Maui Palms Coral Coast

... moving vehicles in front.

The countryside was much greener than we expected but apparently they had had rain a couple of weeks earlier. We passed lots of cows and horses grazing at the side of the road and lots of roadside stalls selling fruit and vegetables - it definately had a look of Thailand.

What we did learn was that there had been bad floods in the area in January and throughout the journey to ...

... left in the South Pacific, and we head to Los Angeles tomorrow. I am very excited about the American part of the trip, I might even stop over to see Stephen at some point if possible. The plan at the moment is to head to LA, San Diego, possibly Tijuana for the night, Las Vegas, San Fran, Washington and then New York. However with money getting a bit tight, who knows where we'll end up going!
Anyway, I look forward to your comments, I hope everything is well back home.

... s beloved GUESS bag was sent in with the rest of the 'normal luggage' to be checked in. She was not impressed as we looked on from departures as the ground crew tossed bag after bag onto the plane and eventually even her GUESS got the heave-ho treatment (i thought it was funny anyway!). Still we shouldnt have been too bothered we were on our way to sunny and idyllic Fiji

Unfortunately ...

... a stingray and a whole group of squid! And then kayaked all around the island! What a killer on the arms tho! Next day was pretty much the same but it was such a paradise island you cant complain! Next stop was Beachcomber - what a contrast. I was in a 120 bed dorm and couldnt even get my pack through the door it was so cramped. Bit of a trashy resort to be honest which wasnt really what I was after. Everyone had ...

... something like we had in Tofu, Mozambique: a cramp, dirty beach hut. The room is not luxurious at all but it is spacious and clean. We meet Alan, the owner, in the evening. The food in the resort is delicious, luckily, since there is nothing else in walking distance. We are told to show up before 8 in the morning (middle of the night) to go diving. I send Dr T out ;-) The news is: there is no diving on Sunday: come back tomorrow. No worries: there is free ...

... the sea to cool off. The water was warm but clear and refreshing, although we were hot again as soon as we'd got out. After an hour or so to relax, we had a BBQ lunch cooked for us by our guide and driver, then set off again a short distance to a local village, where we stopped for a look around. The villages here are all open-plan with no roads between the houses - just grass and bare land, all fenced into one giant field in which the animals (horses, cows, chickens ...

... looks like muddy water and has a a numbing effect on your mouth! Alex was a big fan but for me the one sample was quite enough. We also took a day trip out to some great snorkelling sites where our guide caught some fish with a hand spear, after he had caught enough for us to eat for lunch he barbequed it on a deserted beach and made a dressing out of sea water, chillis and lime, it was delicious and one of the best days we have had ...

... come from them. As we were walking through the water he started yelling at Katie to turn to the right, we did and it wasnt until we got out that he told her she was heading for a snake. After we stopped looking like deer shone in headlights he laughed at us and said - thats not ********* - thats Bula ****! To this moment he wont tell us if there was one there or not. The word Bula has many different meanings here. It is mainly hello but ...

... standards. There were also lots of shops and restaurants. When we were in the middle of exploring, the power went out. Everyone kept telling us that it would be right back on. Unfortunately, we believed them. We eventually found a restaurant that cooks on a propane gas stove. So we ate there and decided to give up and go back. We found a small gas station on the way back. We bought some snacks (including M&Ms!!) and got back just in time ...

... so much coral and even a sea snake. By lunch time it almost decided to rain- sometimes it just dumped a lot of rain in just a few minutes and in an instant it was glorious again- and others it rained all afternoon (which is when we started the poker school.) We chilled out and did virtually nothing for the first few days apart from sitting in hammocks and reading our books with the occasional dip in the pool. After we had chilled out ...