Agnes Lodge, Munda, Solomon Islands - 12.14.2010

12.12.2010 – “The Old Backbackers Room” – Agnes Lodge, Munda, Solomon Islands

Hello reading audience! I miss you all! Aimee and I have passed the one-month mark in our travels this week, and I’m happy to say we’re still a couple! That’s not to say we haven’t wanted to throw things at each other from time to time, but on average things are going swimmingly! After waiting at the lagoon-view “Bamboo Bar” in Gizo for our boat to arrive, we threw back our cans of SolBrew (the local lager that, in my newest, yet rather crude quote, can be described as such: “it’s like sex in a canoe – fucking close to water”) and headed to the docks. After waiting for 10 minutes or so (the boat was supposed to leave sometime between 12:00pm and 4:00pm…), we asked a bloke sitting behind a bar-looking structure if the boat to Munda had shown up yet, at which point he became rather frantic, pointed to the next wharf down where a tiny “banana boat” was loading, and said “hurry – the boat is leaving!” ‘Nuff said. Our sandels had a hard time keeping up as we scurried our backpack-haulin’ arses over to the wooden bench-seat equipped boat. Phew, all hands on board! The local kids jumped on and filled the remaining seats, and the gasoline outboard cranked over. And over. And oooovvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, again and again, sometimes non-stop for over ten seconds, relentlessly. Dirk and I craned our necks, along with everyone, and started exchanging grones and sarcastic remarks. When the cranking didn’t help, one of the now half-dozen men circling the engine had the idea that perhaps drowning the poor Yamaha 2-stroke with starting fluid would be a good idea, and it wasn’t. It was a tinny cranking – like a cylinder without compression…or spark. No catching, no stumbling – nothing. Almost, almost, as if the stupid “I fell overboard but thank-God I had this kill-switch key attached to my wrist” jobber had been pulled out and not replaced (not that say, I personally have ever done such a thing…twice : ). So whitey crawled over his girlfriend and a local girl, down the outside of the boat, and pointed at the spot where the key should have been… and I quickly retreated to my seat, not wanting to make it any worse for the poor guy. But while the ignition issue was now resolved, the minutes of cranking (and addition of fuel and starting fluid) was keeping us against the dock. So they pulled the plugs, cleaned them, cranked it over, and put them back in. Then more cranking, followed by more starting fluid, followed by more cranking. Whitey again moves to the stern – “pardon me, excuse me, doh!” followed by “choke, but no starting fluid.” Vrrrrooooooooooommm goes 115hp of Japanese precision! So we were finally on our way, heading to Munda, on the southern end of New Georgia Island. Since the boat was laden quite heavily with goods from Gizo (Munda is less of an established “city” than Gizo, and therefore has less access to produce, stores, etc), the driver asked for the heaviest people to move to the bow of the boat in order to make it easier for the boat to get up to speed. Since most of the passengers were children heading home for Christmas, the four heavy white folks ended up at the front of the boat – and Dirk couldn’t help making a statement about Rosa Parks that made us all groan with embarrassment over the unintentional arrangement… But moving on – when we arrived in Munda after just under 3 hours, the local Friday market was just wrapping up, and instead of rush for provisions, we settled into our “cheap” accommodations at the Agnes Lodge. For $450SBD each couple got a 4-bed “Backpackers” room in the wing of the lodge that had been around since the pre-WWII British occupation (unless I’m off on my history, which I could be), and they have an adjoining, shared bathroom/shower. The interesting bit about a bathroom with two doors is that unless you lock your neighbor out (there are two locks per door – one on the inside, and one on the outside) upon entering said bathroom, they could easily waltz right in and start brushing their teeth while you’re sudzing up! So, being the decent folks that we are, we’re in a good habbit of locking the door, but also being selfish Americans, we also forget to unlock it on occasion! In such a case, the people being locked out no longer have access to a bathroom or shower unless the other couple can be yelled at through the wall and convinced to unlock the door (and we’re all guilty of this, as of this morning). But more on Munda: the town consists of a concrete pier for unloading barges/landing craft, four Chinese-run supermakets (all carrying the same items, give or take), an airstrip for the Dash-8 that comes in from Gizo…once a day, a police station, a bakery, the rather large (area-wise) Agnes Lodge, and then scattered local residences that carry on out of town on a coral road. Unbeknownst to us, the Friday market in Munda is much better than say, the Saturday market, as the Saturday-Thrusday markets don’t in fact, exist… So get your betelnuts, potatos, fish, and pineapple when you can, or you’ll have to wait another week! That said, Aimee and I picked up a decently-sized fish, a Rainbow Runner, from a guy selling them under a tree for $20SBD, which is about $3USD. We cooked all of it and ate what we could, then used the rest to make sandwiches the next day when we rented dugout canoes and made a 1-mile paddle out to Hopi Island, where we spent the afternoon snorkeling, getting sunburned asses, collecting shells, and racing hermit crabs (in that order). Paddling a dugout canoe isn’t too different from paddling a canoe you might find at home, but staying afloat is much, much harder! First off, they are extremely heavy, have hardly any freeboard, and their hull shape is so round you might think they used a basketball, or perhaps a compressed gas cylinder, to shape the hull. That said, even during the torrential downpour that followed us home from the island, we managed to keep our heads above water, and returned the canoes safely back to their owner. Speaking of the owner, this place was originally a resthouse of sorts for the British in the (I think) pre-WWII days, but when they abandoned/left their post in the Solomons, they gave it to the cook, Agnes, who had been working there for over 30 years. She then ran the lodge for the remainder of her life, and then it was passed on to her children to run. Today, one of her daughters is the majority shareholder in the private company that owns the lodge, and is married to a Kiwi by the name of Don, who has managed the place for a good portion of his considerable life! So it’s a heart-felt endeavor, keeping this place up, but it’s quite nice and in my opinion reasonably priced considering it’s remoteness. That said, the guy that runs their dive shop was a bit of a dick, and I wouldn’t recommend diving with him if you ever end up out here – but that’s just me. I had heard that there was a sink-hole dive that tunneled underground for quite a ways, then under a reef, then finally out into the lagoon. But Richard (I didn’t get his name, and calling him Mr. Dick seems to bee too over-the-top, even form me) said with a discouraging tone that it was sooooo far away, cost him too much in fuel, he only would do it if three divers or more went, he wouldn’t be open Monday-Wednesday (when we left), he wouldn’t send “the boys” out on a Sunday, and he required 50+ logged dives before he’d let you go. And their boats were all broken, their dive compressor was on fire, the ants ate through all the regulator hoses, the local dogs had stolen the tanks, the moon wasn’t aligned with Polaris quite right, he had an odd rash from an encounter with a rooster, and his invisible friend thought we looked “shifty.” So all in all, no diving, nor even a trip to go snorkeling – hence, our dugout rentals, which turned out to be quite a hoot! We saw Red Lionfish, octopus, clownfish, lots of various soft and hard corals, sea-cucumbers, hermit crabs, Cowrie shells (alive, big, and shiny!), big pufferfish, and tons of different little reef fish. We had our leftover fish on local bread, drank our water, and soaked in the glorious sun. Life is good.

