Walking and Exploring

​We spent the majority of our day going for walks and resting in the shade. The Marriott complex is huge, so big they offer shuttles in golf carts, and it can take about 20-30min to walk from one side of the bay to the other. 

Morning view of the lagoon with the over water burres. 

We had the international buffet breakfast and I thought it was funny they had German pretzels. They tasted pretty good!

We found the observation dome they use for star gazing. The dome was super hot and echoey inside, but I’m sure it’s cool at night because the stars are really bright here. No light pollution at all. 

We heard this cow mooing while on our walk before we spotted it across the bay. 

This evening we watched the sunset by the infinity pool. It is and incredible view. 

At The Marriott

​Syd took the 6am surf boat and was the first one out at the break! Worked out well because he was back by 9 so we could take the early ferry to the main island. 

I enjoyed a quiet morning looking at this view one last time on our trip. 

We said good bye to our favorite burre #14. 

I left the two books I read while at the Lomani in their sharing library. Both were good reads. 

The Malolo Cat that took us to the port. We met our driver Robin who drove us earlier in the trip, and he brought us easily to the Marriott. We learned a few years ago driving here is hard with unknown rules, driving on the left, and huge potholes. I’m happy to have someone drive us!

Here is our new burre for the next 2 days.

The vibe is much busier here, but it’s nice to have more restaurant options. We are tired so not a lot of plans for the last leg of the trip. It is supposed to be windy so there might not be any surf. I have one more book to read!

Minnows

​Can you see the disturbance in the water? It is a big school of minnows that were in close to shore this morning. I watched them swim around, jump as a group to avoid bigger fish, and I could hear them crackling. 

And then when we snorkeled, there was another school of minnows swimming all around me. They were sparkley blue and it was interesting watching their group think. 

It was our last day at the Lomani so we went for a walk this evening and enjoyed the sunset. 

I have looked at this view at all hours of the day and while it is always the same, it’s also always different. The water moves, the clouds come and go, the fish are busy swimming, and boats zip by. I needed the slower pace of the island and I am grateful for our time here. 

Tomorrow we head to the mainland for a few days before flying home. Still in vacation mode, just on the move! 

Low Tide

​I explored the low tide in the shallows today and while snorkeling. 

Here is a spiney shell that I am glad I didn’t step on!

I followed this puffer fish around the reef. 

We snorkeled near the sandbar again and I love the colors in this photo. The blues and bright sand are so pretty. 

Us on the sandbar. Syd is doing much better today, he didn’t have enough energy to surf yet, but he was able to swim. 

I went to the Spa

​Whew! It was a rough night and day. Syd was feeling the effects of some food poisoning, and I was very grateful to the staff here for the help. 

In the afternoon I treated myself to a foot massage at the new spa. The spa was being built last time we were here. 

They have a relaxation pool, sauna and cold plunge, and lots of massage rooms. 

The sleigh chairs are super comfortable!

Hoping to get some sleep and have a fresh start tomorrow. 

Syd vs Reef

​Warning: the photo of Syd’s gash from the reef is a little intense below, so here is a photo of a cute island cat I met this morning on my walk. 

Also, this huge crab was in the pool this morning. I am confused about it. It looks real, but did it really crawl all the way from the beach to the pool and then not make it out because of the chlorine?! I am not sure what happened here. 

And I found a fresh donut place at the resort next door. They fry them to order. Delicious. 

Ok, so if you made it this far and want to know what happened to Syd, he surfed double overhead waves today. He got a bunch of good rides, but at the end a swell came through and he had to ditch his board to dive under. He got pushed down unto the reef, it was low tide and very shallow, and he got washing machined over the reef. He went back to the boat and the boat driver put iodine on it from the first aid kit. When he got home and got out of the boat I could see that his leg was bleeding and the said, that’s not even the worst of it! He was right!

Good news is, I am an experienced surfer’s wife and I travel with a coral reef first aid kit with gauze, neosporin, tape, and waterproof bandages. We patched him up and he should be good and covered up for tomorrow. My suggestion was find a surf break that is slightly deeper next time. 

Always an adventure!

Island Views

​This was my view this morning while Syd surfed. No wind, beautiful conditions, and double overhead waves. I could hear them from the island and they are about 7 miles away out to see. 

When Syd got back we jumped on the snorkel boat. 

So many fish!

A Syd fish. 

And a Claire fish. 

The swell was so big today waves were making it into the inner reef! I took this photo while snorkeling. Usually it is totally flat here!

This afternoon weather rolled through! It got super windy and rained a little. But no amount of weather can ruin a day in Fiji!