Lavena Lodge with six male volunteers! The timing turned out perfectly. They arrived the night before and left the same day we did.
Their typical picture
Kids in Gloria's village, still having fun two weeks after a devastating cyclone. The first full day the boys, Judy, Gloria, and I all headed in Bouma National Park for the waterfall hike. The first waterfall was only 10 minutes walk in. It consisted of a 60 foot fall with a 15 foot cave just behind. We were anxious to see the third fall and so continued on for another 30 minutes until we reached the second fall. It was a beautiful 55 foot fall with a good pool at the bottom. We swam for a few minutes and experienced a slice of a natural massage, then we were off to the third waterfall. For some reason the boys were too anxious to wait 1 minute for me and I happened to miss the turn for the trail.
Hiking in Bouma National Park
Three of the boys at the first fall.
Wow.
Most peaceful spot I have ever been.
Playing in the second waterfall.
Walking back to Lavena Lodge. So I got an extra 45 minutes, no biggie, good exercise. Finally I found the turn that I missed and hiked through fallen trees, mosses, ferns, and hurricane turmoil. We discovered later that the trail was closed to the public because it hadn’t been cleaned up yet, but we arrived so early in the morning that the park desk was not open yet. Anyways, the third waterfall was the best of them all. We all jumped from a 20 foot cliff half way up. As you can see below, the photographer missed the actual falling part. Lol! As we came to the entrance to the park, we still had 3 hours before the bus, so the boys ate lunch and we went back in to swim some more. About an hour before the bus was to come by and get us the boys get the bright idea to walk home. So, thank goodness Judy and Gloria were troopers because we all ended up walking back to Lavena Lodge. It was a beautiful hike along the road, passing several foundations and houses that had just been blown away two weeks before, children playing in the streams, boys pushing their wheeled sticks, and men back at work in their fields. We even saw two kingfishers (striking blue birds).
O Taveuni. That night Gloria threw me the cutest birthday party. She cooked up some crepes, set out some very prized gummy worms, animal crackers, Hershey’s syrup, bananas, boysenberry jelly, and syrup. The boys sang me Happy Birthday and we were off to eating the delicatessens’ treats.
My birthday party! The next morning (my Birthday!) Judy and I headed out along the Coastal Walk tour towards beautiful beaches and yet another waterfall, this time with a natural slide attached. When we arrived at the waterfall we snorkeled through the river to get to the falls. Soon I was climbing the rock wall and sliding down the natural slide. When the boys arrived (they kayaked in) we went to the top of the 50 foot fall and I jumped! It was exhilarating. I had about two seconds of free fall to contemplate what was going on and consider how I wanted to land into the water. It was definitely a small adrenaline rush! The walk back to the lodge proved to be a much quicker walk than the walk to the falls. For some reason that is always the case, it is quicker returning from B to A than going from A to B. Why is that?
Suspension bridge to the coastal walk waterfall.
Just chillin.
Bus at 5:30 AM. Finally, April 7, 2010, our glorious trip to Vanua Levu and Taveuni came to an end. We boarded the bus at 5:30 AM and headed to the airport. Everyone was leaving the same day, but by different modes of transportation. Judy, Graham, Jeremy, and I were heading out by plane, the other boys were taking a boat/bus combination. The crazy thing is as soon as our bus reached the airport it broke down, leaving the boys stranded. They hopped on the next truck that drove by since the bus had stopped indefinitely. Our plane ride was worry free and the fringing reefs were overwhelming.
Time for take off.
The fringing reefs.
Nausori town - where we did our training the first two months. Upon arriving in Suva we headed out to eat at my favorite restaurant and then I bought myself a birthday cake and ice cream from Gloria Jean’s. Wow, it was the perfect indulgence! Black forest cake and chocolate ice cream, mmmm! Today was also do my Federal Taxes Day.
Back in Rakiraki with men from my village. On Saturday of this week John Caleira was sweet enough to take Lisa, Lydia, and I, plus our cats, to Nadi to get spayed/neutered. Our cats will never have babies! Controlling the Fiji cat population one three cats at a time! Everyone in the village asked about Mogli and what happened to her, so I was able to show them pet care by example. Isn’t it convenient how that works!?
We are so proud. Sunday, April 11, 2010 Back in the village I thoroughly cleaned by bure, April 12, 2010 had a successful community meeting where I taught waste management, April 13, 2010 walked to the best beach around, and snorkeled around an island,
April 14, 2010 measured the village for footpaths (salasimede), and I walked to Lisa’s village so that I could catch the early bus to town. And here I am now… blogging for you!
Bubu Ana making Virgin Coconut Oil!
Beautiful Savusavu Bay. 
