TAVEWA, YASAWA ISLANDS, FIJI
Just after sunrise, Chris and I walked through the tide pools in front of the resort, and came across a two-foot-long banded sea krait, the most common sea snake in Fiji. They're not aggressive at all, although their venom is several times more deadly than a cobra's. The locals sometimes pick them up to show how harmless they are, but I wasn't that brave.
During breakfast a squall blew in, and it poured down rain for an hour or so. We abandoned our plans to do anything on the other side of the island, and instead snorkeled just in front of the resort. Surprisingly, once we made it out a few dozen yards, there was a great variety of live staghorn, lettuce, brain, and plate corals, and a dropoff with some large coral heads. There were more fish than I'd seen so far here, too, including harlequin filefish, trumpetfish, puffers, gobies, blue runners, various triggerfish, and a moray eel. I also saw another sea snake poking around on the bottom about 20 feet down. Or maybe it was the same one--they all kind of look alike.
I took it easy in the afternoon, while Chris rented a kayak and paddled around the eastern part of the island. At one point, I woke up from my nap to hear some horrible screaming from down the beach. At first I thought someone was in trouble in the ocean; then I realized it was a pig squealing. I found out later that some locals actually dragged it out of the woods and into the sea to drown it, rather than slaughtering it in the traditional way. Ah, life in the islands! Actually, it was kind of disturbing. Even more disturbing: No pork chops for dinner, just a curry buffet.
People met today:
Just after sunrise, Chris and I walked through the tide pools in front of the resort, and came across a two-foot-long banded sea krait, the most common sea snake in Fiji. They're not aggressive at all, although their venom is several times more deadly than a cobra's. The locals sometimes pick them up to show how harmless they are, but I wasn't that brave.
During breakfast a squall blew in, and it poured down rain for an hour or so. We abandoned our plans to do anything on the other side of the island, and instead snorkeled just in front of the resort. Surprisingly, once we made it out a few dozen yards, there was a great variety of live staghorn, lettuce, brain, and plate corals, and a dropoff with some large coral heads. There were more fish than I'd seen so far here, too, including harlequin filefish, trumpetfish, puffers, gobies, blue runners, various triggerfish, and a moray eel. I also saw another sea snake poking around on the bottom about 20 feet down. Or maybe it was the same one--they all kind of look alike.
I took it easy in the afternoon, while Chris rented a kayak and paddled around the eastern part of the island. At one point, I woke up from my nap to hear some horrible screaming from down the beach. At first I thought someone was in trouble in the ocean; then I realized it was a pig squealing. I found out later that some locals actually dragged it out of the woods and into the sea to drown it, rather than slaughtering it in the traditional way. Ah, life in the islands! Actually, it was kind of disturbing. Even more disturbing: No pork chops for dinner, just a curry buffet.
People met today:
- Ben and Kay from Perth, Australia, on a two-week holiday. She's a manager in the mental health field; he works for the Australian government's Sport and Recreation Department, or something like that. As part of his job, he takes troubled kids on Outward Bound-type hikes in Western Australia. They gave me some great tips on how not to be suckered by merchants in Bali.
posted by John Kuge at 7:04 PM
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