Laughter in the Yasawas

On Monday 9th May, I arrived outside Blue Lagoon to a warm welcome kiss and hug from Tim and some of the other check in staff who remembered me.   And while I was filling in my forms at the desk, I jumped when someone came up behind me and pinched my bum!  I looked around and Carol and Rochelle were standing behind me all excited about the trip.  And there, the laughing began.  I can honestly say the week was wonderful not just because we were in a little place resembeling paradise, but because we had so much fun and laughter together with some of the other passengers.

Looking around the check in lounge to see who else was checking in, there were quite a few older people, some using walking sticks which caused us to raise an eyebrow given what we knew about the activities of the trip, even when it came to walking up and down the stairs between decks when the vessel was moving and hopping in and out of tenders from the ship to the beach.  Then in contrast, there appeared to be several lovey dovey couples, possibly honeymooners, so before we'd even boarded the bus (on the instructions that the young and fit should board first and fill from the rear) it appeared to be the cruise for the 'newly-weds and nearly-deads' as Rochelle put it, (and us)!  What would the week have in store?

I was the last off the bus when we reached the wharf and was delighted to be welcomed by the captain I'd met on my first cruise, the three day one where I had to leave the ship mid cruise, the one who had sent me off with tin foil filled with fresh fruit and bread because I hadn't had time to finish my lunch.  Always nice to see familiar faces and be remembered!

After finding our cabins, we gathered for the welcome meeting in the dining room, where we were offered afternoon tea as the vessel left the wharf.  It  was time to meet the crew and  I was so pleased to have some of my favourite crew travelling with us and was greeted by Sana the head barman with a warm hug.  I shouldn't have favourites but if I did, he would be it because he's always smiling and makes the most amazing cocktails with fruit garnishes and umbrellas!!

 
After the welcome we moved into the information and safety briefing and as Big Joe, our cruise director, introduced us to the the vessel, facilities and procedures on board, he was interrupted every so often by a passenger who seemed to think she knew more about it than he did.  Eyebrows were raised at our table as this very large woman with the gravelly voice of a longtime cigarette smoker continued to undermine the experienced cruise director by telling him what to say and how to say it.  Well as it transpired, this was a woman who had travelled with Blue Lagoon before and she was very keen to let everyone know that this was her fourth cruise.  But sitting next to me was Carol, my friend from New Zealand who was on her 21st cruise, who had started coming with her parents many years ago and continued to make it an annual visit even after her parents had passed away.  Interestingly Carol didn't feel the need to tell the crew how to do their jobs and Rochelle and I wondered how long it would be before someone would put the other woman in her in her place.  

Radhouane & Monica

The dynamics of this group were much different from the last trip, possibly because elderly people were part of a group of old school friends holidaying together and two dining tables were put together so they could eat as a large group.  There were a few more eurpoeans on this trip too, a couple from Austria, a German couple and a French couple who were living in New Caledonia (another pacific island a couple of hours flight from Fiji).  Unlike last time when everyone mingled at mealtimes and sat at different tables, this time, probably because of the big group of old school friends,  as early as the first night, people formed groups and sat together at each mealtime.   Rochelle, Carol and I joined up with the Austrian couple, Monika and Radhouanne and the French couple, Genvieve and Jean-Francois.  I have to say, it was the most delightful combination which had us laughing our way through every mealtime. I  was quite amazed that, English-English, New Zealand-English, French and German and the different meanings and pronunciation of words and language barriers could have us entertained night after night!  The french lady told me in french how different I was from the stereotypical English person they imagine and I have so say, I thought the same of them;  they didn't fit my stereotype of middle aged french people either, they were great fun. 

Rochelle, Big Joe & Carol

Our first full day was a visit to the village in the morning for the welcome ceremony, the kava ceremony and then traditional entertainment from the villagers.  I had been there before and seen the same thing take place but it was still interesting to be back again and join in with the dancing.  The afternoon was spent then on a beach, a beach I hadn 't been to before which was great to go somewhere different.  The West facing beach didn't offer very much shade and got quite hot so once we had been for the first of many snorkelling trips, Rochelle and I found it most comfortable to sit in the sea while we were served refreshing Fiji Gold (beer)!