The bubbling hot springs. While walking around the quaint town of Savusavu we easily found our backpackers lodge (Hidden Paradise). The owner, Elenoa, was a beautiful, educated woman who was more than welcoming and offered us a complimentary breakfast each morning. The small yacht town of Savusavu entertained us with shopping, snorkeling near Jean-Micheal Cousteau's Resort, a neat pearl farm, natural hot springs, and an Easter celebration at a local school. 
An eel. Touring J. Hunter’s Pearl Farm proved to be an educational experience. The world renowned company uses Mississippi Mussels as the bead, which is inserted by an expert Japanese man into a Black Oyster gonad and placed on a string 15 feet deep in the nutrient rich thermocline. I snorkeled the farm and found an oyster shell with a black mother of pearl nacre as my souvenir (since the pearls ranged from 500 to 1000s of dollars). 
Next, we toured the hot springs right behind our lodge. A family was visiting their pot of boiling pudding. The water literally boiled up from the Earth. Judy and I ended up shell collecting at the pools because the Fijians bring their catches there to remove the slimy interiors and cook. The restaurants in Savusavu were limited, but delicious! We ended up eating at the Captain’s Café three different meals. Their chicken sandwich with grilled onions, a slice of ham and cheese, and slices of pineapple was to die for. Highly recommended. The shopping was also limited, but the Bargain Box never fails to have lots of good deals. Tokasa just had a baby three weeks ago and I found her baby all kinds of clothes for 25 cents each! Great finds! The last day we visited Hannah’s school (Peace Corps volunteer)
for an Easter celebration which included singing, a meke, Bible verses, and a re-enactment where the 
children beat up Jesus with their belts… hilarious! Finally it was time to get on a bus that was jam-packed with people and things. Literally I had to push the standing people back so that Judy and I could get on. Although, just before we left, several people got off and Judy and I found the last seats to be had. At last we were off, traveling along the beautiful beaches of Vanua Levu to Navutu landing. We arrived in the pitch black, boarded the boat and were off to Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat. 
The Dive Shop. Cute! 
My room at Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat. The arrival at Dolphin Bay was surreal. Cyclone Tomas had just wiped out the landscape a little over a week ago and the clean-up efforts were just getting under way. There were Fijians holding lanterns at the landing and tiki torches lighting the paths strewn throughout the resort. We were told to grab any type of lodging we could and we would work out the details in the morning. Judy and I were led to a rustic, yet beautiful bure with Pure Fiji soaps! Lol, it’s the small things that usually get me! Soon we were handing over all of our fruits and vegetables. 
Hey Nemo 
Natural Coral grapes, ok, I don't really know what these are... 
Shore Crab 
A HUGE triggerfish. 
Some kind of Indian-ocean Lionfish... very poisonous spines. 
It's me, Again! 
Anemone Shrimp... Do you see him? 
Sean, another volunteer. 
White-tipped Reef Shark 
Moorish Idol 
The volunteers, being safe with our lifejackets... on a DIVE boat. Hmmmm. In the morning we were sat down to a delicious plate of fruit, toast, homemade bread, and condiments. Soon, Judy and I were off on our own private SCUBA adventure. We had two dive masters, the boat captain, plus Judy and I went to the Fish Factory and the Mini White Wall on the Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo Straight. Absolutely stunning. The white corals were teetering from an overhanging coral head on the Mini White Wall while the Fish Factory was more of a beginners dive, not too impressive. I saw so many neat nudibranchs (sea slugs)! See pictures! Nudibranchs (glorified slugs) 
Not sure, it was just beautiful. 
Close up of the White Soft Corals. 
The Mini White Wall. 
It's Me! The next day I was told we would dive the Great While Wall first thing. So, I geared up, boarded the boat, did a backward roll into the deep blue sea, and scoured the wall for the soft white coral. It was not to be found. The wall was blank all the way down. The dive instructor (who also owns Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat) took us on a dive that they knew would be a bust. I feel like it was not right for them to promise me something that they knew was not going to happen. This is the one big drawback to my diving experience with Dolphin Bay Diver’s Retreat. Beware, the soft white corals only come out during certain moons and during particular currents. Experienced dive operators in the Rainbow Reef area know this and you should enquire beforehand. 
The boys we dove with put on an absolutely amazing meke for us! 
A beautiful Sea Cucumber. 
I want a purse in this pattern! 
My new favorite fish, a Semicircle Angelfish. 
Cleaning Station The rest of our stay was amazing! Judy and I hiked to a nearby resort and snorkeled several hours back. I found a Spanish Dancer nudibranch that was about 25 cm long! Isn’t she just magnificent!? 
Spanish Dancer Nudibranch 
The jellyfish everyone was getting stung by. 
My new favorite Giant Clam species. 
