Picture postcard perfect, Fiji comprises classic tropical islands of white sand beaches and coconut palms with lush green hills and forests. The country is made up of two large islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu and a myriad of much smaller outer islands which are classified in different group names. The big towns on the main two islands are dominated by the Indian communities. The Indians are all descended from the imported indentured labour brought in years ago by the British to work in the sugar fields of Fiji. Today the Indian population is at least the same as the indigenous Fijians. According to Fijian law only indigenous Fijians can own land outright. The Fijian Indians have a natural sense of business that the indigenous Fijians lack, and their prosperity has precipitated tensions and unrest between the two communities. The Indian community has not penetrated the outer islands and these are maintained on traditional community lines. There are strict quidelines for cruising yachts, including a rigid standard of dress and behavior when visiting island villages. Fijian dress code is modest so for women it is suggested to cover shoulders and knees. Hats and sunglasses are frowned upon in the villages. Of course around resorts it's another matter. Sevusevu is an important Fijian custom which requires all visitors to a village or island to make a presentation to the Chief. For a visiting yacht, a 1/3kg of Yaqona, from which the local Kava or grog is made, is considered appropriate. In return the Chief will welcome the visitors to his village offering his protection and all reasonable assistance and allow free access to adjacent beaches, waters and reefs, which are considered village property. The morning of May 25th, we raised anchor and headed to the famous Musket Cove Resort on the island of Malolo Lailai. Besides being the most cruiser friendly resort in Fiji that we have found, they also have lots to keep cruisers happy and most end up staying there quite a while. They have fuel, a great dinghy dock, great restaurants, a general store, dive shop and a bar on a small islet where cruisers get together for BBQs. Cruisers are also able to use the pool and all resort facilities. Everyone is very helpful and friendly and once you tell them your name it is not forgotten. Why leave? Beautiful white sand beaches, great snorkeling and a small dirt airstrip nearby. We were given waypoints that helped us with our navigating through the reefs and into the bay at Musket Cove. We spent a few days just relaxing and checking out the area and even went diving with the local dive shop. Then it was time to take Eric and Gisela out to some outer more remote islands before they had to fly back home. Our friends on Destiny came with us and it was a good thing because their electronic charts were a little better than ours. This place is hard to navigate through with all the reefs . In fact while we were in Musket Cove, two boats ran up on the reefs, thankfully they were going slow and didn't have much damage. Our first stop was two deserted islands called Navandra and Vanua Levu that are in the Mamanuca Group. The islands are uninhabited except for a few wild goats. Our big event was going to shore with the tide going out and then not being able to get back to the boat because of all of the coral that popped up with the lowering tide. We almost had to stay on the beach and wait for the tide to come in which would have been quite a few hours later and it was getting dark. We eventually made it and hopefully learned a lesson but we were good evening entertainment for our friends on Destiny as they watched us pick a path through the coral patches. We then said goodbye to Destiny and headed to Likuliku Bay on the island of Waya which is in the Yasawa Group. We had good visibility for traveling that day and anchored off of a resort called the Octopus. The anchorage was calm and we had good protection from the northerly winds. We hiked over the hill, past a smelly pig farm, to a village where we did our sevusevu and presented our kava to a representative of the chief. He was gracious enough to invite us into their home and served us warm bread and tea. We didn't stay long as we had to get back before dark. After a great dinner at the resort we headed back to the boat. The next morning the winds started clocking around to the southeast and the anchorage was getting a little rolly so it was time to head out. After checking the weather forecast we decide to head back to Musket Cove as we are going to be getting some strong winds and we didn't want to be too far away and not make it back in time for Gosch's flight out. Sorry they didn't get to see more of the outer islands, but they know how things go in the cruising world. In fact the afternoon that they were to catch a small flight from Musket Cove to the mainland, the plane never showed up. The local Fijians were trying to figure out how to get them to the airport in Nadi in time to still catch their flight home. They offered up a small panga but it would have been quite a wild ride and at night wasn't something Eric and Gisela really wanted to do. Just then a helicopter landed dropping off some tourists and Eric quickly flagged it down before it took off again. They were able to negotiate a ride to the airport but not without a little hurt in the pocketbook. But alls well that ends well and they made it back in time for their flight. We can't believe we spent five weeks together as the time really went by fast. They were good sports about it all and know that plans never go as planned when cruising. We shared quite an adventurous journey together and we're glad they came with us. Au saa liu mada, Eric and Gisela.