Josh, Jo and I got back from the Yasawas on Thursday night. Having never been to a tropical destination before, I was beyond stoked to get to those white sandy beaches caked along turquoise waters! My friends here in Suva always make fun of my obsession with seeing “blue water,” which is a result of the fact that beaches in Vancouver consist of murky, cold water. Well, safe to say that the Yasawas were the ultimate beach destination!
We left Suva for Lautoka last Thursday night (Kelly and Mara were also with us at the start of our trip). Our first night was spent in a dingy little hotel where we were greeted by two roaches (thank God we had Josh along to kill them). After a short sleep, we caught a resort boat at 5 am, which was our home for the next 7 hours. We finally arrived at Coral View Resort on Tavewa island by midday, where we got our first glimpse of real Fijian beaches. The resort was essentially a backpackers lodge, so we met some cool people right off the bat. Staff members at Coral View became friends pretty quick too. While on Tavewa, Kelly and I decided to go on a cave trip to the famous Sawa-I-Lau limestone caves on the great Yasawa island. This trip had us on a spectacular 30 minute boat ride to the cave, which sat on one of the loveliest beaches where scenes from the movie Blue Lagoon were filmed. We went inside two caves – the first one was easily accessible, as it was at the end of cement steps, so we just hopped straight into its waters. The second cave required us to hold our breath and swim through a little underwater canal to get to it. In this cave, we could only see with the help of the guide’s flashlight, as there was no natural light shining into it. I put on my goggles and looked beneath the water into the depths of the cave and was blown away! It was an amazing place to visit. That day we also took a short boat trip to the infamous “Blue Lagoon” waters. The actual beach that rests along the waters is privately owned, so we were only able to stay in the boat on the water and feed some fish. Several meters away from that particular beach however lied another beautiful beach that was open to the public, so we spent a few hours snorkeling and sunbathing there. Later after dinner that night, I enjoyed some Fiji Golds next to a bonfire on the beach with new friends and island locals. We visited 3 different islands in the span of 24 hours (Tavewa, Yasawa, Nanuya Levu) and had a great start to our week in the Yasawas!
Mara and Kelly had to come home for a field trip after our time in Tavewa, but the rest of us headed out to my all time favourite island – Nacula. We stayed at the backpackers’ dorms at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. I instantly fell in love with the beach and turquoise waters of Nacula... it was a spectacular place to spend 3 days snorkeling and relaxing. I met some great people and formed a couple of lasting friendships, as one of the couples we met live in Suva as well! One point to note is that the food at Blue Lagoon was absolutely amazing – we were seriously spoiled in that regard – indulged in gourmet meals and desserts, it was fun!
I loved Nacula so much, that I ended up staying an extra night longer than Jo and Josh... they left for Waya island, where I joined them a day later. Waya was beautiful as well – its mountains and vegetation left me feeling like I was in an episode of Lost. We spent one night at the Octopus Resort on Waya, and it was a great way to end our trip. After 6 nights in the Yasawas, we headed back for the mainland where we caught a bus home. Coming back to USP made me realize just how comfortable and happy I am out here... Suva really is home, and it is sweet <3
