Started earlier than the usual “Fiji time” timing as I had planned an island visit to Modriki in the afternoon and I would need to get my meals on time.
Went for breakfast with more variety today, since we were earlier too. Ate and went to sit at the beach in front of the resort. Just sitting there with my wife felt really nice, watching the wave crashing against the shore and the cool breeze blowing. Best relaxation.
Went back to our room and I dozed off on the hammock. Woke up at noon and went for lunch. Had wedges since I was due to board a speedboat to the Castaway island and didn’t wanted to overfill myself. My wife had the fried cashew nut dish which somehow led me to feel that it was like a Chinese dish. It was tasty nonetheless.
I had rushed to pick up my stuff, put on sunblock and bring my snorkeling gear before heading to the dive shop for the trip.
Registered and found that only 5 people including myself was leaving for the trip. Had to wait further for others to get prepared too. Boarded a speed boat and about 10mins later, we jetted off to Modriki island, about 10mins boat ride away from Matamonoa.
The captain of the boat was also the tour guide and upon reaching the island, he showed us some of the film locations, told us Tom Hanks was staying in Mana island during the filming, showed us the rock where he wrote stuff and the burial ground and some other minor details. In about 20mins max, the tour was done. We had about 1.5hrs of free time to take photo and snorkel nearby. There was a couple from China who were snorkeling for the first time. I gave them a few tips on checking the gear and using the snorkeling mask and they went their own ways.
After some preparations, I went to snorkel at the waters beside the powdery white beach. The tide was a little strong as tide was receding to low tide. There were quite a bit of corals that were very close to the beach. There was also much deeper areas further away where I couldn’t see much so in the end, I kept close to the corals. That wasn’t such a good idea. There were some times that I couldn’t see that I was going too close to shore and the corals and I scratched myself when the tide carried me over these corals. Had to struggle to get to deeper waters and the tide. The guide at one time was also screaming to me about the receding low tide and told me to swim out in order to avoid the corals. What a scary experience.
At 330pm, we all boarded the boat back to Matamanoa. Once back, I returned the gears that I rented for 3days straight and went to my wife whom have been lounging at the sun deck watching shows on her handphone, thoroughly enjoying herself. Went to the reception to get help on the cuts to my thighs and my hands and they brought me a lemon. It was to detoxify the cuts from corals, that could lead to infections. That bites!!
Went back to get a bath before heading out to catch the sunset for the last day on the island. It was a beautiful one, cloudless skies with full view of the sun. We stayed till twilight before heading back for a bath and then dinner.
At dinner, we took the seats near the viewing deck as it was less windy surprisingly. Ordered chicken and tuna for mains and tried the seafood chowder and seafood entree. The food was good though the speed at which it was served was slow – Fiji time for dinner I guessed.
The singing trio that did table to table dedications came to our table today. We asked for a Bon Jovi song and settled for Bed of Roses, so they didn’t know all the songs (certainly not “Thank you for loving me” and “Can’t take my eyes off you”). Even for the Bed of Roses, they had to refer to a lyrics sheet, and I was holding the lighting from the singer’s handphone to help him see. That was funny but it was good fun.
After this, there was the usual welcome to the newcomers and also farewell to those leaving and we belonged to the later group. The staff sang a low beat farewell song and it struck home that we were leaving this beautiful island the next morning. Technically, we were still on a holiday trip, but somehow this seemed like the end of an awesome one and we were going somewhere less enjoyable.
Deserts was served really late, Fiji time. We returned back to our rooms to pack for the return tomorrow. I spent a little time out on the beach chair outside our room to enjoy the last bit of the starry night and the crashing wave before retiring for the night.