Day 21 – Yasawa-I-Rara – Mar 8, 2018
We sailed about 50 miles to reach Yasawa-I-Rara, an
undeveloped island of about 2,000 people. While we were walking, a beautiful rainbow appeared as it sprinkled a bit.
It is best known as the movie location for both versions of “The Blue
Lagoon” (1949 starring Jean Simmons and the 1980 remake starring Brooke
Shields). The island is long and skinny,
with a picturesque coastline. At its
widest point it is only a half mile across.
This is a tender port, and there are no ship’s excursions, which
certainly tells you a lot about the undeveloped nature of the island. We were told that the beach was absolutely
beautiful and not to miss getting off the ship.
How true. The beach is at the end
of the tender dock and magnificent.
Fine, soft, powdery sand, palm trees for shade, clear beautiful warm
water. Behind the beach are some small huts/houses that serve as homes to locals. There
were some stalls with locals selling some of their handicrafts. We stayed on
the beach from about 9:30 am to noon. It
truly is an unspoiled island paradise. This place wasn't like paradise, it WAS PARADISE.
In the afternoon we spent some time poolside listening to
music by the Crystal Quartet.
There was an afternoon lecture by Dr. Teri Sowell
(Destination Lecturer) titled “War and Peace:
The Fijian Way.” The subject was
how Fijians conducted war and negotiated peace in traditional times. There was also why the ritual drinking of
kava is still at the center of all important social interactions.
We enjoyed piano music in the Crystal Cove pre-dinner and
then went to Prego, the Italian Specialty Restaurant for dinner. The food in Prego is always amazing, and
tonight was no different. Julie enjoyed
the Shrimp Borsette & Grilled Prawn Appetizer, Mushroom Cream Soup, and the
Lasagna (Ground Meat, Porcini Mushrooms, Tomato and Bechamel Sauces.
Bob had an Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts, Fresh Pear &
Gorgonzola Crumble. He also had the
Mushroom Cream Soup and Lasagna. For
dessert we shared a Pomegranate Semi-freddo.
The evening entertainment was Kym Purling, pianist. He was absolutely amazing. His Jazz improvisation was incredible. He started performing internationally at 16,
has worked in 50 countries, and performed in all 50 states in the US. Purling has recorded six albums, and won many
awards.
As if that wasn’t enough, we then decided to watch the
performance of the Latin Dance Quartet.
As always, their dancing was beautiful.
Before retiring we decided to go outside and see if we could
see the Southern Cross. We were about 12
degrees south of the equator and the Southern Cross is only visible from the
Southern Hemisphere. We went up to deck
8 forward. The ship’s lights in the
front were off (including the bridge lights).
The sky was clear and filled with bright stars. The Southern Cross was
bright and the dense stars of the Milky Way was spectacular. We have a nice mirrorless Sony A6500 camera. Using it's night shot mode (takes three pictures and composites them), we were able to get this picture. It's pretty incredible given that we did not use a tripod and we were on a moving ship.
Today we walked 5.94 miles and 14,239 steps.
I might have mentioned this earlier, e loved the mushroom soup, but were not blown away with the rest of Prego. So much so that we contemplated swapping Prego for a 2nd trip (if allowed) to Silk Road (Umi Uma). We might need to pause that thought and try Prego again.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Buffett announced today that he is building a Margarittaville resort on Yasawa-I-Rara, breaking ground today! Everyone will be able to find paradise now!
This song (https://youtu.be/Bw9gLjEGJrw) is now going to be running through my head all day! Have a great day.
Paradise is looking fantastic! My bucket list may need another line. Have fun!
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