So our last blog found us in the very rolly anchorage of Nevandra. Big dilema, perfect beach with great snorkeling but a miserable night's sleep? What to do. When we woke up, problem solved, the waves had calmed down and the roll was tolerable. We did a bit of school and headed in for another beach day!! Life was perfect, until about 4pm when the wind picked up and the anchorage became a miserable rolling nightmare. Unfortunately it was too late too move on, so we stayed on the beach till dusk, ate a quick dinner and decided that yes, tomorrow we would need to move on. The next day we had a pleasant sail to the island of Waya. It was a deep anchorage and as we were pulling in our depth sounder decided to act up and not read properly. There was one other boat in the huge bay so we decided to anchor very close to them with the thought that it must be safe. David has told many stories of being in the Bahamas in a perfect secluded anchorage just to have some newbie come drop on top of him, well today we looked like newbie's. It was deep, about 60 feet, and we are finding new limits in our anchoring depth tolerances here. We were settling in when a kayak came along side with shouts of "Bula" which means hello in Fijian. It was a gentleman and his daughter and they wanted to come aboard to receive our sevu-sevu, to save us the trip in because the wind was blowing so strong. OK. It was a bit strange as the way I have understood you are to present the kava to the chief yourself and if you do not go ashore then sevu-seve is not really necessary. We really didn't care as we have 5 bundles of kava left on the boat and need to get rid of it anyway before we go on to Vanuatu soon. So, no biggie. We gave him the kava and he did do a chant and bless it and welcome us to the village. We told him we did hope to snorkel but unfortunately with the high winds and waves it would not have been prudent. I served up some ginger-ale and we were having some pleasant conversation about the village, which looked from the boat, far more prosperous than the villages in more remote islands. Yes, they had cruise ships weekly and lots of kids, 2 schools and so on. Then he asked if we had any double A batteries, no, His mother was having headaches, any pain killers, I gave him some Motrin packages. Can we have a look downstairs, sure, I notice your son has a lot of toys, I have a lot of nephews, No you cannot have my sons toys. It was getting a bit crazy so I suggested we go back upstairs. David got out the camera to take a picture of Zack and I with our guests and I then they left soon afterwards with some lollies that I had offered for the kids. It was a bit weird and the only experience we have had of that kind in Fiji. Everyone else has been absolutely wonderful. We have made donations in some of the villages we have been to be it money or school books but this was a bit off-putting. The next morning we up anchored and went around to Octopus Resort. Some cruisers complain that the Yaswas are overrun by resorts, and there are lots. Most of them are really welcoming to cruisers and we have been enjoying the resort experience. I am more then willing to suffer the glass of wine or pina colada for the group. Zack also has no issue having an ice cream for the cause. The resorts do expect a little patronage for their welcome. Fair is fair. The beach at Octopus won "one of the top 10 beaches in the world" in Conde Nast. It is beautiful, long, white sand, post card like. There is a small channel into the resort and then coral reef along the remainder of the beach. There are also some nice coral heads in the bay to snorkel. A nice pool, although it was, even according to Zack, a bit chilly. Zack met a couple of Australian boys there and they had a good time playing volleyball and pool. Zack also had a great time on the beach playing on the rocks and collecting mud skipper fish in the tide pools. We stayed for almost a week. It is so easy to get lost in these places, One of the last days we were there, we were taking Zack and Finn into the beach with the kayak, boogie board, and Finn's surf board. Well one thing led to another and I spent hours dragging them around with David standing in the kayak, and Finn and Zack taking turns between the boogie board and surf board trying to stand up. They did manage it for some time. Every one in the anchorage was watching and wanting turns as I tried to navigate between boats. Not an easy feat dragging the monkey train. The next day the kids were keen to go again. We decided it would be best to just drag the surf board and scurf. It was great, both Finn and Zack were able to get up and take good rides. I had a go and was even able to do it. Paul had a good go as well. A great afternoon, but we did miss our last snorkel. I guess there are always compromises to be made! We headed up to Manta Pass to snorkel with the manta rays. We have done this a few times but it is an experience that is not to be missed, it is pure magic to be so close to these amazing creatures. We dropped our anchor, jumped in the dinghy and headed around the corner. The rest of humanity must have had the same idea, because they were there in force. Boatloads of people in the water looking for mantas. It was pandemonium. I believe the tourists had been instructed to raise a hand and wave if they spotted a manta. Well, when a manta finally came along it was swarmed. This poor manta had a crowd of at least 30 people trying to get near it and following it as it swam slowly around. It didn't seem to bother the manta, probably well used to this daily debacle. We didn't stay long, just enough time so the kids could see the manta and we were out. We are really spoiled and have swum with mantas on many occasions. We are generally there with just a few friends and it is more our style. The anchorages by Manta Pass were rolly so we decided to just head back for Octopus Resort where the anchorage is well protected and calm. On our way we were visited by a small pod of spinner dolphins. It was the best dolphin show we have ever seen. It was a small pod of only 7 dolphins that we saw but they stayed with us for a while and it was amazing. The dolphins were jumping out of the water and doing spins and flips for us. One dolphin did 3 consecutive spins in the air. We were clapping and cheering, which may just be my imagination, but does seem to get the dolphins going. Like they are trying to outdo each other and impress us too. What an experience!!