Bula!!! (which seems to mean, hello, welcome, how are you, everything alright, and pretty much anything you want it to).

Here's a brief recap of the last ten days..............

The first island we went to was called Tavewa, right at the top of the Yasawas and we stayed in a small resort called David's Place. The resort was so quiet that at our largest there was five of us, not cool!! Me and Al stayed in a bora hut, which is a small hut with thatched roofing. It was very sweet and the mosquito netting made the beds look fit for a princess.

On the first night there were two girls from Norway there, Britt and Anne, and they had been there so long they were practically family so dancing and cards followed dinner. On the remaining two nights, the resort decided not to turn on the generator, so after dinner, it was pretty much bed time.

During the days there was absolutely nothing to do. At each place food is provided and they ring a bell to signal dinner time. It was amazing how quickly we were institutionalised, lying in our hammocks just waiting for the sound of the food! It was a truely lovely place but we felt ready to leave as there is only so much hammock swinging in comfortable silence one can manage!!

The next resort we went to was on the island of Naviti, called Korovou. This had a much livelier feel with a pool and large decking area to chill on. Myself and Al spent one morning going into the local village to meet the natives. They have a traditional welcome ceremony were they make you drink something called Cava. It is basically the root of the Cava plant crushed up in rain water, and is meant to have many health benefits for the stomach and pregnant fijians can't get enough of it. Personally it tasted to me like someone had done a poo in some mud water but I politely drank up. We met the chief of the village who was busy making a grass skirt and the children sang for us. Our driver also climbed up a coconut tree to knock them down for us and ran down it head first, like a ghecco.

At night the entertainment was put on by bula boys, who were the staff of Korovou and they always did the Bula dance (a warped version of the macarena) and made us join in (fun for the first night, not so much after). They also danced with fire which was pretty impressive.

On the last day in Korovou it was my birthday!!!! Al bought me some chocolate and a card, and even treated me to a mint magnum (yes, it's as good as it sounds) and all the diet coke a girl could want! We had a long journey to get to Mana, involving a speed boat with a man with the craziest outer noise hair I have ever encountered so I didn't really feel in the party mood! Mana, the final island we stayed was comparatively a bit crap so we had an early night.

The next day however were slightly revived and made some new friends with names I can't remember and in the evening, despite another power cut (obviously me and Al have the kiss of death for electricity) we got very drunk and played a drinking game which I did not understand, was far too drunk to try to understand, and because I kept getting it wrong I was forced to drink even more, it was a vicious circle!! I literally fell into bed that night!

In the morning we woke up feeling a little the worse for wear and was promptly given water and sent back to bed by the resort owner Gerry, who is famed for his hairy nose! He woke us up when the boat arrived to take us to the mainland and I had to endure an hour on the choppy sea with my stomach feeling very tender!!

Back at the hotel we were accompanied by two of the boys we had met in Mana, Adam and John, and we tried to relax on our final night together.

Al left at one this morning and the boys said goodbye at six, so I'm now officially on my own, boo hiss. Am off today to book my next few days on the island and maybe indulge in some beauty treatments at the spa!!