[Fiji] Chapter LIII: In which R does not seem to like in the least what is offered to him

After the boiling cauldron that had been Wayasewa Island, we found Nanuya Lailai, another island in the Yasawa group, to be moderately cooler, thanks the frequent overpassing clouds and the occasional rain shower. Not cool enough to comfortably rest in one's room without becoming drenched in sweat, but cooler nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the lodging --- a "would be" or "has been" dilapidated

"resort" reeking of neglect --- was not at all what we had expected and we quickly wished we hadn't come there. Which was in some respects quite sad, since it readily became clear that the place was so run-down not out of any ill will, but primarily because the family running it was too poor to properly maintain it, not the least because the place has been partly wrecked by repeated severe tropical storms hitting the island in recent years.

Nevertheless, we stayed there only for as long as it took us to briefly explore the nearby attractions (three nights instead of the planned four):
- The Sawa-i-Lau sea caves: Nice but rather overpriced (US$45 per person for boat taxi and entry).
- Snorkelling at the nearest reefs: Not world class, but still the finest we've experienced in Fiji.
- The Blue Lagoon: A movie-famous beach about an hour's hike from our "resort", and probably the dirtiest beach we've seen in Fiji.
- Sunrise at the local beach: Surprisingly beautiful, perhaps because it required no effort beyond opening the door of our room and walking twenty metres to the beach, given that we were already more or less awake and sweating.
- Charming chats with Poasa (Fijian for Boaz): The owner's 75-year-old father, an ex-cruise-ship-captain and quite a figure.

If we could, we would have liked to snorkel the reefs once more, but when we wished to do it, the only boat at the "resort" was busy elsewhere, and the draw was not enough (at least for R, who has a lower endurance threshold than N) to have us stay another night.

And so we boarded "The Yasawa Flyer" (the only comfortable ferry serving the Yasawa islands) for the third and last time and returned to Nadi. In total we had paid US$445 just for the three ferry rides (for two people) --- a questionable investment given the somewhat disappointing Yasawa islands. Still, no regrets.

And so we returned to Nadi for the third and last time and this time we did not stay for just one night. Instead, we rented a small apartment for five days, the better to recover from the Yasawa adventure, to plan ahead, and to see a bit of Nadi (although it doesn't have much to offer by way of attractions). And we even got a chance to experience one more slice of authentic Fijian life, for it just so happened that our stay in Nadi coincided with an extensive scheduled complete water shutdown throughout most of the western side of the main island, including all of Nadi (was expected to last three full days, but ended up being only one). Luckily, our landlady supplied us with a whole lot of buckets and pails to fill with water ahead of time, more than enough to carry us over.

Accommodations:
- Jovesa's (Fijian for Joseph) Airbnb cabin in the so-called Sunrise Lagoon Resort on Nanuya Lailai Island (3 nights; not too good and relatively expensive)
- Concave Road Apartments, Namaka, Nadi (5 nights; very nice and, most importantly, air conditioned)

Photo captions: (a-f) Nanuya Lailai island and nearby; (g-s) snorkelling off the island; (t) a sea snake on the rocks; (u-w) Sawa-i-Lau sea caves and around; (x) a coconut carved by a guest at our resort; (y-z) sunrise on Nanuya Lailai; (aa-dd) Nadi market (kava (Fiji's legal drug), taro, okra, and other four-letter words)

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.