Navini, Day One

 

We had a bit of a problem last night. We arrived just before the evening meal, and it was after dark before we headed back to our bure. Unfortunately neither of us could remember exactly where it was. We looked and looked but couldn’t find it, which is a hard thing to do on an island that takes less than 10 minutes to walk all the way around it. Just as we had given up ever finding it, Linda spotted a pair of pants on a bed in a bure that had the door open. They were hers and the bure was ours. Linda was a very happy girl as I don’t think she was looking forward to sleeping on the sand with coconuts falling and crabs crawling around. Since that night she has never let me forget that I’m totally incompetent when it comes to navigating the pathways of the island. Lost Bob.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, finding my way around the island isn’t the only thing I’m incompetent at. Thankfully I landed on all fours when I fell out the other side. No photos, Linda was laughing too hard. It’s pretty obvious that I don’t have any south seas island blood in me.

 

 

We had to ask. They’re hermit crab tracks and they are all over the place.

 

 

Fresh papaya. Linda simply adores fresh papaya. Linda is a happy girl.

 

 

The view from the dining area. No windows, no screen. No bugs.

 

 

Nothing like weaving a basket from a section of palm frond to start the day.

 

 

Just let me say it was a lot harder to do than Linda made it appear to be.

 

 

The baskets were supposed to look like the one the pretty lady beside me made. In the end everyone praised my ingenuity in weaving Navini’s first ever wine bottle basket. Outside the Box Bob.

 

 

Our bure has a bedroom, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi, a spacious living room, a kitchen/wet room area though with no cooking appliance, a large patio to the side and a porch facing the water. Jalousie windows for cross ventilation abound, and with the highs in the 80’s and lows in the 70’s, we are comfortable day and night.

 

 

Beachcomber Linda.

 

 

Water Dude Bob.

 

 

Linda made sure to keep an eyen on my while she rested in the shade of our palapa.

 

 

Rather than plunge right into the ocean depths, Linda suggested I first spend time practicing my snorkeling in shallow water.

 

 

I just don’t think my glasses will fit him. You have to love those little and sometimes not so little guys.

 

 

We’re not exactly sure what the are, but the grow all around the island. I just a few short hours we’ve come to realize that Navini truly is a place where one must take time to slow down smell the flowers. As they say, there is time and then there is Fiji time.

 

Linda snorkel update: She who detests water in her face donned mask and snorkel today. Sitting in the shallow water she put her face in the water, then later used the snorkel to breath. It may not seem like much to some people, but believe me, for Linda this was a quantum leap forward. That girl really does want to see reef fish and coral. Awesome Linda. Proud Bob.