When it came time to move on from Ovalau Island, we decided to splurge and shave 4-5 hours off our travel time by taking a 12-minute scenic flight back to the city of Suva on the main island of Fiji. Though the plane had room for six passengers, we were the only ones on board that day, so let's just say we took a private plane!
SR was really excited when they actually turned on the tiny luggage carousel for our two bags and went jogging after them as if they were about to slip back into the mechanical bowels of the luggage claim area if he didn't hurry.
From Suva we bused it over to the other side of the island for the second half of our Fiji time to be spent in the anonymous gluttony of resort land--for us, the Hilton on Denarau Island, near Nadi. SR's Hilton points earned through work trips (until I "made him" quit his job to go to Antarctica, as he tells it) are the gift that keeps on giving. After Bali and now this, we've almost used up his hard-earned stockpile of points. But for now...ahh. This particular resort must have started out as timeshares, because our room with the lovely view...
...was kind of like a mini-apartment, with a kitchenette and everything. Mostly we spent our time this week lounging by the pool reading and doing crosswords in the shade (me) and full sun (him). One day we got a couple of stand-up paddle boards and went out on the water. There was a little bit of ping pong. And guess who won the prize of a free cocktail in the "closest to the pin" golfing contest the resort staff put on one afternoon. (I didn't like the cocktail though and SR had to drink it.)
Our only major effort of the week (and that's not saying much) was going on a day trip to one of the small tourist islands of the Mamanuca chain, just to the north of Nadi.
It was fun to be out on the water on yet another gorgeous day...
...and even more fun to arrive at Castaway Island. I hate to admit it but might as well fess up that I found the musical greeting by the staff at the resort there charming and joyful, even though they probably resent and want to strangle us all for forcing them to participate in this chore three times/day.
Castaway Island isn't actually the island that the movie Castaway was filmed on, but THAT island is actually really close by and we saw it from the ferry. This island was nearly as idyllic, though. We got to snorkel to our hearts' content and saw all kinds of fun creatures like starfish (though I didn't get a pic of the enormous blue starfish that are all over the place here)...
...AMAZING tropical fish with more brilliant coloring than I could have imagined (these ones pale in comparison but were kind enough to be close enough to shore for me to snap pictures while wading)...
...coral, a sting ray, tons of sea cucumbers, a giant clam, and even a sea snake! Much smaller and assumably non-venomous, unlike the enormous, scary, green behemoth we saw on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last year.
When we tired of snorkeling, we just soaked in the bathwater-warm ocean as its waves lapped the shore of our little piece of paradise...
...until the ferry returned to take us back to Nadi. Ahh, Fiji. Hope we meet again someday.
