Ratu Kitty Cooper, the fuzzy, wide-eyed weirdo you see in the photo below, became an essential part of our lives in Fiji, and it soon became apparent that we would have to bring him with us when we left. Almost two years previous, we had scooped Kitty up from the beach and saved him from malicious dogs on condition that he rid the apartment of rats for us. He had managed to not only rid the apartment of anything that moved, but to cuddle his way into our hearts, making it impossible for us to just leave him to mouse
It’s been a long time since I attempted to compose an entire story with something as primitive as pen and paper. Letters, sure, but an entire story? I’m having flashbacks to a little piece of prose I tried to compose in middle school in my very best script handwriting (which was always too sharp and pointy and lacked the right curves in my opinion). It was a “short” story about a girl who played the cello on the Titanic, and went on for page after page because the story just kept coming to me all at once as I wrote.
My favorite dive site around the Mana Island area of Fiji is a spot called Gotham City. On a tame day, it is teaming with ocean life. On the best of days, it’s a journey into another world, where you would think a rainbow exploded underwater there is so much color. The schools of fish are so thick that at times, you almost wish you could part the curtain to see what’s behind. Gotham City is comprised of two pinnacles, with a channel between. The site is a 45 minute boat ride away, and out in the middle of nowhere, with
2017 turned out to be the year of repeats. Our second year in Fiji, our second year going to Tokoriki for our anniversary, our second year going to Beachcomber for New Years, and our second year getting an iPhone stolen. We looked into doing something different for New Year’s Eve, but if you want to party in this corner of the world, then Beachcomber Island is the closest thing to it. There is a new day club not too far away, and we looked into that, but it is only a day club, and does not offer overnight accommodation. Beachcomber
September I was teaching an open water course, the entry level certification that will allow you to dive to 18 meters anywhere in the world. I misjudged the amount of air it would take to return to the mooring line at West Wing with my one student, and so we reached our ascent point with way more air to spare than was necessary. Luckily, a flash of color caught my eye at a nearby bommie, so I led the new diver over to investigate. Our approach scared an octopus down into his hiding spot in the coral. I already knew he