Agnes Lodge, Munda, Solomon Islands - 12.14.2010

12.12.2010 – “The Old Backbackers Room” – Agnes Lodge, Munda, Solomon Islands

Hello reading audience! I miss you all! Aimee and I have passed the one-month mark in our travels this week, and I’m happy to say we’re still a couple! That’s not to say we haven’t wanted to throw things at each other from time to time, but on average things are going swimmingly! After waiting at the lagoon-view “Bamboo Bar” in Gizo for our boat to arrive, we threw back our cans of SolBrew (the local lager that, in my newest, yet rather crude quote, can be described as such: “it’s like sex in a canoe – fucking close to water”) and headed to the docks. After waiting for 10 minutes or so (the boat was supposed to leave sometime between 12:00pm and 4:00pm…), we asked a bloke sitting behind a bar-looking structure if the boat to Munda had shown up yet, at which point he became rather frantic, pointed to the next wharf down where a tiny “banana boat” was loading, and said “hurry – the boat is leaving!” ‘Nuff said. Our sandels had a hard time keeping up as we scurried our backpack-haulin’ arses over to the wooden bench-seat equipped boat. Phew, all hands on board! The local kids jumped on and filled the remaining seats, and the gasoline outboard cranked over. And over. And oooovvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, again and again, sometimes non-stop for over ten seconds, relentlessly. Dirk and I craned our necks, along with everyone, and started exchanging grones and sarcastic remarks. When the cranking didn’t help, one of the now half-dozen men circling the engine had the idea that perhaps drowning the poor Yamaha 2-stroke with starting fluid would be a good idea, and it wasn’t. It was a tinny cranking – like a cylinder without compression…or spark. No catching, no stumbling – nothing. Almost, almost, as if the stupid “I fell overboard but thank-God I had this kill-switch key attached to my wrist” jobber had been pulled out and not replaced (not that say, I personally have ever done such a thing…twice : ). So whitey crawled over his girlfriend and a local girl, down the outside of the boat, and pointed at the spot where the key should have been… and I quickly retreated to my seat, not wanting to make it any worse for the poor guy. But while the ignition issue was now resolved, the minutes of cranking (and addition of fuel and starting fluid) was keeping us against the dock. So they pulled the plugs, cleaned them, cranked it over, and put them back in. Then more cranking, followed by more starting fluid, followed by more cranking. Whitey again moves to the stern – “pardon me, excuse me, doh!” followed by “choke, but no starting fluid.” Vrrrrooooooooooommm goes 115hp of Japanese precision! So we were finally on our way, heading to Munda, on the southern end of New Georgia Island. Since the boat was laden quite heavily with goods from Gizo (Munda is less of an established “city” than Gizo, and therefore has less access to produce, stores, etc), the driver asked for the heaviest people to move to the bow of the boat in order to make it easier for the boat to get up to speed. Since most of the passengers were children heading home for Christmas, the four heavy white folks ended up at the front of the boat – and Dirk couldn’t help making a statement about Rosa Parks that made us all groan with embarrassment over the unintentional arrangement… But moving on – when we arrived in Munda after just under 3 hours, the local Friday market was just wrapping up, and instead of rush for provisions, we settled into our “cheap” accommodations at the Agnes Lodge. For $450SBD each couple got a 4-bed “Backpackers” room in the wing of the lodge that had been around since the pre-WWII British occupation (unless I’m off on my history, which I could be), and they have an adjoining, shared bathroom/shower. The interesting bit about a bathroom with two doors is that unless you lock your neighbor out (there are two locks per door – one on the inside, and one on the outside) upon entering said bathroom, they could easily waltz right in and start brushing their teeth while you’re sudzing up! So, being the decent folks that we are, we’re in a good habbit of locking the door, but also being selfish Americans, we also forget to unlock it on occasion! In such a case, the people being locked out no longer have access to a bathroom or shower unless the other couple can be yelled at through the wall and convinced to unlock the door (and we’re all guilty of this, as of this morning). But more on Munda: the town consists of a concrete pier for unloading barges/landing craft, four Chinese-run supermakets (all carrying the same items, give or take), an airstrip for the Dash-8 that comes in from Gizo…once a day, a police station, a bakery, the rather large (area-wise) Agnes Lodge, and then scattered local residences that carry on out of town on a coral road. Unbeknownst to us, the Friday market in Munda is much better than say, the Saturday market, as the Saturday-Thrusday markets don’t in fact, exist… So get your betelnuts, potatos, fish, and pineapple when you can, or you’ll have to wait another week! That said, Aimee and I picked up a decently-sized fish, a Rainbow Runner, from a guy selling them under a tree for $20SBD, which is about $3USD. We cooked all of it and ate what we could, then used the rest to make sandwiches the next day when we rented dugout canoes and made a 1-mile paddle out to Hopi Island, where we spent the afternoon snorkeling, getting sunburned asses, collecting shells, and racing hermit crabs (in that order). Paddling a dugout canoe isn’t too different from paddling a canoe you might find at home, but staying afloat is much, much harder! First off, they are extremely heavy, have hardly any freeboard, and their hull shape is so round you might think they used a basketball, or perhaps a compressed gas cylinder, to shape the hull. That said, even during the torrential downpour that followed us home from the island, we managed to keep our heads above water, and returned the canoes safely back to their owner. Speaking of the owner, this place was originally a resthouse of sorts for the British in the (I think) pre-WWII days, but when they abandoned/left their post in the Solomons, they gave it to the cook, Agnes, who had been working there for over 30 years. She then ran the lodge for the remainder of her life, and then it was passed on to her children to run. Today, one of her daughters is the majority shareholder in the private company that owns the lodge, and is married to a Kiwi by the name of Don, who has managed the place for a good portion of his considerable life! So it’s a heart-felt endeavor, keeping this place up, but it’s quite nice and in my opinion reasonably priced considering it’s remoteness. That said, the guy that runs their dive shop was a bit of a dick, and I wouldn’t recommend diving with him if you ever end up out here – but that’s just me. I had heard that there was a sink-hole dive that tunneled underground for quite a ways, then under a reef, then finally out into the lagoon. But Richard (I didn’t get his name, and calling him Mr. Dick seems to bee too over-the-top, even form me) said with a discouraging tone that it was sooooo far away, cost him too much in fuel, he only would do it if three divers or more went, he wouldn’t be open Monday-Wednesday (when we left), he wouldn’t send “the boys” out on a Sunday, and he required 50+ logged dives before he’d let you go. And their boats were all broken, their dive compressor was on fire, the ants ate through all the regulator hoses, the local dogs had stolen the tanks, the moon wasn’t aligned with Polaris quite right, he had an odd rash from an encounter with a rooster, and his invisible friend thought we looked “shifty.” So all in all, no diving, nor even a trip to go snorkeling – hence, our dugout rentals, which turned out to be quite a hoot! We saw Red Lionfish, octopus, clownfish, lots of various soft and hard corals, sea-cucumbers, hermit crabs, Cowrie shells (alive, big, and shiny!), big pufferfish, and tons of different little reef fish. We had our leftover fish on local bread, drank our water, and soaked in the glorious sun. Life is good.

