Day 21 - Thu Mar 8, 2018 Yasawa-i-rara, Fiji - Crystal Symphony - Sydney to Tahiti

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.