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All about the fishes

SOOOO, it's been a while since i have got this to work so i'll let you know what i have been up to.

The first week in Fiji was very different to the cook islands, we could tell it was bigger even before we had got off the plane as they were storing jumbo jets on the runway, and in the Cooks you can only have one on the runway at a time. It was also in the middle of the night during a huge thunder storm which turned out to be the tail end of the latest cyclone to hit the island. We were supposed to be picked up but the driver from our hostel must have had the night off as there was no one at the airport to see us. One of the guys who was the driver from the hostel down the road said he would take us, so in we jumped and he turned out to be an alright fella. He told us it had been raining solidly for three weeks, and that town was flooded. When we got to the hostel we were actually booked in and we got a key from the security guard who had been asleep by the looks of things.

The place was alright but the staff were all moody and there was no real area for people just to mingle. We couldn't get into town because of the rain so it was if we were stuck in Nadi. I went over the road and booked into do my PADI course which is what i wanted to do but Mia had trouble as she has asthsma. Sofor me the rest of the week was all about diving.

My instructor was called Kuki, I also had two trainee dive masters, Riga (Fiji) and Nick (UK) who were both really helpful for the whole time. There was a dutch girl called Sonja doing the course as well but the language barrier between her and Kuki was a bit of a problem. The first day we spent in the pool was cool or i should say bloody freezing as it is heated by the sun and it was 9am...so not warm. It took me a few seconds to get used to breathing underwater but i soon had it down to a fine artish.

The next day was our first open water session and the idea was to go down to 12m below holding onto the rope at the front of the boat. Initially i had a problem with my regulator but i soon got over that and was heading down making sure my ears popped on the way down. The water wasn't very clear but we did have quite a lot to see coral wise. We did a few exercises under water and then a small tour of the pinnicle we were at. There were lots of Lion fish, also known as the weeping tide as if they sting you you'll be crying as the tide goes in and out. Golden Damsel fish are pretty and lots of nemos.

Soon we were back on the boat for our break before heading to the sunflower patch. Down we went again and i found it a lot easier this time. In fact i went down and had to wait for Sonja, who couldn't equalize, for about 10 minutes. All the time Riga was asking if i was okwhich was cool, i was busy looking at the fish, again we did some exercises before going on a brief tour of the area, there were loads of little fish and a sting ray, sea eels and lots of coral, some of which looked like giant cabbage.

Then back to the boat and back to dry land. We had an american couple diving as well and they saw lots of eels and an octopus. Don and Bea were their names and they were alright. Back on dry land I found out that Mia had been into town and been ripped off by the so called freindliest people in the world who try and get you in to their shops and buy a load of crap you dont want. So that was an unpleasent thing for her, but we did find out a load of people had had it done to them also.

Next day I was back in the boat for the final open water dives and later in the day the exam. We picked up Don adn Bea and an Ozzie called Sue. On the way to the dive site Don called out as he thought he had seen a shark, we all looked and there was a grey thing floating in the water, then we thought it could be an injured dolphin. Either way than span the boat around and fired towards it, Riga hooked it out the water and the boat had gained a tv screen, ha ha. It was just floating there, and soon jokes about watching sky were being thrown about the boat.

The first dive was fine, we had to go to 18m below. There was a rope but we wernt allowd to touch it, just use it as a visual reference. I found it a lot easier than the day before and felt very comfortable in the water. Again i had to wait for Sonja to come down the rope and i sat on the sea bed with Nick holding onto a chain before doing some underwater compass work. Then another tour around the reef. Then back to the surface for our break. As usual we had cookies and fruit juice, there were two other boats around as well but we couldnt see what they were looking at until four dolphins flew out the water in the wake of the boat.AWESOME!!!

On our second dive we had to drop to 12m again and have on reference at all, but we also had to keep an eye on the bottom of the ocean as there was coral all over the floor. I found it easy going and again Sonja had trouble. We only had two exercises left so most of the time was spent swimming with the fishes of all shapes and sizes. As i was waiting I saw two big Walu fish which are like tuna and bloody huge about 2m long. The tour was really cool just looking at all the sea life and coral. I'm really glad i did the course, Kuki gave me a big hug under water which almost knocked my mask off, but i could tell he was pleased and the other guys were all really pleased for me.

Soon though it was back to the boat and back to dry land as we neede to take our test. It was a boiling afternoon and i had forgotten my sun cream so was also dealing with a sunburnt foot. yea i know...a foot!!! So there we were taking the exam and all the 259 pages of the book suddenly went out of my head, but after 10 minutes i was back on form and answering all the questions. It isn't the hardest exam in the world and it is multiple choice but it's nice to know you know what you're talking about. So i passed with flying colours with a nice score of 96%.

That night was one to celebrate so we had a cocktail at smugglers cove a hostel down the road, which knocked me for six. We also found out that the next day was our last day in the hostel so we had to sort our selves out. Mia had spoken to a scotish lady with hairy armpits who was staying at the tropic of capricorrn hostel and had told her of Mary who was really good at sorting stuff out for poeple. So seeing mary was the mission for the next day.

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