Tonight, we write to you from Navardra, our favorite anchorage in Fiji. This is the uninhabited island at the top of the Mamanukas. There are four other yachts here, one is our old friends Mike and Karen, two great Kiwis on the yacht "Option One". We had made arrangements to meet here, and it has turned out very nicely. The other boats are nice people, so the atmosphere is perfect. Navadra is the dream cruiser anchorage. It is uninhabited. It is a perfect location for a beach party, camp fire, barbecue, etc. That is what we did tonight. We had a nibbles and drinks on the beach along with a campfire. The setting is so beautiful that after we "got home", Elisabeth and I couldn't resist sitting out under the full moon and take in all the beauty. The air is warm, the water is warm. This is the dream cruiser anchorage.

But what is this about pizza dog and office dog? At Manta Ray Resort, we needed to do a little business in the office of the little resort there. They have a dog in the office who comes in, goes out, etc. She is a lean and fit third world sort of dog - brown with pointed nose, and white socks on all four feet. After our office business, we went down to the beach bar/restaurant where they have an outside, wood burning pizza oven, where we had a pizza. While we had our pizza, we met the other Manta Ray dog. This dog we called "Pizza Dog" because she hangs out at the pizza tables and begs for pizza. Pizza dog looks very well fed, while office dog looks much more fit complete with the self respect that being fit brings. Later in the evening, the office dog made her way down to the beach, and that is where the fun began. Pizza dog gives up all dignity being a fat dog begging for pizza while office dog seemed to walk up and say hey, you fat dog, have some self respect. Office dog would not beg and in all actuality was probably just too shy to beg, but it was just too funny to watch these two interact. Round and plump pizza dog and lean fit office dog. A total clash of personal style.... They kept us entertained for the duration of our evening on the beach.

And the Mantas? Well, we got the word that they were running in the pass, so onto the dive boat we went. The resort is very cool that way. They sent the boat right up to our boat to collect us for the trip to see the Mantas. Now, the boat was seriously full. Lots of tourists. The resort had sent in another fully loaded boat. Another two resorts had sent in at least two fully loaded boats. So, as you can imagine, it was chaos in the water, almost a hundred people splashing around looking for mantas, boats slowly maneuvering around each other and their guests. Meanwhile, the rays must has said to each other, "Hey this is bad. Let's go the other way." Because none of us saw a thing. No rays. For all those people - nothing. Well,, we typically don't do these tourist activities, but we had gotten such a good report that we decided to take the chance. It was for us then, the typical tourist trap - money outlay with no return. In the resort's defense, I will say that they send out a spotter, and if he doesn't see anything, they will not fill and send their boats. The mantas simply must have just gotten spooked by the hundred people in the water. I don't know, but it doesn't really matter. We tried - the resort tried, and we re-learned our rule about avoiding the tourist attractions. Let's just go and celebrate the good life with pizza dog then. She is cute. When you don't look, she taps you with her paw as if to say, "Hey, I'm still here and I sure would like a bite!"

And sorry that we don't have much more to report. We are making our way back to Denarau to prepare for the Vanuatu passage coming up in a week or so. As always, "Your Rock and Roll Argonauts" wish you the best!