Gizo, Solomon Islands - 12.8.2010

12.06.2010 – Gizo, Solomon Islands, at some resthouse of unknown name…

Well well, what an interesting place this is! We met Denee and Dirk at the Nadi airport in Fiji as planned (I received a wonderful gift – a weight belt with pockets!), and from there we made our way safely to Honiara, the capitol city of the Solomon Islands, on the island of Guadalcanal. After waiting in a customs line that went out the door and around the corner, we finally checked into the country, exchanged some money, and made our way into town to find a place to stay for the few days we were in town. Originally we had hoped to just stay one night in Honiara, as we had heard it was dirty, unsafe, and on average just plain boring. But due to the last-minute nature of our travel style/situation we found ourselves not able to book tickets until 4 days later, and all of the cheap resthouses were full up, with the exception of EXTREMELY expensive western-style hotels and a place called “The Quality Inn.” A better name might have been the “Pris-Inn,” as the entire compound was patrolled by security “boys,” rimmed by meters upon meters of razorwire, and gated and locked at every entry point. The power (and thereby fans and A/C) died early the first night we were there, and the water was on average…off. Perhaps the civil unrest from the recent “sacking” of a government official had caused sewage to back up into the shower/sink water reservoir – or maybe it was just poor maintenance, but either way the water was shit: literally. The walls were floor to ceiling woodgrain laminate, and indoor smoking is apparently OK at a “Quality” establishment such as this. But thank god the price was cheap….OR NOT! $500 Solomon dollars per night for a room, which has fecal matter plugging up the plumbing! For the love! Anywho, we skipped out of there as soon as we could (two nights) and found vacancy at a place called the Chester Resthouse just a few hundred meters away, for less than half the price. It was clean, we had our own cooking facilities, the folks were nice, and Saturday morning cartoons were available every day of the week, all day. The porch looked out over the harbor and the main road through the city, and it was peachy. That said, there was a crying baby in the room next door, and apparently I’m the only one who didn’t mind it a bit. But otherwise a wonderful, fully-appreciated change from the Inn from Hell. On our first day in town things were rather locked-down, in that the aforementioned bit of civil unrest had the local businesses shut down in fear of riots, and the police was out in full force doing their best to keep order. So we called it a day, hoped things would “simmer down” in the morning, and they did. The unnerving thing about Honiara that we first noticed was that street vendors sold three things (that I can remember vividly): watches, betelnuts, and fixed blade knives. The last item really rang strong in our heads one night when Aimee and I were walking back in near darkness from the Yacht Club to our hotel. Undoubtedly the most sketchy walk home in my life, so much so that when we got home safely I quickly unloaded my pockets except for cash and headed out the door to take a cab BACK to the Yacht Club where Denee and Dirk were finishing dinner, and recommend strongly that they come back in a cab. Of course I was just walking out the door when I heard them return to their room, and I got to rest easy knowing that they hadn’t been stabbed. Never again! Anywho, after blowing way too much money at the yacht club (mmm…the lime juice they made was amazing…) we spent our last day taking a cab out to Bonegi beach (sp?) and went snorkeling on a Japanese supply ship that had beached itself there in WWII. Totally freaking amazing. Best coral, fish, visability, and the utmost easy-access I’ve ever had to date, but we’re hoping to exceed that in the next few weeks to follow! : ) Note: See the picture above for an aerial photo of this wreck that I took while flying out to Gizo. The next afternoon we caught our flight out to Gizo on a twin-engine prop plane (a Dash-8) and landed on a coral airstrip in the middle of a small island. We were then taken by boat to the Dive Gizo dock in downtown Gizo where we met the owners Danny and Kerrie, along with some folks from Europe who were on the plane with us. After a quick hello to the dive shop we jumped in Danny’s truck and headed up the hill to some resthouses to find a place that suited us best. We managed to get two rooms for $250/night per room, for 6 nights, and we feel pretty good about that, except for that Aimee and I don’t have A/C in our room that works, and for whatever reason it’s hotter than hell at night in there… Anywho, shortly after settling in we went down to town, bought a bunch of groceries, a tuna, and came home for dinner. That night we chatted it up with our European housemates, shot the green laser at quarreling rats in the bushes, and drank rum ‘n juice. All was well. : ) The next morning we met at Dive Gizo for a day of snorkeling (and diving for a couple other folks), and although we had discussed the idea of opting out because of increasingly bad looking weather, Kerrie convinced/conned us into going out…and we got smashed (not to mention some of the discs in our backs). We did, however, get to dive on a WWII Hellcat fighter/bomber plane that was in near-perfect condition, resting on the bottom in about 9-meters of the warmest water I’ve ever dove in (see pictures, and eventual video). On the boat ride back we got pounded, soaked, and just plain wet – and that’s coming from the guy who loves small boats and rough weather. This poor boat flexed and groaned in more places than it should have, and we all agreed that it would be fortunate for us if it got us safely back to port in one piece. I had my mask in hand just in case she broke up, and took off my weight belt. And on that note, I’ll retire for the night, dry, alive, happy, and looking forward to what tomorrow, the next day, and the rest of December has in store for us! We’ll be traveling to Munda on the 10th, leaving on the 15th for Tetepare Eco Lodge, then onto Solomon Dive adventures on the 21st, with a short stay in Chea with Connie in-between. After the 26th we’ll be working our way up Marovo Lagoon for a week, then flying out of Seghe on the 3rd of January, out of Honiara on the 4th, and arriving back home in Seattle on the 4th (weird, I know) in the evening. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Until next time,

Danny, Aimee, Denee and Dirk

Amendment to above post: 12.8.2010, Gizo, Solomon Islands

Gizo is a small town, hot as hell and humid as a steam room, but it has a nice local feel to it and food is easily obtained from the local market and a handful of stores that all seem to carry the same items. Dirk and I went on a two-tank dive on the 446’ Japanese wreck Toa Maru, which was sunk in 1943 by an American air squadron. It’s stern lies in 37m of water (approx 120’) and it’s bow is just a few hundred meters off the beach in 7m/25’. There were overturned battle tanks, huge cargo holds that we could swim through, piles of junk (cargo) spilling out of the holds (the entire ship is resting on it’s starboard side), and all sorts of remnants from over 60 years ago! After we finished off our second dive, we went back into town and used our remaining 50bar to dive on a shallow airplane wreck that is literally 100’ off the waterfront market in about 7m/25’ of water. Beer cans and garbage were everywhere, the water felt like it was horribly contaminated, and the visibility was crap: but low and behold, a WWII fighter plane was sitting, mostly intact except for it’s tail, with little anemonefish and lionfish abounding! Anywho, we’re just chillaxin’ our way through this week in Gizo, eating popsicles, watching season 8 & 9 of Scrubs, and eating food! A decently sized tuna cost $25-40SBD ($3-4USD) and feeds all four of us – it’s wonderful! On the 10th we’re off to Munda for 5 nights, and I’m not too sure we’ll have reliable internet until….we get back to the USA? It’s been pretty slow and sketchy here, so this may be the last post for awhile.

Peace yo!

