Thirteen Days at Sea: On the Way to the South Pacific

"Blue Lagoon", The beach on the other side of Yasawa I-rara Island.

This is my first leisure cruise. It brought me to the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia. One of the best vacations I had - "living the life" as one friend quipped.

I was planning to get a decent DSLR but decided not to. I was paying off the cost of the cruise!But see some of the pictures I took with my point and shoot Olympus digicam:

"Artifact - Sea Cones"

Taken on the island of Yasawa-I-rara, off the coast of Fiji on the Nadi side of the island. The Yasawa group of islands extend up to 90 kilometers long on the western side of Fiji.

The Yasawa I-rara island is remote and not develop at all, no touristy shops just a virgin island, unspoilt. There's only a small village, a community center and a church. One of the best islands I've been to. The locals are nice and friendly. According to the P & O staff, they don't go there much so as not to spoil the tranquility of the island and the villagers. I hope it stays that way!

Villagers Unloading from a Day in the Market.

With our ship and tenders (the orange small boats, that ferries us to and from the cruise ship); as background, these residents of Yasawa I-rara unloads the week's shopping. It took them a three-hour ride by boat one way to shop and barter on the main island of Viti-Levu (where Suva, Nadi and Lautoka are).

"Shells"

Bula! A less formal greeting which literally means "health" and "life". The western equivalent of "hello", but in a more meaningful and substantive way, like the Hawaiian "Aloha" and the Filipino's "Mabuhay".