Stepping into yesterday.

Taveuni is called the Garden Island, because as one of the north-easternmost of the Fijian group, it sits directly in the path of incoming storms. Annual rainfall is high, so the vegetation is lush, and the crops are abundant.

Unfortunately, it also put the island directly in the path of Cyclone Winston, the second most intense tropical Category 5 storm ever recorded: sustained winds above 125 mph. The cyclone did substantial damage on the island back in late February. Huge trees were uprooted, houses and marinas destroyed, roads washed out, and crops devastated.

 

Most of the damage had been repaired by the time I arrived, but almost no fruit or vegetables were available. And it rained, poured, for much of the time I was there.

I had booked a small beachfront resort, but I didn't have much opportunity to enjoy sitting outdoors. Luckily, I was mostly there for the diving. And that didn't disappoint.

 

 Rainbow Reef is what brought me to Taveuni. It sits in the protected channel between Vanua Levu and Taveuni, so its lush growth of soft corals and teeming populations of colorful fish were unaffected by the storm. 

 

The reef is aptly named. It rivals any place I've been for the sheer profusion of vivid colors, both of corals and fish. Best of all, the reef is fairly shallow. With the exception of the Great White Wall at 110 feet, the best dive sites are between 25 and 70 feet. That means more leisurely dives and more intense colors.

Conditions on the surface were wet and wild. As one of my fellow divers said, "Let's get in the water. It's too wet up here." 

But under the wind-whipped waves the Rainbow showed all its colors, especially when the sun showed up through a break in the clouds. These are some of the highlights from three days of diving.

 

There were only two or three divers on the boat while I was diving, which made for very uncrowded dives. The resort, Aroha Taveuni was not full, even though they only have six or seven rooms. They do have probably the best restaurant in the area,however, so the dining room was usually filled with ex-pats and locals. 

I had great conversations with a fellow Californian, an 80-year-old biophysicist, seeker, and sage, about everything from California in the 60s, to biochemistry and nutrition, and  the nature of God. A fascinating fellow.

 

I also had a long conversation with the safety director for a new reality show that was being filmed on the island called Stranded. They dropped people at various remote locations in Taveuni with nothing but there clothes and filmed how they managed to survive. Watch for it on MTV in the fall. Chris has been all over the world supervising safety conditions for TV shows and movies, including several of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. He had some great stories.

 

 

The International Date Line, the 180th meridian, runs directly through Taveuni Island, just about a mile south of Aroha. The little village of Meridian sits directly on the line. On the east side of town is yesterday, on the west, today. Officially, all of Fiji is in one time zone, but it's still fun to step back and forth between yesterday and tomorrow.

The Meridian Theater marks the spot.

 

The Meridian Store claims to be the first store in the world to open.

 

I was surprised to find out that I needed to take anti-malarial pills in the Solomon Islands. I had pills we never took on our Amazon trip sitting in a drawer at home, but they did me no good here. It turns out there are no pharmacies on Taveuni, so I had to get a prescription here and fill it when I got back to Nadi.

During a break in rain, I walked down to the local doctor's office. It's the brown door in the green-roofed building next to Shivan's Curry House. The doctor was looking after a couple of the local children. He wasn't familiar with anti-malarials, since there is no malaria in Fiji, so together we Googled the CDC website and found information on what drugs were recommended for the Solomons. He wrote me a prescription, for which he charged me $10 US. As opposed to the $120 each we paid to visit the travel clinic in Boise. When I got back to Nadi, I paid $7.50 US to fill the prescription.

 Scenes from the village.

 The fire station.

In spite of the weather, Taveuni was a lovely spot to visit. I'd love to go back sometime when it's dry.

 

P.