Danny

Voli Voli Resort, and Downtown Backpackers Hotel, Nadi, Fiji - 11.29.2010

11.27.2010 – Voli Voli Resort, Room 968, Northernmost Point of Viti Levu, Fiji

Time really flys when we’re on vacation, and this trip is no exception! : ) Since my last post, we traveled via minibus to the Mango Bay Resort from downtown Nadi (mostly a shopping area, not a lot too see), continuing on the very next day to The Uprising Beach Resort where we stayed for three nights. At Mango Bay we had our first Kava ceremony, kicked frogs (Aimee even squished one while going to brush her teeth at night), drank yet more Fiji Bitter, and swatted bugs that sought our fluids. It was nice enough at Mango Bay, but it was wet, and we already had plans for The Uprising, so one night was enough. While on the minibus (which, by the way, isn’t that small – 29 seats, but with only 5 of us on the bus!) we stopped at a few places along the way to the next resort, one of those places being some sand dunes. The dune we played at, however, was quite steep and sizzling hot (my bare feet roasted!), so the driver broke out a bunch of boogie boards and we all went sandboarding down the dune, and I made a video of it (see below for video). After that we went on a “Trek” which at first I scoffed at, but later found to be quite enjoyable, and besides, everybody loves a waterfall swim! We transferred from our bus to a pickup truck that hauled a handful of us guests to a trailhead that led through the jungle, up some hills, around and across some muddy rivers, and finally up to a series of waterfalls with beautiful freshwater pools for swimming and jumping in. Some folks just swam, others crawled up the cliff and swung on the rope, and some even crawled into a cave behind the biggest waterfall! On our way back, I was talking with one of our guides, and he mentioned a shark dive, which I had heard of, but was a bit scheptical about. When we returned to the resort I did some thinking, made a call to a local dive shop, and scheduled a “Shark Dive” for the following morning. After a good night’s sleep in the beautiful dorms at The Uprising (about $20/pp/pn), I had an early-riser continental breakfast of oatmeal, pasteries, fruit, and coffee, then joined a multi-national group of divers and headed by minibus to the dive shop. I Frenchman from New Calidonia, an Australian, a half-dozen Chinese kids, and a couple from New Zealand were my companions, and because of our numbers we took two boats instead of just one. Gear fitted, loaded, and tested, we had a dive brief at the dock and soon after began our short boat ride out to the dive site. About 30 minutes later we were all in the water, heading down the descent line to just over 110’ where there is an artificial platform of sorts made for divers to observe from while the “feeders” pull out fish pieces from garbage cans and chum for Giant Trivalli’s, Rainbow Runners, Sharks of all kinds (we only saw black and white tipped reef sharks, as it is currently breeding season for everybody else). After 20 minutes or so at that depth, we came up to another platform at 50’ or so and watched some more feeding of smaller fishes and reef sharks, and repeated the process in about 15’, satisfying the safety stop recommendation for the dive. Then we surfaced, changed tanks, had hot tea and biscuts, and waited for our 60-minute surface interval to pass before we went back in for our second dive. During that time I chatted with the Australian gentleman about the Solomon Islands, where he had spent considerable time in his past, and I probed for as much helpful info as I could. Around the same time one of the Chinese girls started puking next to me, and it made me feel really good about myself. I know, it’s sick, but when I see other people puking their guts out, it really adds to my self-confidence. : ) Anywho, our second tank was a bit shorter, and I still had 1500psi left in my tank at the end of the dive, but group dives aren’t exactly known for their great length, so with that we headed back. The closest shark of the whole dive wasn’t at 110’ though – it was nearly at the surface, and it did a swim-by in slow-motion in the video below labeled “Shark Dive.” It was fun.

Anywho, the next day we departed The Uprising on the Fiji Experience bus, along with three other girls (I swear, there are twice as many women traveling than there are men) bound for Voli Voli Resort on the North Coast. Along the way we picked up a bunch of groceries at a market, then we had a school visit and kava ceremony with a local chief. The school visit was awesome! I’m normally the one to shirk away from social visits like this, but as soon as we hopped out the door of the bus these kids were all over us! Grabbing us by the hands and sometimes pulling us in opposite directions, the kids were energetic and eager to show us their classroom, books, world map (to have us point out where we were from), and to speak English (which was freakisly good – it’s one of two languages taught to everyone in school from a very young age). At the end of the visit the kids sang some songs, and a few select boys did a war chant/dance jobber that was just freaking awesome – I had picked out two kids that in a heartbeat I would have taken home as my own. After leaving we presented some kava root to the village chief (who oversaw the school, and the people/business of 4 other local villages), then passed the bowl around and got tingly. Once an hour or so had passed, just chillin’ on the woven mats of the chief’s house, we picked up our things and (with the chief) went to a school fundraiser, where we sat down with a bunch of men from the village, and drank 3 times more kava than the first time. I learned how to say and write “sailboat” in Fijian: “Waqa vaka laca,” which as I write this, sounds like something Gonzo would say on Sesame Street. It was a good time, and Aimee got to play with a really cute kiddo, and all the girls couldn’t stop talking about how cute the kid was, walking around with it’s (I can’t remember if it was a boy or girl – sorry!) umbrella. After saying goodbye, we left in the bus to spend the next two hours getting our teeth rattled out by the road being constructed, apparently by Malaysians who had been contracted by the government – damn you Malaysian Prime Minister! Where’s Mugatu when you need him?

Now we’re at Voli Voli, making our own meals, in our own kitchen, in a very nice room – and life is good. There is word of a tropical depression that is going to pass close on Sunday, possibily turning into a cyclone, but we’ll see what happens. I’m going to try to get out for a snorkel today, as I’ve been sitting at this darn computer all morning working on putting together videos and photos for a blog upload. So I’m done.

Peace yo!

Danny

PS – we’re heading to Nadi on Monday, then flying out to the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, and we’ll be there until the 4th of January. Whee!

Ammendment to this Post: 11.29.2010, Nadi, Fiji:

Within hours of those last few words my stomach began to gently rock, back and forth….then the internal wind picked up, force 3, building to force 10 within a mere hour. By bedtime my bowels, intestines, and controlling orfaces gave out, and the storm maintained force 12 for the duration of the night, not allowing for much sleep, or retention of liquids, and no thought of solid foods. Thankfully there were hot showers and toilets that flushed, otherwise that night would have been an even more epic onslaught of internal conflict. Moral of this story: don’t buy canned meat at the store, especially the corned beef with the red at the MH Market in RakiRaki, Fiji. 24hours later, I’ve had one solid meal, and am finally to the point where food is appealing, and I’m able to keep it down. Yay.


