Kandavu!

Now we are currently tied to an old mooring chain that James found wrapped around a coral head in about 45ft of water on the southwest end of Kandavu.
Kandavu is about 60 miles from the main land of Viti Levu and is known for it's incredible diving/snorkeling on the Astrolabe reef and for the famous King
Kong surf break on this south side where we are. We planned to only be here for a couple of days but the spot has been absolutely wonderful with the clear
water, colorful corals, & sandy beaches keeping us here for a week already. There is a village near by which we made peace with right away with a Sevusevu
and with the help of a local named Abel. He has been sort of the middle
man between us and the villagers which appears to be the role he has taken on for many years now. There is a small resort on the little island off the shore
which gets alot of tourists for the surf so Abel deals with them. Right now the resort is empty and only two woman stay on the island
for caretaking. James turned out to be their hero for he ended up fixing both their generators, two washer and dryers, binoculars, and speakers! THey were very kind and we were happy to help. Yesterday we took out a couple of our friends surf boards out and had one of the best surfing days of our lives. With only our
friends off of Madeline here with us, we had these perfect little waves all to ourselves. James and I caught the last wave of the
day together and road it all the way into shore before we had to go and attend another kava session with Abel(our 3rd one since our stay:-(, We're not such
kava fans, and sitting for hours cross legged fans) Oh well, all part of the experience. One more highlight of Kandavu was when the only other boat to visit here
in this past week, the mega yacht called Kahala Kai, invited us over for cocktails turned dinner. It was an ironic experience because this boat used to
be in the Ala Wai harbor with us in Hawaii for many years. It had a different owner at the time but same boat now in a little bay of Fiji with us! The American
owner had 2 friends aboard with him and 4 crew working round the clock creating a surreal experience. Even the owner was still in awe about what a great life
and set up he was living;2 jet skies, 2 fast tendors, 12 surf boards, 8 scuba set-ups, kite-boards, bikes, ect... We all sat around the dinner table on the
3rd floor balcony with huge gourmet steak dinners and apple crisp pie ala modes telling old sailing stories and laughing every once in a while when we'd think
about the situation we were lucky enough to be in.