The second day was more of the same, sun untouched beach, beautiful snorkelling, lunch on the beach, a perfect day before an evening which was to be the 'cross dressing' evening.  Well, much to our surprise, the group of old school friends really pulled the stops out for that one and they seemed to enjoy themselves enormously.  There was one rather strange German gentleman (and I say that because some of his behaviour up until that point had been quite odd, so mcuh so that I wondered whether he may actually have had an illness) who came to cocktail hour dressed in his wife's bathing costume and proceeded to use of the uprights on the SkyDeck to do a poledance for all of us to see.  It had us all in hysterics and some of the newlywed 'women' also join in.   The gravelly voiced lady arrived at the Sky Bar wearing Big Joe's (Cruise Director) uniform shirt and proceeded to tell all the crew that she was now their boss.  Eyebrows were raised yet again, and not just by Rochelle and I but by other passengers who were starting to get fed up with the way she treated the crew.  But then the door opened and in walked Carol in the Captain's uniform, looking very official (apart from the buttons undone flashing a little bit of cleavage!) and you should have seen the other womans face!  Priceless! 

On the thursday, there would normally be a visit to the school at Nacula to hear the kids sing but as it was school holidays we weren't able to do it this time.  Such a shame as they sing with such enthusasm, its so loud that when you leave the hall your ears are ringing just like you'd been in a nightclub!  So it meant we had an extra morning on the beach.  And then an afternoon spent on another beach and more snorkelling.

It sounds like there isn't much to tell, just another beach, another snorkelling trip...but its as if I didn't stop all week.  Days started at 6am for the early morning swim on a deserted beach, returning to the vessel to shower for breakfast.  After breakfast to the beach in the tenders and no sooner were we set up on the beach then it would be time for snorkelling.  After that it would be morning tea, followed by swimming then back to the boat for lunch while we moved to another beach for more snorkelling, afternoon tea then back to the boat for the evening.  Defintely not much time for lying in the sun!  I did take my kindle to the beach each time in a special plastic protective wallet but I was glad I'd finshed the last book at the hotel because I barely got through one chapter of the new book during that week!

  

On the Friday, unsurprisingly we were taken to another beach, probably the most beautiful beach of the whole week, champagne sand stretching around a bay of crystal turquoise water.  And something new, we were invited to hike up the hill behind the beach which was the highest point of the narrow island for views of the beaches and reefs on both sides.  It was a hot walk in the humid heat but so worth it when we saw the view from the top.  And some of the older passengers made it too which was pretty impressive.  But what we should remember that we walked part of the route the children from the village walk or run on their two mile trek to school each day.  Its beautiful but life for the people who live there isn't easy, that's for sure.

Friday night was the national anthem competition and I was the only Brit so I was looking for ways to avoid having to stand up and sing on my own.  My Kiwi companions made up of Rochelle and Carol, Jason and Louise and another older couple agreed that as commonwealth members, they would help me out.  Some of the older australians said they'd help out too so I mentioned it to another table of Aussies I'd been talking and basically asked them to join in if they wanted to to help me out.  Now I know that there are quite a proportion of Australians who want to see the country become a republic and given the spirit of the evening, I was quite taken aback by the response I got from one woman who was actually married to a man born in Bristol!  She said, 'We're Australians, why would we sing the national anthem?'.  On face value I see her point but in the circumstances, all I was asking was for help to avoid having to sing on my own.

So I got up with the Kiwis, fumbled my way through the New Zealand national anthem, especially the Maori bit which they had kindly written out phoenetically for me so I could pronounce it!  When that was over, I stepped forward and most of the room got up and stood behind me.  I was quite surprised at the support I got!!!  We sang a rousing version of God Save the Queen, much to the displeasure of the small group who didn't want to join in being Australians.  I don't blame them if they didn't want to join in but the way they spoke to me before and after was not very Australian!!   After us, the Canadians sang their anthem, we all joined in humming the Marseillaise and then the Star Spangled Banner before there were calls for the Austrian couple to sing theirs.  Well Radhouanne is actually from Tunisia but Monika was persuaded to do what I wasn't brave enough to do so she stood up and sang the Austrian anthem on her own.  Then the last person to get up was the slightly odd German man who caused outrage among some of the other passengers by singing a pro-Nazi song.  LIke I said, maybe there was something wrong with him but it did cause a stir!

Bigger fish at the fish feeding session - with teeth!

