Back to England?
This will be the last blog post. Due to the Corona virus hitting Fiji at last, travel restrictions and the economic considerations etc. things are imploding here as well as in the rest of the world. Sophie has booked flights home for us, as ours in 2 weeks time will probably be cancelled. On the plus side, due to the vegetarian diet and lack of alcohol, Rhonda and I have both shed a lot of weight. We are so used to a meat diet that the "extreme camping" veggie food is not to our taste, plus the lack of alcohol of course.
However some of the interns and volunteers love it. But when you find out one girl has never eaten a steak or even a boiled egg. (I kid you not!) I can't say they are the best or reliable food critics.
All in all I would give Caqalai 7/10. It has met most of my expectations. At times I have felt excluded from the program. I am not sure I would recommend it to the older generation. Fitness isn't a problem, only three of us managed the whole distance without sickness or infections preventing us from diving. Having said that, it was not easy for GVI , what with the Xmas cyclone wrecking the base, the bures needing new roofs, staff shortages due to "visa" problems and someone leaving all delayed the dive training. Never did get survey ready which was a big disappointment, only partly due to my ineptitude. Rhonda did get survey ready and can bore you about coral.
Our scuba diving has certainly improved along with our general fitness, so all in all a worthwhile couple of months. I wish everyone the best of health and hope things get back to some semblance of normality soon.
All in all I would give Caqalai 7/10. It has met most of my expectations. At times I have felt excluded from the program. I am not sure I would recommend it to the older generation. Fitness isn't a problem, only three of us managed the whole distance without sickness or infections preventing us from diving. Having said that, it was not easy for GVI , what with the Xmas cyclone wrecking the base, the bures needing new roofs, staff shortages due to "visa" problems and someone leaving all delayed the dive training. Never did get survey ready which was a big disappointment, only partly due to my ineptitude. Rhonda did get survey ready and can bore you about coral.
Our scuba diving has certainly improved along with our general fitness, so all in all a worthwhile couple of months. I wish everyone the best of health and hope things get back to some semblance of normality soon.
