Fiji Fun Facts:

• The traditional Fijian greeting is "bula!" You will hear this exclamation approximately 1,500 times a day, from absolutely everyone you meet. Eventually it becomes an automatic response to anyone you encounter, including animals.
• When traveling in Fiji, you will soon become acquainted with the phrase "Fiji time," which is a quaint way of saying that no one here can be bothered to show up at the appointed time. This includes buses, by the way.
• Based on my calculations, approximately 98% of visitors to Fiji are devastatingly good-looking and speak at least three languages.

NAVITI, YASAWA ISLANDS, FIJI

Last night we were cornered by the hyperactive Scotsman who runs the scuba shop at Manta Ray resort. Since Chris hasn't dived in about 15 years, he decided to try an introductory dive this morning, as did James from Southampton. I went along to snorkel, as I didn't need the refresher, and they were diving just off the beach at Manta Ray.

According to Chris, the scuba sights weren't that great, but I thought the snorkeling was the best so far--the water was clear, and there were tons of fish that didn't seem afraid of me at all. I saw large schools of chromis, cornetfish, Picasso triggers, and giant needlefish, as well as some big trevally, some giant clams, two fantail filefish, a reef pipefish, and a little yellow spotted trunkfish. I also came across another shark--this one was a whitetip. I actually followed it around for awhile, as it was swimming pretty slowly, but then I had to back off when I realized I was getting a little too close!

After the divers put up their scuba gear, James and I hung out on the beach for a bit before doing some more snorkeling (we saw another emperor angel and a snowflake moray).

At night: Yes, more dancing. This time, the grass-skirt guys performed the Fijian Fire Dance, which was actually quite thrilling. Mainly because the dancers weren't that good, and kept dropping flaming batons dangerously close to the spectators. Now that's entertainment.