On one of the few sunny days earlier this week, we went ashore with the goal of walking around the other half of Malolo Lai Lai Island. About a week ago, we walked one half of the island so on this particular day; we set off to walk around the other half of the island.

After a short walk on a sand/dirt road, we were able to find a path through the trees and shrubs, to the beach. We quickly discovered that this half of the island, is about 80% volcanic rock with just a few beaches. The good news, is that the tide was going out, which helped expose more of the volcanic rock and areas for us to walk. Parts were smooth black rock surfaces to walk on, however most of it, was black rocks and sometimes boulders. With our flip flops on, we had to watch our footing, make sure we didn't slip and scratch or bang our feet or ankles of jagged rocks. We were totally secluded and never saw another person during our entire 3+ hour walk. The scenery was beautiful and we saw several brightly colored crabs. Once we were back in civilization, we enjoyed a late lunch and cold beverages at the local restaurant.

The next 3 days, we were stuck on the boat. Constant rain and 30kt wind kept us boat bound. Tom did a great job with a rain water catch system. He took an unused shower curtain, elevated it, but made sure it was secure so it wouldn't blow away, and had it draining down into a 3 gallon water jug. We managed to collect many gallons of delicious rain water! We both occupied ourselves by reading several books and watching movies. I made some homemade wheat/multigrain bread and chocolate chip cookies.

Waking with the sun shining, we were motivated to get off the boat and have a change of scenery. The winds were still howling, but at least it wasn't raining! We went ashore and did a few loads of laundry. I quite enjoy laundry day, because we sit at the Island Bar, enjoying some beers, while we take turns switching loads for washer/dryer/folding. We are getting to know the bartender, Josie, and she is teaching us some Fijian language, or at least trying to teach us! So far, we know "Bola" (hello), "Vinaka" (thank you), "Keri Keri" (please), "Dua" (one), "Rua" (two),"Tali"(more).

We wanted to mention about a neat water craft thing we saw. A few guys pulled into the anchorage and launched a jet ski that had a 4 inch hose hooked to a guy that was in the water about 30 feet away. Then the guy in the water lifted up using the force of the water driven through nozzles on each foot that were about 8 inches around and a stability nozzle about 2 inches around in each hand. He was able to lift about 10 feet off the surface and move in all directions. It was fun to watch and a neat contraption. Although when the wind picked up his stability was gone and into the water he would fall, looks like a fun toy for a quiet lake, a water driven kinda jet pack thingy.

A few more pictures have been added to our Fiji Gallery.