Yesterday started out with a scheduled two dives with Taveuni Dive out of the resort at Taveuni Estates. The first dive was at a pristine top ten site of the Great White Wall off of the reefs of the Somosomo straight. We were up early and got on the dive boat at Orcinius around 0800 and proceeded to the reef. After a couple of minutes at the reef and watching the current we all entered the water and immediately proceeded down to the tube, through it to the bottom of the dive wall. The tube starts at about 10 meters and opens to the wall at about 25 meters. We drifted along the wall until coming to the exit chute which starts at about 15 meters and opens out at about 10 meters and then on to the safety stop buoy. Well Uncle Wally was getting a little low on air so he and the mermaid dive master headed for the buoy while the rest of us lazied around the bottom expending air until we got to 800 lbs. While Walt was running out of air, like 0.0 a the safety stop he managed to lose his GoPro camera. No Air and No Camera he immediately headed for the surface just 15 feet away. Yep he made it ok but short a camera. The rest of us surface about 10 minutes later and the head dive master goes back into the water to see if he can recover Walt's camera. When he comes back empty handed Walts comment was thanks and to make you feel better I have lost a lot more in a lot less time over my life.

The second dive was in a place called the cabbage patch or the Coral Garden. Beautiful place and a very nice easy dive. All came up happy and headed back to the dive shop.

After getting all the equipment rinsed off with fresh water we proceed to untether the mooring buoy from the boat. That by any stretch was no easy task. The boats bridle was so wrapped up around the mooring line it took us close to an hour to untwist it to the point of getting lose. Finally complete we motor around the straight for a couple hours, making water, fishing and charging batteries to finally arrive at our next mooring at the Paradise Resort at 1500.

We must be some kind of special. A week ago we emailed the resort and asked if we could reserve the Yachty mooring for 31 May-3 June. They came back with an absolute yes it was ours for that time. We are getting cleaned up for a night at the resort, dinner, singing and kava when we get a call on the VHF from the resort saying they are sending a diver down to look at the mooring because they think we might be drifting. Ten minutes later we see a big splash at the warf and under the water a diver heading towards the holding of our mooring. After close to a full tank of air and several interactions with the (American Diver, Mark) he comes to the surface and says all is good.

Upon arriving and going in for cocktail hour at 1730 we find out that the mooring we are on was put down just for us, and of course future yachties. But because we had called to reserve it they made sure the mooring was new and very substantial.

Had dinner and then proceeded to the kava ceremony area. There were two locals and six of us guests. After putting away two full bowl of kava we all retire with very numb lips and tongues.

Today was quite a different day. Waking at 0600 we chase down some coffee filters and make a pot. Walt proceeds to start packing all his stuff to take back to Maui and we spend a little time having morning coffee. We get to the resort at about 910 and then are shuttled into the community of Wairiki to attend church services which are purported to be some of the best singing around. Our shuttle driver, Dip, transfers us over to another drive but we stay in the same vehicle. This is the driver, Satesh, who will take us to the church, drive us around the island and return us to Paradise Resort.

We find out the church service isn't until 1100 and it is only 10 after 10. The driver suggest we go straddle the prime meridian. We all agree and 10 minutes later we are there. The pictures tell a thousand word. We do the leap ahead and then back again and ahead once more and realize we really aren't changing our age by jumping back because in order to jump back again and save another day we have to lose one by jumping ahead. Shit happens. So we finally head over to the church service. It was great. Even Uncle Wally got a kick out of it. The music was so loud it was invigorating. The music was from real human voices. Go figure. There isn't a church in America that the congregation can hold a candle to these Figians.

After church we have to make a run up to the North tip of the island to send Uncle Wally off on a Twin Otter (big bird, look it up on internet) back to Nadi and Hawaii. We said our good buys with hugs and kisses and Lisa and I were off with Satesh to the main attraction on the far side of the island... the water falls, three of them.

As we get nearer the water falls we are crossing a culvert that was about 60 meters wide on the upstream side and 80 meters wide on the downstream. We stop on the culvert bridge and Lisa gets out to take pictures upstream and down. We move on and get to the falls, do the walk and all the time it is only raining harder and harder. After the walk with hundreds and hundreds of toads (yes frogs), both large and small up and down from the falls we get back into the truck and head back towards the resort. Well by the time we reached the culvert we took pictures of, the water was running over it by about 4 feet. There were cars and trucks waiting on either side to cross. The rain was letting up a bit so we figured in a bit of time we could cross in the truck and be heading back to the resort. An hour and a half or two hours later we thought we could drive across. Several others tried and made it so it was our turn and with Lisa's eyes closed we managed to get across to the other side. We still have two hours to get back to the resort.

An hour into our final part of the journey the driver is talking to the resort owner who has some concern about Orcinius. There was heavy rain and strong winds that were blowing Orcinius onto a lee shore. Lisa listened and took everything in stride and realized that shit happens and there is damn little one can do about it if you are not continuously on your boat.

Got to the resort in time for cocktail hour, had several and then proceeded to have dinner and a very nice conversation with Mark and his SO Stasi. We are now back on the boat, it is 1030 and I am ready for bed.

Good Night!