CORAL COAST, FIJI

Chris is still too sick to do much of anything, so he stayed behind this morning while I went on a three-hour "jungle trek" with a local guide named Juta and three other Beachhouse guests: Richard, Ali, and Greg. We walked from the resort to the village of Navola, where Juta stopped to pick up a machete, then hiked inland, where we were joined by his dog, One Eye (which--perhaps not coincidentally--had only one eye). On the way, Juta pointed out a number of plants growing wild: coconut, taro, bamboo, mango, pineapple, ginger, and pandanus, as well as a number of medicinal plants.

We trekked pretty deep into the jungle for over an hour, wading through streams and deep mud, until we reached the "showering rock," a series of waterfalls with a swimming hole below. The water there was actually cold, and felt great after the hike, so we climbed up the cascades and swam for awhile before slogging back through the jungle. It was exhausting, but fun.

People met today:

• Richard and Ali, a couple from Oxford, UK who just arrived after a week in Samoa.
• Greg, 26, from Virginia, who was traveling in French Polynesia, and is on his way to study in Australia, then in Switzerland. I can also verify that he is able to eat ten mangoes in one sitting.
• Karen and Matt, mother and son from South Dakota. They're going on to New Zealand, where Matt will be studying for a semester at a college near Christchurch.