Pacific Harbor, Days Off

Well it has finally happened I have had a few days off.  So the last four weeks have been spent traveling.  I have done awesome dives in the warm waters of the Solomon Islands, visited Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.  Dove WWII wrecks, and seen Manta Rays, and Devil Rays in Kadavu Fiji.  I have slept in villeges overnight, and seen how they still live off the jungle and substance farming in both the Solomons and Fiji.  I have had few hot showers in the past month and was looking forward to some relaxing time.

The days off started with a quick night in Nadi on the main Island of Fiji, the next morning me and my co-worker spent time finishing up paperwork and calling the office.  I was able to get McDonalds, the service here is 10 times better then anyone in the states.  I also have gotten some Oreo cookies to munch on.  We then rushed to the bus depot to catch a bus to Pacific Harbor, about a 3 hour ride.  We paid the $9 fee, and climbed on a very "Local" bus.  The ride was very interesting crammed with the locals slowly moving up the mountains then racing down.  We arrived in Pacific Harbor to meet friends, but had no Idea where they were staying.  Pacific Harbor is spread out over a few miles, and they had no Idea we were coming.  After standing on the side of the road for a few minutes a divemaster from a local shop stopped to talk, and it turns out had been diving with our friends that morning!  We were about 100yds from their lodge.

There is so much to do here its hard to sleep in.  Yesterday me and my co-worker Alex awoke at 7am to go whitewater kayaking through Navua Gorge, which is quite possible one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  There were countless large waterfalls, beautiful mountains shooting up from the river banks.  We went swimming in the cold spring water, I think they might bottle Fiji water nearby.  I thought of all the people paying $3 for it in the states and thoughtfully relieved myself, only to make sure you get your monies worth. 

Today we awoke early again to go on a shark dive.  We went out on a local boat for a feeding.  The sharks were incredible and were joined by a 2-300lb grouper.  We say 7-8 foot reef sharks, and some large bulls were circling in the distance.  It was defiantly worth the early wake up.  We have been staying in dorms the past few days, so this afternoon we checked in at a local resort on the beach.  We have a gorgeous bungalow overlooking the water, complete with a huge outdoor shower garden to bath in!  So the plan is to finish relaxing the rest of the day and mingle with the travelers from all over the world.  Everyone is so friendly and you are guaranteed to meet someone new each night.  Well I will try to get some pictures up soon.  The weather in Fiji is colder, I def was not prepared for that but am enjoying it, but missing everyone back home.

Luke