Tiger Cowry 
Unidentified fish... There was one day that the other six volunteers and I wanted to snorkel. Within 100 feet into the water they were attacked by swarms of jellyfish. I was luckily in the back and in a wetsuit and was not touched by the jellies. The ocean just loves me, that’s it. Our last day was on us before we knew it. Around noon we took the resorts boat over to Taveuni, caught a taxi with some Australians and a girl from the UK. Within 2 hours we were at Lavena Lodge with six male volunteers! The timing turned out perfectly. They arrived the night before and left the same day we did. 
Their typical picture 
Kids in Gloria's village, still having fun two weeks after a devastating cyclone. The first full day the boys, Judy, Gloria, and I all headed in Bouma National Park for the waterfall hike. The first waterfall was only 10 minutes walk in. It consisted of a 60 foot fall with a 15 foot cave just behind. We were anxious to see the third fall and so continued on for another 30 minutes until we reached the second fall. It was a beautiful 55 foot fall with a good pool at the bottom. We swam for a few minutes and experienced a slice of a natural massage, then we were off to the third waterfall. For some reason the boys were too anxious to wait 1 minute for me and I happened to miss the turn for the trail. 
Hiking in Bouma National Park 
Three of the boys at the first fall. 
Wow. 
Most peaceful spot I have ever been. 
Playing in the second waterfall. 
Walking back to Lavena Lodge. So I got an extra 45 minutes, no biggie, good exercise. Finally I found the turn that I missed and hiked through fallen trees, mosses, ferns, and hurricane turmoil. We discovered later that the trail was closed to the public because it hadn’t been cleaned up yet, but we arrived so early in the morning that the park desk was not open yet. Anyways, the third waterfall was the best of them all. We all jumped from a 20 foot cliff half way up. As you can see below, the photographer missed the actual falling part. Lol! As we came to the entrance to the park, we still had 3 hours before the bus, so the boys ate lunch and we went back in to swim some more. About an hour before the bus was to come by and get us the boys get the bright idea to walk home. So, thank goodness Judy and Gloria were troopers because we all ended up walking back to Lavena Lodge. It was a beautiful hike along the road, passing several foundations and houses that had just been blown away two weeks before, children playing in the streams, boys pushing their wheeled sticks, and men back at work in their fields. We even saw two kingfishers (striking blue birds). 
O Taveuni. That night Gloria threw me the cutest birthday party. She cooked up some crepes, set out some very prized gummy worms, animal crackers, Hershey’s syrup, bananas, boysenberry jelly, and syrup. The boys sang me Happy Birthday and we were off to eating the delicatessens’ treats. 
My birthday party! The next morning (my Birthday!) Judy and I headed out along the Coastal Walk tour towards beautiful beaches and yet another waterfall, this time with a natural slide attached. When we arrived at the waterfall we snorkeled through the river to get to the falls. Soon I was climbing the rock wall and sliding down the natural slide. When the boys arrived (they kayaked in) we went to the top of the 50 foot fall and I jumped! It was exhilarating. I had about two seconds of free fall to contemplate what was going on and consider how I wanted to land into the water. It was definitely a small adrenaline rush! The walk back to the lodge proved to be a much quicker walk than the walk to the falls. For some reason that is always the case, it is quicker returning from B to A than going from A to B. Why is that? 
Suspension bridge to the coastal walk waterfall. 
Just chillin. 
Bus at 5:30 AM. Finally, April 7, 2010, our glorious trip to Vanua Levu and Taveuni came to an end. We boarded the bus at 5:30 AM and headed to the airport. Everyone was leaving the same day, but by different modes of transportation. Judy, Graham, Jeremy, and I were heading out by plane, the other boys were taking a boat/bus combination. The crazy thing is as soon as our bus reached the airport it broke down, leaving the boys stranded. They hopped on the next truck that drove by since the bus had stopped indefinitely. Our plane ride was worry free and the fringing reefs were overwhelming. 
Time for take off. 
The fringing reefs. 
Nausori town - where we did our training the first two months. Upon arriving in Suva we headed out to eat at my favorite restaurant and then I bought myself a birthday cake and ice cream from Gloria Jean’s. Wow, it was the perfect indulgence! Black forest cake and chocolate ice cream, mmmm! Today was also do my Federal Taxes Day. 
Back in Rakiraki with men from my village. On Saturday of this week John Caleira was sweet enough to take Lisa, Lydia, and I, plus our cats, to Nadi to get spayed/neutered. Our cats will never have babies! Controlling the Fiji cat population one three cats at a time! Everyone in the village asked about Mogli and what happened to her, so I was able to show them pet care by example. Isn’t it convenient how that works!? 
We are so proud. Sunday, April 11, 2010 Back in the village I thoroughly cleaned by bure, April 12, 2010 had a successful community meeting where I taught waste management, April 13, 2010 walked to the best beach around, and snorkeled around an island,
April 14, 2010 measured the village for footpaths (salasimede), and I walked to Lisa’s village so that I could catch the early bus to town. And here I am now… blogging for you!
Bubu Ana making Virgin Coconut Oil!