The last full day of the cruise was the day we spent on Nanuya Lailai, the Blue Lagoon private island.  It was a lovely day which started with an early morning swim and breakfast while the Mystique Princess was reversed up to the beach and tied to a coconut tree again.  The difference this time was that the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  Last time Rochelle, Carol and I were there it was overcast, it rained and the beach party had to be cancelled so it was a positive start.  

Once we had found our spots in sunbeds and hammocks on the beach, it was time to feed the fish which is one of my favourite parts of the week.  Snorkelling above the reef surrounded by hundreds of zebra fish and other coloured fish as they fight to eat all the bread which is being thrown in the water.   Then a brief intermission to sit on our sunbeds and something dropped out of the tree above me and landed on my head which made me squeal, as I shook my hair, it landed on my sunglasses and all I could see was this thing right above my eye.  It then dropped onto the sunbed and I realised it was a small stick-like insect.  I haven't had chance to look up what it was but it proceeded to walk up my arm and back down again for a while.  Very cute.

Mika on his way down the coconut tree

Again, we had a lesson in what you can do with a coconut but unlike last time when they collected fallen coconuts for us, they asked Mika to go up the tree and get a few down.  Bare hands and feet, he was up the tree in no time throwing coconuts down to us and then climbed back down without taking the skin of his knees which of course he made look very easy but I wouldn't like to try it!  After the demonstration, Joe sent us to the bar with an open coconut and told us to go and get a shot of rum and a straw put in it.  Yum!

After that, more snorkelling, then lunch while the chefs prepared the Lovo oven for our dinner. The afternoon could have been quiet but Rochelle and I collected left over bread from lunch and went back to feed the fish and afterwards drank green coconut juice while with some of the crew while the remainder of the crew played volleyball.

  

 

That evening, dinner was served on shore, we watched as the chefs unearthed the meat and root vegetables from the Lovo oven and then were invited to tuck in.  It was delicious,  lovely tender slow cooked meats and my favourite, Kokoda.

The Chefs unearthing dinner

After dinner, there was a thank you from Joe to all passengers and we thanked the crew for a great week.  Joe singled some of us out as returning passengers, starting with the gravelly voiced lady announcing her 4th cruise.  Rochelle got a mention for her second.  I got a special mention for my 3rd cruise and because I was returning the following week for the Historic and Cultural Cruise and then he asked Carol to stand up.  He thanked her for her 21st cruise and all the years of support she'd given the company.  Again, the other woman's face was priceless.  Never mind, she'll get to 21 cruises eventually!

Then the prize for the  national anthem singing was announced and much to my embarassment, I won a bottle of bubbly for my effort!  Of course it wouldn't go round the whole group who had supported me, but I decided to share it with Monica and Radhouane as Monica had done well to get up on her own to sing for Austria.   But there were mumblings from the next table of Aussies, the ones who were snipy the night before whinging bec ause I'd had help with my anthem.   Well we were about to be invited to join with our fellow countrymen again to do a show so while everyone else was preparing songs in groups, I decided to make a point and prove the whinging aussies wrong.  After the old school friends did Waltzing Matilda and the Kiwis did Po Kerikeri Ana, I got up and sang Jerusalem (chosen for the reference to England).  I was shaking as I sang but pulled it off, just about.  And the whinging aussies didn 't even get up and perform at all.   Well that certainly shut them up!

Then there was the dancing.  We were told that the bar and the music would go on as long as the last person was standing, but eventually, as people went back to the ship and to bed, Rochelle and I were the last ladies standing and we were joined on the dancefloor by some of the chefs who were finally finished with their cooking and allowed to let their hair down.  That went on for a while but eventually it became apparent as the bar was packed up and tables cleared that we had to get back to the ship.   Reluctantly we got on the last tender and that was the end of  the fabulous last night.

The following morning, after the early morning swim and a final goodbye to the fish we'd been feeding the day before, the Mystique Princess set sail once again back to Lautoka.  As I would have the same cabin for the next cruise the following week, my suitcase stayed on board so all I needed was an overnight bag to see me through the overnight stay in Lautoka.

As I departed the vessel, I was met by Tim half way down the gangplank with an invitation to join him and some friends for dinner later that night at the Northern Club and of course, I accepted.

To be continued....