Cheers,

Danny and Aimee

Sonaisali Island Resort, Viti Levu, Fiji - 11.21.2010

The gentleman that sold us the various packaged bits of our trip suggested that for a night we stay here at the Sonosali Resort, to “decompress” from our time in the islands (seriously, who needs a vacation from an already wonderful experience?) before we head out on our trip around the mainland. But for whatever the reasons were, we booked it, and I’ll admit, it has been quite nice. This place is a 4-star resort (or so they say) that has a monster-huge pool, multiple fancy bars and resturantes, hot water, clean beds, sheets, and pillows, and cable TV. Now, the meals are priced like you would expect at a hotel of similar grade back home to cost: outrageous. That said, the grilled Mahi Mahi on mashed potatoes with fresh, perfectly cooked vegetables was like heaven, and the cheesecake with vanilla ice cream just topped the whole thing off (not to mention the brilliant swirl sorbet of a sunset that was in progress the entire time). After dinner we caught frogs and lizards and tried to shove them down each others clothes, like real adults. Right now Aimee is on the floor with our map of the Solomon Islands, writing down names of places we want to research and/or visit for our 5-week stay in those islands. I’m a bit concerned with how much money the whole thing will cost, as Fiji is quite touristy and therefore rather inexpensive, but the Solomons seem to be far more isolated, and by my logic, potentially much more expensive as well. So I’m going to spend some time online today and see if we can find some good deals, flights, etc while we’re there. Tonight we’re going to be staying at the Downtown Backpackers Hotel/Hostel in Nadi, then tomorrow we’re off for our bus tour of the island! Whee!

Danny

Departing Ratu Kini Dive Resort, Mana Island, Fiji - 11.20.2010

11.20.2010, Fiji, Mana Island, Ratu Kini Dive Resort, Internet Room

Well, out time here has come to it’s end, as we’ll be checking out here in a few minutes, loading our bags on the Mana Flyer, and heading back to Nadi where we’ll be transferred to our next stay, the Sonosoli Resort, which I believe is more like a resort you’d expect in the US, rather fancy. We’re only there for one night because it was cheap for some reason, and from there on out we’ll mostly be staying in dorms for our bus journey around Viti Levu. But to catch up a bit…My dive at the “Super Market” was pretty cool – an outer reef dive (we had to drive through the inner reef break in the 20’ panga) that dropped off to about 100’, but we kept to the 60’ limit and mostly just let the current drift us along the wall of the reef. We got to poke at a rather large (3’ or so) octopus, an eel of some type, saw a 5’ black tip reef shark in the distance, and one freaking huge tang/trigger fish (4’). I’m getting more comfortable with SCUBA, and my bottom time is reflecting it, as I’m using a lot less air and feeling more relaxed. That night Aimee and I attempted to chase a sunset with a bottle of wine in the backpack, but we we’re a bit late, and instead had a sit on the beach and enjoyed twilight. The next morning we had breakfast, then I jumped in the boat with the three Joes, two dive masters and one driver, all with the same name. Also joining us were three other blokes, one German, an Australian, and a Californian. We took a 40-minute panga ride to the site of the wreck, the “S.S. Salamada,” then we all geared up and took the 100’ plunge down the descent line and worked our way to the bow of the beast. Lurking in the blue haze of the bottom, the rounded bow of the Salamada slowly came into view, we all landed on the bow, and claimed her as our own! We proceeded down the exterior sides of the hull in two teams, one to Port, the other to Starboard, when we reached the stern, we entered the wreck through a cut-out in the bulkhead, then proceeded to the main cabin, down one deck into the engineering spaces and hold, then forward and upward to the top deck and wheelhouse, where we exited to the sidedeck walkway on the starboard wing, and proceeded aft, where we poked into some of the upper cabins, then aft to the working deck, arch, then up top to the stack. After taking our photos and videos, we left the stack in the swirls of our fins, and followed our bubbles slowly to the surface, taking a few minutes at 15’ to do a “safety” stop (aka, we did flips, goofed around, and just enjoyed all that is weightlessness). The interesting part was when we all got back on the boat for the ride home: every diver was quietly staring into nothingness, each reviewing and absorbing what we had each experienced. It was breathtaking and exciting, and I’d go again in a flash if I had the opportunity. This wreck had been prepped for diving and sunk on purpose over 20 years ago, but it still held a mystery and eeriness that is fixated in my mind, even now. Anywho, in all I did three dives, and I loved every one of them for what they offered. Gosh, I’ve got to come back here, but for much longer! The Australian, Jon, is here for a month getting his Dive Master Certification, and that seems like a great idea to me: maybe I’ll come back and do that! (the Fijian dollar is so good right now, it actually makes it worth it to do the training here, plus it’s freakin’ beautiful! A no-brainer, fo’ sho.’

Well, I’ve got to go check out, but if you get the time, take a look at www.nickgoesroundtheworld.blogspot.com, the travel blog of a bloke from Germany I met last night who had just been shot by a local (accidently) with a speargun. It passed through his right thumb, then into his right breast area. Cool guy, looking to write a book to get folks on their way to traveling the world instead of just being jelous, and I wish him the best of luck.

Cheers,

Danny

Bounty Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji, South Pacific - 11.16.2010

Wow - good fun here in Fiji, that's for sure! Just being able to dive in warm water is great! It's not as warm as Cabo was a few weeks ago, but with my 1.5mm suit it's not too bad - cold isn't a factor. I'm craving some gear though, and I'm already salivating over certain bits of dive and camera gear here in internet land...

Anywho, here is what I've written so far, not proof-read or even re-read for that matter, so I hope I wasn't too loopy in any of it for the humble reading masses of dannyblanchard.blogspot.com! : )

Enjoy! (and P.S. Mom: We're not dead on a beach somewhere!)




11.07.2010, Alaska Airlines Flight blah blah blah to LAX, elevation 40,000ft

Holy Moley, we’re actually on our way! I’ve been slowly assembling various bits and pieces of gear for the last month or so with this trip in mind, but until 11:00pm last night I had yet to even attempt to fit any of it in my backpack. Aimee, on the other hand, has been organizing, test-fitting, and planning like a… normal person! We took out the trash, washed the dishes, emptied out the refrigerator, and added the latest bits to our living will’s – and hit the road. This trip is going to be an epic, and that’s not hopeful optimism speaking – it’s the troof! When my dad proposed the idea last winter over a few rounds of beer at a local pub, we all walked away in a state of dazed and hopeful (if not a bit scheptical) excitement – opportunities like this don’t come down the chute very often, if at all, for most people, and we weren’t about to piss it away. Aimee and I said “We’re in!” on the spot, and a couple weeks later were freezing our asses off at Alki Point finishing up our PADI Open Water Diver’s Course. We figured that if for some galacticly (it’s a word in my dictionary…) spectacular reason all the pieces of this travel puzzle were to fall in place, we couldn’t be left with our wetsuits down. Soon after certification was completed we spent a bit more than a week in Puerto Vallarta testing the waters, our new gear, and our travel compatibility. I’m still working on being less of an ass, and Aimee, well, she’s probably going to come up with more adjectives for me by the end of this here journey… : ) But in all seriousness, we’re totally spoiled to get an opportunity like this, and on that note, we’re going to try to “do it up” as best we can, because to do any less would only be an insult to those who can’t. As with travel writing I’ve done in the past, my main purpose is to make those who are living comfortable, non-challenging lives to get off their proverbal butts and do something that is far beyond their normal routine – to toss it up. You can tell folks over cocktails that the water was amazing, or that the food was exotic, but photos, videos, and the accompanying text, in my mind, are far more potent persuaders. So, pay off the credit cards, fill a hollowed book with cash, renew your passport, get your tetnus and hepatitis shots, lease your place to a friend for a month or so, and make an investment in your sanity by jumping/leaping/flying/falling out of your routine. As ZooLander would say: “Do it. Do it. Do it.”

