3 to 6 March

Spent the night in Nadi before setting off for the Yasawas. It was a 5 hour trip on the catamaran stopping off at all the islands on the way to drop off and pick up passengers. All the islands looked idyllic. We were picked up by a little boat for our transfer to Tavewa island. On the way we asked how many people were at our resort only to be told there was one other couple who were checking out tomorrow and there was no one else booked in during our stay. We both looked at each other and thought, lets see what it's like. On arrival we were shown to our bure which was quite basic, it had an inside loo and shower but seemed OK. However it had no comparison with our lovely accommodation at the Uprising. We had a laugh, shrugged our shoulders and thought we'd make the best of it. So we decided to go snorkelling. The water was clear, coral and fish life excellent. We then headed back to our resort when a local lad who looked a bit shifty suddenly appeared from nowhere. At the bure Pat realised his watch was missing and returned to the beach which was only a couple of minutes away to see if he'd left it there. There was no sign of it. So we suspected that it had been stolen. When we spoke to the staff and described the lad they said he was well known for doing similar things in the past but we had no proof. Not a good start and this made us feel a little uneasy as we would be the only guests in the resort.

We went to dinner which was very good - traditional Fijian food. However, there was no choice so it was like it or lump it! We asked to purchase some bottled water only to be told they had run out and the only alternative was to drink rain water! About 8 30 pm they started closing everything up so we had to go back to our bure (with a couple of Fiji bitters to keep us company). Earlier in the day we met some young backpackers from another little resort further down the beach who told us that they had seen a HUGE spider in their toilets which made me feel very nervous and I had Pat searching the bure for any creepy crawlies! All was well so we settled down under the mosquito net making the most of the ceiling fan. All the electricity went off at 11pm so it was pitch dark and VERY hot, 28C at night (we knew about the power going off as it was powered by a generator). During the night whenever Pat went to the loo, I followed him as I was too scared to go on my own. On the very first visit I saw a dark shadow on the wall of the shower. When Pat shone the torch on it - it turned out to be an ENORMOUS cockroach, the biggest Pat's ever seen!!! He killed it and shone the torch around the room to see if there were any more. There was - so he disposed of them while I was cowering under the mosquito net. Pat could see this had really freaked me out. This was the last straw with all the things that were going wrong and other stories the staff had told us so we decided to return to Nadi the next day. During the night Pat saw more in the room which he didn't mention to me until we had left. Funnily enough we didn't sleep very well that night as you could hear strange noises and things scuttling about the floor. Thank goodness we had the mossy net which I made sure was well tucked in around the bed!! We are now safely back in Nadi at the Mercure Hotel and we can now continue to enjoy the rest of our holiday. The resort we chose was a mistake but you live and learn and it hasn't spoilt the holiday. We will now be chilling out for the next 12 days in luxury hotels with NO creepy crawlies.