Well, I didn’t do a very good job of keeping up with the daily log but we had a very full week sightseeing, diving, and moving Raven from anchorage to anchorage while Michelle was visiting us. The majority of the week was spent in the Yasawa group of islands on the northwest side of Fiji. Eventually we started working our way back to Nadi, and started hitting resort facilities and enjoying more civilization.

Highlights include Michelle’s dive training – she proved very competent and completed all her skills and the four required open water dives, plus passed the written exam on the last day of her visit – so now she officially joins her mom and dad as a PADI certified open water diver. One of the dives had exceptionally clear visibility, maybe 60 meters or so. I took my video camera along and got some great footage. On other dives I focused the video in one place to try to accumulate a collection of animated photos of underwater subjects – for example clownfish hiding in their anemones. It will be fun to make a DVD including some of the sights we’re seeing.

One afternoon we all went snorkeling and Rod took his speargun intending to hunt down our dinner – but didn’t find a single fish to shoot. It was looking like peanut butter sandwiches for all, but he dropped Mike and me back at Raven and traded us in for Anouk as his diving buddy. This time when they returned they had a nice Walou (Spanish Mackerel) and a lobster! We enjoyed quite a feast that night of grilled lobster, grilled Walou kebabs, and Walou kokoda (an island style ceviche made with coconut milk).

Another afternoon and evening we went ashore at a nice resort on Mana Island, hiked up a little hill for a great 360 degree view of the surrounding coral reefs, and had a pleasant dinner out at the restaurant overlooking the beach.  Raven, in the distance, fit right in with all the resort’s water toys. And yes, the water really is this color!

From Mana Island we moved on to Musket Cove. We’ve been here before but wanted to share it with Michelle. Musket Cove is a yachtie’s (common term for us sailboat enthusiasts) heaven, with a terrific anchorage and lots of facilities ashore to enjoy, from resort amenities, a nice grocery store, coffee shop, tennis courts, freshwater swimming pools, boutique, dive shop, and on and on. Understandably the anchorage is full of yachts enjoying life here so there’s a lively social life as well. We’ve all joined the Musket Cove Yacht Club – it costs $5.00 (Fijian) for a lifetime membership – the only requirement being that the new member must have arrived there by yacht from a foreign port (we came via Tonga). Boeing 747s don’t count.

Sunday night at Musket Cove is bar-b-que night. We bring whatever we want to grill on their fire; they sell us drinks, salads, garlic bread, and provide china and cutlery, salt & pepper, and even wash the dishes. (An aside – this reminds me of Anouk and the lemon pie story from Tonga – when she purchased a lemon meringue pie from a local bakery in Neiafu, but it came without any packaging other than the pie tin it was baked in. Rod gave her a high speed ride back to the boat in the dinghy and all the meringue blew off into her face!).

Back to Musket Cove, Mike and I retired early befitting the the old folks of the crew, but Michelle stayed behind with Rod and Anouk for more partying and met up with the crew of a sailing yacht named Sapphire, about 120′ long with a permanent crew of six, one of which was entirely in charge of the polishing. Our crew was invited aboard for a late night visit and I think Michelle’s concept of a luxury yacht has now escalated to a whole new level.