Next Stop: Nadi International Airport, Viti Levu, Fiji.

Peace yo!

11.10.2010, Tavewa Island, Coral View Island Resort, Bure #1

Wow. We traveled quite a bit yesterday, and last night’s sleep made up for it, and the dinner we had just threw us further into a state of comfort. On the plane ride to Fiji we rode on a old (it had ashtrays) Boeing 747-400, and it was the most bumpy ride I’ve ever had. On a plane that long, and in the weather we were going through, the entire fuselage took on a wagging motion, or perhaps a slithering one, throwing our entire bodies around in our seats like jumping beans. Soon after we got on the plane we were served dinner, but we both fell asleep (to a degree). Some time later we awoke to find that the dinner’s we were planning to eat had been taken from the tray right in front of us while we slept, and that was a bummer. But then Aimee started getting all extra stressed about it (I just thought she was REALLY hungry at first), and then she said that her iPod had been set on the dinner tray that was now gone. Shit. It had been dark, the cabin folks wanted to clear tables, and they didn’t want to wake us up. OR: the cabin crew was super hungry too, snatched our food, stole what they could, and pretended that the rough ride was normal. Who knows. : ) But either way, iPod is in a garbage can at the airport somewhere, and that sucks. BUT: after getting off the plane at 4:40am local time (about 8:00am for us – it’s an 18hour time difference, I believe), we walked through customs and saw a flyer for a local backpackers hotel that had dorm beds for $12FJD (about $7USD) per person/per night, with a free airport pickup. Sold. After a few minutes of waiting at the taxi pickup area of the terminal we met ‘Kesh, a hotel employee that spoke good English (god help us if we tried to understand Fijian beyond the greetings) and helped us make some travel plans for our time here in the land of…Bula! So we bit an rather pricy bullet, but now our three weeks here is rather planned out, but with a degree of freedom along the way, and we’re loving it so far! We’ll be paying about $2500FJD each to do the following: 7 days and 6 nights in the Yasawa Islands in private rooms and all meals included, with transportation between the islands on the Yasawa Flyer included. Also, and the south end of the Yasawa’s we’ll be spending one day/night at Bounty island, then traveling west by a smaller boat to Mana Island, where we’ll stay for 4 days, again with room and food included. On our last day/night in the Yasawa island area we’ll be staying at a supposedly swanky “4-star” resort of some type outside of Nadi (this is where we flew into, and it is prounounced “Non-Dee.”) to “relax before (we) go backpacking around the mainland” as ‘Kesh encouraged. It was cheap, looked nice in the pictures (that were probably taken 30 years ago, or at a different hotel… : ), and what the hell, you only live once! So after that we signed up for the Fiji Experience Hula Hoop pass with the dorm accommodation package (includes 4 nights of hotel stays in dorm rooms, plus 3-meals per day, I think….), although we’re going to take 7-8 days and just pay the extra $ to individual hotels/hostels along the way and enjoy the places we really like that much more! With this Fiji Experience pass we can hop on and off busses that are circling the island in 3-5hour increments, stopping in places along the way that may be of interest to travelers. Everything we read about Nadi was confirmed by ‘Kesh, other travelers, and our own observations: it’s a transportation hub, not exactly the Fiji that you would want to vacation at. So at his encouragement (mostly due to the fact that weather is becoming wetter) we headed out to the islands first, and we’ll be doing the mainland (big island of Viti Levu) tour later in the trip when the rains come down and the floods come up…

But about the islands, so far: They’re freaking beautiful, lots of blue (warm!) water, friendly folks, and there has been (well, at least on this island) power to charge the cameras and computer, which was unexpected. Also unexpected was the running water, flushing toilet, nice rooms, and an ocean breeze. The wind makes air conditioning unnecessary, and I like it better that way anywho. Aimee and I went on a walk around our island yesterday, Tavewa, and we met Blue Sea Stars, Sally-Lightfoot Crabs, two island doggies that loved bounding around like deer in the water while chasing fish, lots of climbing crabs, and hermit crabs. We just finished breakfast with some folks from Quebec (k’bec), real French speakers, and I’m totally buzzed on instant coffee. YAY!! Anywho, we have to check out now, then I’m going to tinker with my kite/camera rig and maybe get some shots of the south part of this island (we’re going to walk the beach….again…tough life…).

