Fiji: Coral View (17-19 April 2010)

17 April 2010

I warmed to Coral View immediately - all the staff are friendly and happy and we were made to feel very welcome. The accommodation is the best so far as well with white-washed walls, ceiling fans and a bathroom actually in the dorm. Luxury.

18 April 2010

Just ten days left of our trip and I am sitting inside, my tan fading by the second, watching the torrential rain outside. Yes, it is raining again in Fiji. I am less than impressed. This is our second day of bad weather and rain is just not what we signed up for! It's bad enough when it rains at home but it's even worse on a tropical island because there is quite literally nothing to do. At home, on days like this, you can snuggle up on the sofa with a warm drink and a good book, you can go bowling, or to the cinema - the possibilities for having fun when it rains in England are endless, which is good because that's what it does most of the time. Here, there is nothing. The beach is rendered fairly joyless, the tide is too far out to swim without cutting yourself to shreds on the coral and there is little point in doing the summit walk because the view will be non-existent with these clouds. This leaves just reading or playing cards, but a day consisting of these two activities in slow rotation is a very long one, believe me.

19 April 2010

Caving trip this morning. We didn't set out in the best of moods as the rain brought out all the mosquitoes and we were mauled while waiting for our boat which was forty minutes late - good old Fiji time. The cave was incredible though, a huge cylinder of sculpted stone and cliff with a natural skylight. It would have been better had we been given snorkelling gear like everyone else though; there is only so long you can tread water in an icy lagoon listening to people shout 'oh look, another massive eel', so we spent most of our time there sitting shivering on a rock like Gollum.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Coral View. The staff sang the Fijian farewell song Isa Lei which is beautiful - I love that you can always get the mood of their music, even though you can't understand the words. I am sorry to leave this island.