It is without fail that we go somewhere tropical and there are at least a couple of days of downpour. After the big, exciting surf Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were grey. Definitely not cold but also not read your magazine on the beach, nap by the pool kind of weather. The good news – we were on track to empty all four of our bottles of sunscreen before the end of the week. Now we leave with a full one…I guess that’s good news…
The days were not all lost, we both got an awesome extra-long massage – probably the best we’ve ever had. We took an extremely choppy but fun boat ride to neighboring island, Namotu, to check out their diggs (we’re thrilled we landed at Tavarua!); we sat through our first Kava ceremony (similar to Peru’s coca); we played poker (I won!); beachcombed about Tavarua, taking pictures and collecting treasures and we got to watch the Royal Wedding (wedding of the year? I beg to differ!). Both evenings, rain pummeled our bure, making the most beautiful music to fall asleep to. And the lightning lit up the entire sky, leaving traces of x-ray palm trees in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t all bad.
Our last day at Tavarua, the sun came back and we were granted a late check out, allowing us one more day to paddle and surf. The surf was a little smaller than the last times we went but it was still fun – probably our best day. As we were leaving the island on our little boat, heading to Nadi, it was almost really sad. We were only there a week but we felt so much like a part of a family. When you’re on a small island with only twenty or so guests, a handful of owners and volunteer lifeguards and about thirty or so of the kindest Fijians -you quickly get to know everyone. It’s a really special place where everyone is an equal, everyone knows your name and everyone is a new friend – even if you’re not at Cloudbreak with the “real” surfers.
I’m a cryer (I still can’t believe I didn’t cry at the wedding – too much to smile about, I guess). I almost cried. Sitting on the boat, the Fijians serenading us, waving goodbye, I got that big lump in the throat like I always do during the Biggest Loser. But! Then I remembered my old friend, Sallie Lin. She’s our next destination – and I can’t wait to see her!