Fiji

We are very excited to go back to Fiji and spend a week on the Nai'a, Since there is a direct flight from LAX, it's not really a big deal. It makes up for one of the best diving locations on this planet.

Even though the visibility was not as great as it was last year we got some good shots, such as from the lion fish. Looking up from the view finder after taking the image, I realized that it was right in front of me, starring back at me and not retreating even one inch.

One dive that I missed last time was Kansas and this time I paid attention and took the right turn and it was absolutely great. Now, I even know why this dive is called Kansas.

Live on board was great and there was even video photographer Nick Hope on board, who documented all the dives. This video from BubbleVision has footage from our trip.

It is one of the many traditions of Fiji, as a welcome of other important occasions to partake in a traditional kava ceremony and who would refuse such an invitation, where the entire crew sings local folklore and we all drank freshly made Kava, a brownish liquid - the kava gold.

Fiji

It's not Fuji apples or Mt. Fuji in Japan. No, Fiji is an island country and part of Oceania in the South Pacific. 

We read all about Fiji being the soft coral capital of the world and this time we wanted to go all out and stay on a live-aboard to get the most out of the day. The ship we chose is the Nai'a, which means dolphin in Fijian.

Staying on a boat means that you can dive up to 5 times a day and between eating and sleeping it's the only activity. We took full advantage of that, since diving was the main reason why we picked a live-aboard. The crew operated two skiffs that dropped us off on the dive spot and picked us up when we were done. It is such a convenient way.

We were fortunate enough to have the owner Rob Barrel among the other guests. The crew was very accommodating and we felt at home right away. They did a fantastic job making us feel welcomed and comfortable.

The soft coral are just fantastic when they are open.

Since Fiji is in a different part of the world (at least for us) we saw creatures that were new to us, like this Blue Ribbon Eel.

This Anemone fish was "defending" its anemone or was it hiding in there.

The water is deep blue with fantastic visibility and provides a sense of mystery, since the depthless is lost and you just don't know what is hiding in the unknown.

On kava night, the crew invites everyone to participate in a Fijian Kava ceremony an the dive deck. The bowl with freshly made kava is passed to each person. When the kava comes to you, it's etiquette to follow these steps:

1. Clap your hands once with a cupped hand making a hollow sound
2. Yell: Bula!
3. Drink in one gulp
4. Clap three times with hands cupped to make that hollow sound again

One night we went out and visited a local village where we were we dropped off some needed school material such as pens, notepads etc.

The village also invited us to their kava ceremony. 

We had a great time and on the way back to the US, I was able to celebrate my birthday twice, after we crossed the dateline and my birthday started all over again. Did that just make me one year older?