Day 3: Isa Lei Yasawa Islands

Our last day started with another great breakfast from the crew. I was feeling a little under the weather but nothing serious. We spent the morning cruising to our next island stop. We took a group photo with 75.3 billion cameras belonging to all of the passengers. We were set to visit the other side of the first island we went to. Once we arrived we tendered out to a deserted beach. We laid out our sunbathing mats and headed into the water. Robb of course was distracted with the plethora of hermit crabs on the beach. We headed out into the water and basically didn't stop. It was so shallow; it never reached past our waists. Uncle George and Lisa headed out to another snorkeling trip with some of the other passengers.



Breakfast with Oni...our favorite deckhand!

Who wouldn't want to spend the day here?!

We enjoyed the warm water for a while. The water seems to be extra salty here and it makes you a little more buoyant. Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Katlyn, Robb and I decided to take a walk down the beach. We headed down away from everyone and after about 15 minutes of walking we came across a little village. Dad struck up a conversation with two women who were weaving a new mat out of palm for their home. He asked if it would be okay to check out their village and they invited us in. This was so different from the village we visited. It was more apparent of their everyday life. They were cooking some yams and everyone who passed welcomed us with a "Bula". Most of the houses were aluminum siding with some cinder block. There weren't many doors or windows, but when I glanced inside I would see the occasional TV or stereo. They must have been run off of generators because we didn't notice any power and they were cooking with fire. After walking around the village we decided to return to the beach. We walked back just as the snorkeling group returned. We had 10 more minutes to enjoy the water and then it was time to tender back to the boat.

The village

cooking yams


Thurston Howell and his wife...where's the professor?

We returned to the boat, showered and finished packing up our stuff. We relaxed on deck before having lunch (delicious as usual). We enjoyed our last lunch on the boat and cruised for the next couple of hours. While we traveled the crew was constantly fishing off the back of the boat. The crew caught one on our way in, only to lose it right before getting it in the boat. bummer. Before leaving, the crew came around to thank all of us and shake our hands. They finished by singing the farewell song, "Isa Lei".

So shallow!




Who let this blind guy wander off without supervision? He's obviously injured!

We docked, and boarded the boat to head back to the lounge. We returned and thankfully (?) the "limo" was still there in one piece. Uncle George fired her up (after the third time) and we all piled in and headed off. Grandma had said that she wanted to buy some fish while we were there so we stopped at a small meat market. We bought steaks (different from what you would get at home...) and chicken but were told that we should head to the dock for fish.

We headed to the wharf and were met by local fisherman with today's catch strung up and displayed in front of them. There were eels and pufferfish there next to red snapper and various other fish. Uncle George ended up buying a couple of snapper and wrapping it in a plastic bag mom had and we were off. Nothing like fresh fish poorly wrapped in an outdated van for an hour long drive home. yum.

With our fish laying on cardboard next to our raw meat we headed home. But when we passed the ultimate temptation on the way home, we had to stop: McDonalds. Yes, dear reader we succumbed to our American Capitalist pig roots. And it was EFFING DELICIOUS. It tasted more similar to the McD's at home than the one we had in Peru. The drive thru sign says "Bula" and when you leave it says "Vinaka" (thank you). Dad even spotted some fruit bats the size of pigeons in the parking lot.

I knew we'd run into someone here!

We headed home, and made it back to the resort safely. As we were unloading everything, Grandpa dropped the fish in the parking lot of the resort. More flavoring I guess. We unpacked from our wonderful cruise and hit the hay. It is nice to be back at the resort but the cruise is sure to be one of the highlights of the trip :)

why are we pointing up? my guess is as good as yours...but we do as we're told.