Surprise!

Christmas in Malta with the family!

24th-27th December 2007

Yes a quick visit to Malta for Christmas with the family was on the cards too! It was a surprise to all including myself! I have spent 3 nights here and that's not long enough!

I leave today for London and I will fly back to Bali tomorrow. I look forward to being back in the tropics but I must admit a little taste of the Maltese winter made quite a refreshing change. I found the Mediteranean winter cozy fuzzy and warm, or was that being home with family?

Unfortunately I wont be here for little Soraya's Christening this Saturday. When we booked the flight (approx 4 weeks ago) the flights around NYE were all fully booked which meant that the last date I could stay for was the 27th Dec. I will miss her and also miss being there for her Christening.

Little Soraya

Bula Fiji!

I got in after dark and grabbed a cab to my hotel. Finally back on the Equator and I'm warm at last! Here for just 2 weeks and judging on the number of islands on my wish list maybe I should have stuck to the original plan and stayed in Fiji longer ;)


Eventually I had a plan appropriate for the time allotted. First stop was to be the southern part of the Mamanuca Archipelago. Destination: Mana Island. This is where 'Survivor' was filmed and the film set still stands (apparently). I found out that the area offers surfing, diving, palm trees, white sandy beaches and turquoise waters, not a bad start. So off I went. I jumped onto the 10am boat which left from the beach. This meant I had to walk past the hotel pool onto the sand & past the hammocks and out onto the public area of the beach which is where the boat was. It doesn't get easier than this. Once we were off it was great.


The average Londoner gets their first glance of Fiji on the ITV's 'Love Island' series. My memory of this is still vividly strong ...I, wrapped up in a blanket, in my apartment on weekday evening watching the silly contestants on the said program being whisked off to 'Their Island' on a power boat. That deep cobalt blue and the occasional turquoise over a shallow reef or a sand bank and there I was wrapped up under a blanket wondering what I was doing in London, it was winter and miserably cold. Im an island girl (let me re-qualify that, I was born on a warm island, Im a warm island girl) I should be in the sun & at the water's edge. And here I am now..... :)


When the boat left we hit that cobalt sea and went passed reefs and sand banks of our own and I had a big smile on my face. I got to Mana and checked in at my beach abode.


The only problem with Fiji is that once you are there you have to sign up for an all inclusive food package.... not at all my style AND they simply just do not do Fresh Fruit Juices on Mana Island. You can get your hands on the occasional young coconut but it does feel like you're asking a favour each time you ask for one. Apart from that its beautiful.


I had planned to spend 2 or 3 nights on Mana Island, then head off to the islands east of Viti Levu for some good diving in Gau and a chat to those involved in a marine conservation project there. I would have happily spent a few days there and then headed further south to the island of Kadavu for some great surfing off Cape Washington and diving on the world famous Astrolabe Reef.


However ....I decided to do my Emergency First Response (EFR) course...


followed by my Rescue Diver course. I had some good company on the courses; Philipp from Switzerland, Francis a French Canadian and Andrew friend of childhood buddie Nick Borg and instructor with sense of humour. And I will never forget the look on all their faces when I dropped Philipp! I was practising the rescue of an unresponsive diver, we had to drag our mute, limp buddies out of the water... I choose Philipp as my victim and managed to carry him by draping him on my back as required. I must have taken 3 steps out of the water onto the sandy beach before I collapsed under his weight and dropped him (on me - ouch) this I found out revived him pretty quickly... and reduced us all to fits of laughter. I only wish I had someone photo document the course - it would have been great.

Philipp, Andrew, Tash

On Thursday having passed my Rescue Diver exam with 98% (what a nerd!!hehe) I decided to carry on to ..guess what ....the Dive Master course! Haha Im a Pro Diver now... IM a Divemaster and boy it was an intense time.

I had to dash to the mainland to get a doc's medical stating that Im fit to dive. A prerequisite of the course. There was a cyclone warning out and I was to take the 12am boat there and the 3pm boat back to Mana the last boat before the cyclone. By the time I came back the cyclone warning had been upgraded to a hurricane warning and the island was strangely quiet. I of course, had to get my nose back into the books but I did take a couple of minutes to document the amazing sunset that night which would have been the calm before the storm...


The Hurracaine never came. It missed our little island which was probably a good thing but having made sure my bed was far away from a coconut palm I was quite looking forward to the storm. The DM course itself was quite an experience. A DM course usually takes 3/4 weeks and I did it in 6 days. My brain reached (& passed) a state of saturation: Physics, Physiology and Technical Equipment were just 3 of many subjects undertaken. I tell you the Vodka Tonics at Ed's Bar with Andrew (instructor) Lizzie (office girl) and Tui (Dive Shop Director) on Nadi on my last night in Fiji were complimentary and well deserved. :)))


I think I will most probably be back one day and the next time I will try and go for that longer period required. When I came to leave, the friends that were seeing me off and I noticed a cloud in the sky. It was in the shape of a boomerang. We like to think this confirms matters. Yes, I will see other parts of Fiji, one day.

It was fun.