11.13.2010 Naviti Island, Korovou Resort, Beachfront Bure #6

Gosh, Fiji is great! After checking out at Coral View on the 10th, we were taken out to the Yasawa Flyer where we scrambled to get reservations for our next stop (which we hadn’t picked, as there are several options, but not every resort has availability), and in a mad dash before the ferry passed our top pick, we secured a room at the Gold Coast Resort and jumped into a Panga with a fellow named Bill. We drove to the NE around to the windward side of the island where the resort is located, hit the beach (softly), and checked in with the friendly host. When we got to our Bure (boo-ray) we found a super soft bed with a full canopied mosquito net (which didn’t keep us from getting bit, but hey, it’s the tropics), a rain-water shower and toilet, and east-facing windows that let in a fresh breeze all day long. In addition to letting in the cool wind, we found that early each morning, we could turn over in bed and look right out the window at the rising sun – quite unexpected, but seeing as the resort just down the beach is called “Sunrise Resort,” is shouldn’t have been such a surprise. : ) Once we determined that the accommodations were plenty swanky for our needs, we loaded up the diving gear and went on a hike across the island to the Blue Lagoon, as in where the movies were filmed. Of course, with my expert knowledge of the area and acute sense of direction we became lost (of sorts…it is a small island after all) in just a matter of 10 minutes, and spent the next half-hour tromping around jungle trails that appeared to be made by a drunken snake. Eventually we hit a beach, but as famous as it apparently is, finding the Blue Lagoon isn’t so easy. FYI, all the freaking lagoons in this part of the world are blue. But thanks to tourism, we found a resort called Blue Lagoon Resort, and that seemed like a good place to strike up camp and head out into the unexplored azul. Note: a day later, two islands and a mile or so away, we picked some folks up at yet ANOTHER “Blue Lagoon Resort,” which immediately caused me to raise an eyebrow, while simultaneously tilting my head to the side… But back to the Lagoon: it’s blue because there is lots of sand, and it’s shallow, which leads to a lot of direct and reflected light bouncing around in shallow water, which refracts as blue. There is also a fair amount of coral, lots of little reef fishes, and other kritters that deserve plenty of staring. I really wished I had a total encyclopedia of ocean life on my computer, covering fishes, corals, mammals, plants, and all the other critters that I don’t know much about. There was a fish guide at one of the resorts, titled “Indo-Pacific Field Guide(to fishes and marine life?)” or something like that, and it had great pictures and illustrations of fish, coral, sponges, limited mammals, plants, and all sorts of goodies like temperature ranges and seasonal info. I really wish I could have volumes of searchable content like that all on my computer, because at the end of each day it’s cool to be able to title videos and photos with what you saw, and have a little bit of education to go along with it. Anywho, I took far too many videos with my GoPro that day, but I did get some neat shots of a Lionfish, some coralheads, and us! I bought a $19 black anodized aluminum monopod the day before we left, and I also picked up a headlamp-like mount for my GoPro, so in addition to the kite rig, I have all sorts of camera attachments for fueling my interest in new and different ways to play. As Aimee pointed out this morning when I woke up at 7:00am, “You never stop going, do you? : )” and I like it that way. I can’t JUST snorkel, or walk, or sit: I have to be doing something, anything! After leaving the Blue Lagoon we headed back to base, napped for 3 hours, and repeated the same thing the next day, minus the mis-guided trek. : ) But unlike the first day, we had a couple of hang-ups. Aimee unfortunately developed ear issues similar to what I had when I was diving with Christian off Catalina Island this summer in California, in that she had serious problems equalizing when diving to 10 feet or deeper, and like me, she pushed a little too hard and ended up with a bit of a whistling ear and degraded hearing, in addition to a bleeding nose while diving (burst blood vessels in the nose are apparently common when first free-diving – I got it for the first 10 hours or so in the water this summer, but it’s gone now). So she hit the beach early in the afternoon, and I continued for about an hour by myself, but poor visibility (we were getting some stronger northeast winds) and lack of fitness brought me back to the beach before too much time had passed. So we struck off to a nearby resort and had a wonderful lunch (a burger, my first in 11 days, and Aimee had local fish ‘n chips with mango salad…mmm-mmh-good!), then worked our way back over the island and home for the evening. Whew! These are rough times, I tell you! : ) That night we played some easy card games (I learned “Spit,” and then we tried “Go-Fish” just to be a bit themed), then had a Parrot fish, taro root, and coleslaw dinner with our six other resort-mates, and then retired to our little Bure for another solid 10-hour sleep. : ) The next morning (the 12th) we were checking out, ending our two-night stay, and moving onto the Korovou Resort (which came recommended for no specific reason over it’s cheaper beach neighbor “White Sandy Resort.” But before we headed out, we threw down a few bucks to do the “Cave Trip” with some of the folks we had met the night before, and it was well worth the extra money. If you come to visit the Yasawa Islands, you’ll find that at each resort there are always extra activities you can partake in at varying levels of cost, and at the Gold Coast Resort, the “Cave Trip” was one of them. So we all waited on the rather windy (20-25kts) beach for our water taxi (20’ riveted aluminum panga) to arrive, then we all piled in and prepared to get wet. The trip was about 3-4 miles in length, mostly up-wind, and probably 2/3 of it was in the lee of Nacula Island, which helped us stay dry. That said, we got f-ing soaked! About 30 seconds after leaving the beach, he puts on a mask, shoves a snorkel in his mouth, and lays on the throttle, taking the sturdy Yamaha Enduro 40hp to wide-open and rocketing us through the spray at 20-knots, then mumbles something that sounded like, to some folks shock at dismay, “we’ll be there in 45-minutes.” Aimee (and probably some disgusted passengers) will tell you that I was beaming the entire time, with a smile plastered on my face as wave after wave slammed into the hull and sent countless gallons of warm salt water showing down on us. It was everything I love about live in the islands: water, boats, and warmth! Once we got to the caves we started to freeze a bit (still quite windy), so I jumped into the water while we waited for other folks to clear out, and it was quite nice (plus I had to take a piss). Apparently the cave is on private property, and everyone pays the landowner $5FJD (BTW, all references from here on out concerning money will be in Fijian dollars, which at this time are darn near 2:1 for USD – except for when we’re in the Solomons) to pay for upkeep and staffing, as there is a section where you have to go underwater (guides on each side with lights, mask and fins), and there is a bit of cement and rail work that has been built up to make the whole thing a bit safer. Anywho, once you get up to the entrance, you have to duck down and into the main chamber, where the super-high walls drop from 60+ feet above your head to nearly 20 feet below (which, in combination with the hand-hole-rittled wall, makes a great place to climb up and take a dive). Beyond that is the inner, dark cave that requires the brief underwater stint (just 2-3 seconds, really) – but at the end there is a vent that is only a few feet wide and goes straight upwards for probably 60’ or so, letting down enough light to see the other folks around you staring up in amazment and treading water at the same time. It really should be a new workout routine – it works the face, and the legs… After a bit we headed out, loaded up onto our water taxi, and flew back to our resort just in time to catch a ride back out to the Yasawa Flyer and onto our next destination, Korovou Resort.

As I write this, I’m sitting at the dining hall at Korovou, listening to the ceaseless Christian and Pop music that seems to be ever-present, regardless of the resort. As I look up from my screen I see a young couple walking around the fresh water swimming pool (which I think is the most stupid thing to have in Fiji – the water in the ocean is super warm, and there are cool things to look at!), and I’m contemplating whether or not I should go diving this morning, or edit photos and videos for a blog upload (which I haven’t done since Cabo, which is approaching two weeks ago – eeek!). I think I’ll do both. Since it was so heavily recommended, we paid $20ea extra each night to stay here at Korovou instead of White Sandy Beach Resort, but I think one could (and I would, in the future) stay at White Sandy and be just fine. The extra $$$ give us a pool, hot showers, a bath (cold water only) and electrical power – the power being the most valuable to me, as my camera gets lots of use, and it’s nice to charge the computer from time to time. But that said, we haven’t been to a resort yet that didn’t have some form of power available throughout the course of the day – so save what you can, keep it cheap, and enjoy the simple life. I’m on a horse. There is no SCUBA diving offered at this particular spot, but a “Plane Wreck Snorkeling Trip” is an extra activity for $30each, and I’m kicking it around, as most of the diving here is limited to about 25’ max (beyond that is just sand, and I’d like to see something cool and different. That said, I’m guessing it’s a rather shallow wreck, as it is called “snorkeling” and not “controlled breathing, low-volume-mask, minute-plus, weighted free-diving-on-a-plane trip.” Damn. I’m actually becoming a bit of a snob when it comes to diving, because I’ve seen what I feel is some pretty cool stuff with Christian while diving in both California (Bull kelp = awesome) and Mexico (deep walls and sea-mounts), and this kiddie-aquarium stuff leaves me wanting. I saw one decently-sized, red-colored snapper yesterday (maybe 2’ and 3-5lbs), but other than that I’d have to be using hand lines and bait to get me some reef fish to keep from starving. And the fact that I don’t have a speargun or sling doesn’t help either. I want to do OUTER reef dives: with Jacks, Barracuda, Grouper, sharks, and other pelagic critters that don’t just stare at you with the same stupid curiosity that we mirror back at them… : ) But enough cynicism – I’m going diving! I’ve been calming down more each day, controlling my breathing a movements in the water better, and yesterday (on my last dive, rather tired, after a two-hour session) I pulled off 52-seconds with about half of that time at 25’ – unweighted and quite buoyant (1.5mm suit, booties, 5mm head sock, and 3mm neoprene palmated gloves). Last night prior to dinner I did a beach walk and like David preparing for his bout with Goliath, I carefully went about picking up stones. Of course, the stones I picked up were about 1-2lbs each, flat and slightly curved, and smooth-ish. My method is to take my long sleeve UnderArmor shirt (that I found on a post while walking around Catalina Island this summer) and load it up with stones, then tie it around my waist as an improvisational weight belt for diving. I tried it on our second day at the Blue Lagoon, and it worked quite well, but I didn’t pack on enough weight, so today I’ll be developing a system for using my monopod, a waterbottle, and my weights to make a scale of sorts, so that at each stop on our trip I can pick up new rocks, dial in the correct weight with my makeshift scale, and dive well-weighted at each stop, without having to cart a bunch of rocks or lead around. So with that, I’m off!

