Fiji! It sure is windy in paradise...

Relaxing in the pool
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Fiji was great. Two whole weeks of not having to pack our bags, not having to get a bus, not having to choose accommodation. And lots of lying in hammocks in navel contemplation and less educational activities such as reading trashy beach novels and playing  Prince of Persia on the PSP. A holiday from our holiday. Bliss.

We stayed for almost all our time on Nananu-i-Ra at the Nananu Beach Lodge. A glorious stretch of beach with snorkelling 50 feet from our cabin. We knew money would be strained because of our desires for diving and other activities so we cooked for ourselves (can't say I'll be sad to see the back of those Instant Noodle dinners!) and kept the drinking to a minimum. In fact two drinks on New Year's Eve was all it took to push us over the edge into early snoozing. We did manage to claw ourselves back to consciousness to hear the countdown and fireworks and even got up later to enjoy the bonfire on the beach and swing in a hammock watching the waves lap the shore. All very lovely.

Relaxing on the beach
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The diving was cool. Some great sites with beautiful colourful corals and fish - sharks, barracuda, napolean wrasse. And we did a night dive which was fun. Felt very James bond. We saw a large porcupine fish and some enormous crabs. Loved it.

For me, (Andrea), windsurfing and kitesurfing were less than easy fun. I'd done windsurfing on lakes before but just couldn't get my balance in the surf and so spent most of the time scraping myself on the jagged rocks lining the sure, ho hum. Carl wasn't much better either. Although he took instantly to kite surfing and although I did disastrously on lesson one, by lesson two I was being bodydragged through the warm water by my kite which was excellent fun. Expensive sport though. Not sure when we'll get a chance to improve our skills.

The last sunrise of 2006, seen for the first time
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And two weddings while we were at the the Lodge. Christine and Rick's on New Year's Eve and then Caroline and Wolker a few days later where I was bridesmaid/witness. Both such simple, beautiful and moving ceremonies. Was rather tempting to get the minister to stay on... :-)