It is without fail that we go somewhere tropical and there are at least a couple of days of downpour.  After the big, exciting surf Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were grey.  Definitely not cold but also not read your magazine on the beach, nap by the pool kind of weather.  The good news – we were on track to empty all four of our bottles of sunscreen before the end of the week.  Now we leave with a full one…I guess that’s good news…

The days were not all lost, we both got an awesome extra-long massage – probably the best we’ve ever had.  We took an extremely choppy but fun boat ride to neighboring island, Namotu, to check out their diggs (we’re thrilled we landed at Tavarua!); we sat through our first Kava ceremony (similar to Peru’s coca); we played poker (I won!); beachcombed about Tavarua, taking pictures and collecting treasures and we got to watch the Royal Wedding (wedding of the year?  I beg to differ!).  Both evenings, rain pummeled our bure, making the most beautiful music to fall asleep to.  And the lightning lit up the entire sky, leaving traces of x-ray palm trees in the blink of an eye.  It wasn’t all bad.

Kevin drinks the Kava

Kava ceremony

Our last day at Tavarua, the sun came back and we were granted a late check out, allowing us one more day to paddle and surf.  The surf was a little smaller than the last times we went but it was still fun – probably our best day.  As we were leaving the island on our little boat, heading to Nadi, it was almost really sad.  We were only there a week but we felt so much like a part of a family.  When you’re on a small island with only twenty or so guests, a handful of owners and volunteer lifeguards and about thirty or so of the kindest Fijians -you quickly get to know everyone.  It’s a really special place where everyone is an equal, everyone knows your name and everyone is a new friend – even if you’re not at Cloudbreak with the “real” surfers.

I’m a cryer (I still can’t believe I didn’t cry at the wedding – too much to smile about, I guess).  I almost cried.  Sitting on the boat, the Fijians serenading us, waving goodbye, I got that big lump in the throat like I always do during the Biggest Loser.  But!  Then I remembered my old friend, Sallie Lin.  She’s our next destination – and I can’t wait to see her!

Kevin saved a baby turtle’s life today!

About 100 leatherback turtles hatched just behind one of the bures this morning.  They were all collected so we could safely release them this evening at high tide.

One scrappy little guy had made his own way and wasn’t picked up with the rest of his brothers and sisters.  Kevin spotted him several hours later, trapped behind the bure walkway, hopeless and tired and about to become a feast for ants.  Scrappy was reunited with his family and they lived happily ever after…we hope…

We released them this evening.  It was something really special watching a hundred tiny little turtles flap from the beach into the
water, making their way into the great big ocean.

The big waves came today, a day earlier than they expected….leaving no time for Kelly Slater to show.

What do big waves mean to Kevin and me?  No surfing.

We did go out to Cloudbreak to watch the guys surf the big (15 foot!) waves.  It was pretty darn cool.  I think more so because we felt a sense of pride when one of “our Tavi guys” caught a good ride.  It was impressive.  Radical even.  Another break, right in front of the restaurant here at Tavarua, rightly named, Restaurants, was a hot spot too.  This one wasn’t as big, height wise, but it was long and fast and the guys were bookin’ down the extra-long line.

They were so fun to watch and even though we couldn’t hang with them, it was awesome watching them and doing some paddle boarding in the extra nice conditions.

Kevin took this from the boat!

We went to a neighboring island today to snorkel around their reef.  Literally, the first thing I saw when I jumped in was a shark.

Me: Uuuuhhh….are there sharks here?
Boat guy: No.
Me: Really?  Because I think I just saw one.
Boat guy:  Oh, well, there are reef sharks but they don’t do anything.  They’re only this big (measuring a little guy with his hands).  Don’t worry.
Me:  Ok.  (That was about the size, so I guess he’s right.)

And back to snorkeling I go.

We snorkeled awhile and came across a giant purple jelly fish.

Me to Kevin:  I’m done.

You saw my arms, can you imagine what a giant purple guy could do to you?  No thanks.

Not the shark or the jelly fish but this is what we were snorkeling with!

It’s hard to explain but it’s a different culture here.  I don’t mean in the Fijian sense, though that’s the obvious.  Everyone here seems to know each other.  Whether it’s from the surf community or they know a friend of a friend or they just happen to come back year after year so they know the staff, owners and lifeguards – it’s a little community.  A Tavarua family.  While I feel like we are posers – I can’t bring myself to call us “surfers” next to these guys – they certainly don’t make us feel that way.  They are beyond friendly and include us in their conversations and seem interested in the fact that we are from Seattle and chose to come here.  They have made me, the most self concious person in the world, feel good about our surfing abilities.  They said as long as we’re having fun, being in the water is all that matters.  I like that.

The second night we were here, we met the owners wife, Jamie.  She is super sweet and arranged for a group of us to go to the Rights the next day.  She said it’s her favorite spot to surf and we’ll love it.  The Rights is a reef break about three quarters of a mile off Tavarua Island.

The totally radical thing about staying here is we get boat transfers to the breaks.  With the boat, comes a lifeguard.  The lifeguards work for free (room and board) and come here because they love Tavarua so much.  One guy, Jimmy, has been here for eight years!  They too are super friendly and make you feel good about yourself, even though surely they’d rather be surfing Cloudbreak, the main attraction at Tavarua.

The lifeguards quickly learn what level you’re at and pretty much right away, I was getting little pushes, just that little extra oomph to make sure I caught the wave.  Now, that should be embarrasing to me.  But I was having so much fun and was able to catch about twice as many waves as I would have otherwise, so I set my pride aside and said push away!  We have actually learned a lot too.  I think we’re probably catching 4ish foot waves and are actually riding along the face of the wave, instead of just the white water, like at home.

The lifeguards and regulars make surfing look so easy and they are so fun to watch.  There’s supposed to be a big storm coming in on Thursday.  Big enough Kelly Slater and Laird Hamilton are watching the conditions – and the guys here just drop that in conversation like it ain’t no thing.  That would be pretty awesome to see – fingers crossed it gets big, even if it means we’re stuck at Kiddieland.

Is disgusting. I woke up with these spots all over me and I figured it was bed bugs. But the doc on the island told me it was sea lice or sea mosquitoes. Everyone reacts differently – I clearly didn’t react well. I felt the little boogers biting me while we were surfing Kiddieland. I figured it was little jelly fish just having their way with me but didn’t realize I would be left looking diseased. It doesn’t hurt, just itches like a sun of a gun.

And I look gross.

Surf Kiddieland – check
Paddleboard around the island – check
Snorkel – check
Read magazines in the sun – check mate
Nap in the sun – check check check (don’t worry, I’m wearing 50 proof sunscreen!)

That is what we are here.  For our honeymoon, we wanted to go somewhere exotic, where we could surf.  Enter, Fijian surf resort, Tavarua.

People that come to Tavarua are bad ass.  They say things like “radical” and instead of goodbye, they say “easy.”   “You guys are staying at Tavi?  Radical.”  ‘What’s Tavi?  No, we’re going to Tavarua.’  That didn’t actually happen, but we’re surely not radical enough to say we’re going to “Tavi.”

Kelly Slater comes to Tavi.  Kelli Charboneau (weird!) comes to Tavarua.

The good news is, while we are surely posers, the people here (both the “real” surfers and the Fijian staff) are radical.  They are super friendly and indulge us in our plan to surf the big waves.  Kevin seems to be up for it.  You will find me in Kiddieland.