Cheers,

Danny

11.15.2010, Waya Lailai Resort, Yasawa Islands, Room 201

This is our last official day of Bula Pass’ness (night six was last night), and today at 3:00pm the Yasawa Flyer is going to bum us down to Bounty Island where we’ll stay for a night before heading to Mana Island for 4-nights/5-days. I’ve spent a bit of time organizing videos and such, and doing some diving sketches and other random speculation regarding the physics of diving and how to best increase my performance under the great blue wet thing. I’m itching myself like a mad-man, since the mosquitos here are quite efficient in procuring my blood in exchange for their itch juice. Aimee is getting a “professional” massage for $40 today (1-hour, if I recall), and in the mean time most of us backpacker folks (although I feel the term is a bit more rugged than the people traveling here) are waiting for the southbound Flyer to whisk us off to South Sea Island, Bounty Island, or even back to Nadi. I watched Beverly Hills Cop #1 last night, and it was quite satisfactory, especially the music, which I strangely liked. This morning I attempted to fly my kite with the ol’ camera and a local boy, but the wind around this particular island is a bit dodgy and couldn’t keep her up for more than a few seconds, and I wasn’t about to send my baby to her death. So here I sit, and my desire to be busy is itching a bit. To dive, to improve, to write, to design, etc: I’m a bit of a work-a-holic, but I love it. Well, off we go, to something!

Danny

Cabo San Lucas - Saturday, October 29th, 2010

Well, we just dropped hook after 13 days without internet, refrigeration, or news. I'm ready for all three. : ) Here is a picture from Pt. Hughes, just north of Magdellena Bay, where we hung out for a few days on the trip down the coast of Baja. Photo is from my GoPro, a camera I'm loving more and more each day.

More to come, many videos, six pages of text, and it'll just have to wait until tomorrow... because I haven't had a shower since the night of the 16th, and that really kills motivation, ya know?

Cheers,

Danny

New Camera!

This critter is interesting, fo-sho. It's definitely a fish-eye, and it is definitely an auto exposure and auto white balance camera, as you can probably see in the photos. What that means is that most of the photos taken will be hit or miss, but with the proper understanding of how the auto portions work, there can be a certain level of control. With evenly exposed shots, things work out, like the photo out our corner window from the apartment. Anywho, I'm praying for wind tomorrow, so I can go fly a kite, and drag this critter up with it.

More to come,

Danny

California! A week with Mom and Aimee in Carpinteria

Ah jeezz! We woke up at 9:30, had pizza for breakfast, drug the kayaks over to the water and went for a paddle, came back and had beers on the sunny patio - at 11:30. What a life! We've spent a couple days in downtown Santa Barbara shoppin' and walkin', a few evenings and mornings walking the beach, and dinners in. It's great, like a real vacation. I've been able to geek out on helicopters, kites, and netbooks, and life has never been better! I'm wearing shorts right now, sun trickling through the screen door and onto my bare toes and back, all the while listening to the newest tunes on Pandora and watching Aimee tinker with my Mom's sewing machine. Two nights ago the girls went to a Thursday evening pottery class, and I went to the hardware store to buy supplies for a leveling system for attaching a camera to a kite line. The stabilizer is called a Picavet (pick-uh-vey) rig and it uses a long length of line passed through low-friction points on a cross-shaped frame (and then back to two points on the kite line), giving it the ability to self-adjust to changes in kite line angle. So, the idea is that you can attach your camera to the bottom of the rig, launch your kite, and then with either remote control or an interval timer, take photos or videos for your viewing pleasure. Above is a picture of my version-1 rig, made of aluminum bar stock, heavy steel fasteners, and frictiony (that's a technical term) copper wire. I'd like to make v2.0 out of carbon fiber battens, nylon hardware, and fly-fishing rod tips. I'd also like to upgrade a section of the kite line to high-strength fishing monofiliment so that it isn't visable (as much) in the photos/videos. And since I need to git some heavy-duty monofiliment for the fishing kit I'm taking down to Baja with Christian, I'll be killing two birds with one shotgun. Or something like that. OH!

In other news, I bought a new camera (and computer....)....and some kites.... Ouch, says the bank account. But, money aside, I got a GoPro Hero HD, which is essentially a super-wide/fisheye-only mini camera (5MP, tiny sensor) that records 1080p video (and 720, etc) in addition to JPEG photos. It's really simple, comes in a waterproof case rated to 130-feet, and I bought a couple mounts for it so that I can retro-fit spearguns, poles, kites, helicopters, etc with the rig. I'm pretty antsy to get my hot little hands on it (UPS says Tuesday!). I also purchased a netbook, a Toshiba T215-S1140, which is essentially: 11.6" screen, eSATA connector, HDMI output, 8GB RAM capacity (and full use of all 8GB via Windows 7 64-bit), a 250GB Hard drive, and an AMD 1.7Ghz single-core processor. Oh, and an advertised battery life of 5.15hrs, which probably means two...which I'm OK with. And I got three new kites, a 2-3 square footer, a 14, and a box Delta that has a 7.5' span (although this kite will likely be retired for travel KAP, as it's sewn-in fiberglass poles are far to long to be carried-on, considering how light I like to travel. I'll be taking the kites, camera, and computer down to San Diego next week to go sailing with my friend Christian on his sailboat Altair for two weeks, with Cabo as our final destination. He'll be continuing on North into the Sea of Cortez from there, and he's been talking about South America and the Galapagos, which has got me pretty dang excited, needless to say! But that's the future, and who knows what will go down, so for now I'll just look forward to cruising down the coast, praying along the way that the hard-taco-boat Baja-Ha'ers don't run us over and pack-out the anchorages (because Altair's bowsprit will run 'em through, and we can't have that happening).

Anywho, we're heading to Six Flags Magic Mountain tomorrow, then flying home on Monday morning to spend a week in Seattle (although Aimee's staying in Seattle while we're sailing down the coast). While home I'm hoping to settle a identity theft issue, find a place to store my vehicles until January, streamline my gear for Baja, do some research/planning for Fiji/Solomons, do a bit of gun-smithing, work on my boat for a day, pick up an anti-malaria prescription, get some charts and info for the navigation portion of our trip down the coast, maybe have a cocktail or dozen, eat good food, and do some projects around the appartment. And yes, I'm pretty much moved-in with Aimee, we split rent, and my toothbrush resides next to her's - and we're still on speaking terms! : ) Naw, life is good together, and although the studio is small, we're making it work, even if we've only been home for a couple weeks out of the past few months...

Tis all for now: Peace yo!