[Fiji] Chapter L: In which we receive a new proof that it is hot in the tropics

We flew out of Nadi, Viti Levu Island, in a tiny airplane (18 seats, only 8 of them occupied) and landed in a tinier airport (a short runway and a one-room shed) in Matei, Taveuni Island, itself a walking distance from the house we had rented for a whole week.

Taveuni is often referred to as 'The Garden Island' and the paradisaical photos below should leave little doubt that it is indeed

astoundingly beautiful, just like a South Seas island is supposed to be.

Yet our stay on the island was coloured throughout by the intense and inescapable heat and humidity of the place (ironically, one of the "cooler" islands in Fiji). But the climate was oppressive not so much because of the objective temperatures (30+ Celsius by day, 27+ Celsius by night) and humidity (around 80%), nor so much because of the nearly cloudless skies (except during brief torrential tropical thunderstorms that came and went within minutes, drenching everything) and the extreme scalding strength of the sun, but rather because there was no respite from the heat and humidity. There were no air-conditioned stores or buildings to enter, nor was the house we had rented equipped with anything more than a single small electric fan. And even though that fan worked as much as possible throughout our stay, thanks to a single electric outlet powered by solar panels (for the rest of the house had generator-run electricity for only four hours a day, 6pm to 10pm, as there is no power grid on the island), it just was not enough to dispel the feeling of constant heat and sweat.

With such a backdrop, is it a wonder that we had more afternoon siestas in our seven days on Taveuni, than we had had in the whole of the seven years before?

Still, even so, we did not waste our time here and managed to do a pretty varied range of outdoor activities:
- hiking along the Lavena Coastal Trail (10km return)
- snorkelling at a couple of offshore reefs (accessible by boat)
- swimming in a natural pool at the base of the 24m-high Tavoro Waterfall (plus picnic)
- scuba diving at Rainbow Reef (where we even saw two sharks)
- walking 500m to a local mini-market to buy food, cold drinks and popsicles (sometimes more than once a day)

Accommodations:
- Robert's Pineapple House, a three-bedroom Airbnb house in Matei, Taveuni (7 nights; the house itself was pretty nice and reasonably well equipped, but the owners, who live elsewhere, were not always accessible and responsive enough when we needed them, and the solar power reserves were not plentiful enough to drive the electric fan 24/7)

Photo captions: (a-h) views from the Nadi-to-Matei plane; (i) the airplane; (j) the airport; (k) the house we rented; (l) the view from the house; (m-n) Lavena village, a fancy house and a schoolroom; (o-dd) Lavena coastal walk; (ee-ff) the island bus, which runs only three times a day; (gg-hh) views from the bus; (ii-rr) offshore reef snorkelling; (ss-tt) hard-to-photograph dolphins spotted on the way to the reef; (uu-hhh) Tavoro Waterfall and nearby

Note: The underwater photography was done using a simple action camera, rather than N's regular dry-land camera, hence the lower quality and lack of zoom. And --- most sadly --- the camera malfunctioned during the scuba dive, so no photos there at all.