We had to get up early this morning to catch our catamaran from Denaru port, Nadi. A coach picked us up from our hostel and drove us to the port. It was full when we got on, as I thought this type of package is popular with travellers. We have selected the 'Tropical Awegasm' package, which is basically hopping around 6 islands in the Yasawa and the Mamanuca Islands. We chose the Full Monty package, which includes all the tours and excursions, so it's a bit like going on our Galápagos cruise, except cheaper. We'll be doing activities like snorkelling, sailing, hiking, swimming/ diving with sharks, caving and so on. Personally I think it's good value and as our accommodation is all booked, so we don't have to worry about that, and all tours are included in the price.

Once we got to the port, we had to check in and pay for the rest of the tour, which took ages. You have to remember that we're on 'Fiji time' now. The coach also picked us up late, so I put that down to this as well. After we checked in. We got given a 'sulu', which is like a sarong type thing. Even John got given one, so i'm expecting him to do a Beckham and wear it while we're on the Islands. We then boarded the catamaran, luckily we got a window seat. On the journey I looked out at all the tropical islsnds we passed along the way. They really are paradise, tiny islands surrounded by palm trees, white sandy beaches and crystal clear, blue waters. We're gonna love spending our anniversary and valentines here.

Beachcomber Island - (Mamanuca group)

The first island we're visiting is Beachcomber. We sailed to it from the port and it took around half an hour to reach there from the port. When we arrived, we were greeted by the locals singing and dancing. You really get a warm welcome from them, and Fijian people are suppose to be amongst the friendliest people in the world. They even shook our hands and said Bula to Fiji, which means hello and welcome to Fiji. After we checked in, we had a welcome drink- a nice cocktail. Afterwards, we got shown to our room. We decided not to stay in dorms, so paid a little more to have our own private room. Luckily we got given a double room as on the form it said you would get twin rooms.

Snorkelling around the coral and feeding fish

Not long after we got here, they asked us if we wanted to go snorkelling. I've only done it in the Galápagos Islands before, but the waters were cold there. Whereas here, they are much warmer, and so clear. We got taken to the snorkel right off the boat in the sea. The instructor was nice and helped me into the water as there wasn't a ladder to climb off. When I got in, the water was so warm and you could see through the water like glass. Once I had got the hang of snorkelling again, we were off and away exploring the turquoise waters. It was the perfect temperature, so was much more enjoyable than snorkelling the cold waters in the Galápagos. There were so many tropical fish swimming right around us, including zebra fish, nemos, and even blue starfish. We swam right above the coral it was amazing to see multi coloured reefs from illuminos orange and yellows, to pinks. I've never seen anything as pretty as that under water. Some sections looked like they could have been a garden arrangement.

After the snorkelling, we got back in the boat went back to shore to get changed, then the boat took us back to feed the fish. It was where we did snorkelling and the zebra fish came up in a feeding frenzy when we gave them some bread. Some other kinds of fish came up, but haven't a clue as to what they are called, and some fairly large yellow ones too. I've never seen so many fish come up to feed in one spot. I actually enjoyed feeding them and watching them eat.

We actually went snorkelling again in the afternoon and fed more fish, which was really good again. Although this time we had to swim back to shore from what seemed like the middle of the ocean. I'm not a good swimmer, so it was really hard to snorkel back to shore, especially when I kept getting water up my nose.

After that we needed some relaxation time, so we just chilled out in the bar area. Fiji has such a laid back relaxed atmosphere, there's no pressure to do anything. We did walk around the whole island, which took all of 7 minutes. It's a little Robinson Crusoe island no doubt. When we came back a guy asked John to play volleyball. He's never played it before so he gave it a go. While the two of them played, I did some blog as I am still even further behind on them now. Not long after it was just 2 of them playing, the locals joined in, so it became a full on game of volleyball, where there was about 16 people playing. It was great to watch, as the Fijians are up for getting everyone involved and it was funny watching them cavorting around. Although it was John's first time playing, he was good at it as usual.

Limbo

After dinner, the bar staff gather everyone together, kind of 18-30s holiday style. They called people up to do limbo dancing, and surprisingly, John volunteered himself to do it. I sat out and watched everyone trying to limbo under a pole. On each new round, the notch on the pole would go down lower, making it harder for people to get under it. John didn't do too well at this game, probably as he was too tall. Most of the ladies doing it did rather well, and one guy and girl (a couple) were crowned joint winners.

Bula Time

After getting everyone started on the dance floor doing the limbo, we all got called to do the Bula dance. It's like a Fijian version of the Macarena, so we all learned the dance moves and started Bula-ing! It was a bit of fun and got everyone in the party mood. I have a cold at the moment, so couldn't really drink properly. Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow as alcohol is included so want to take advantage of that!