Hold onto your dive buddy's hand in Fij

n the silent blue depths of the Fijian coral reef, having my hand grabbed by the diver next to me was the tactile equivalent of a shout in the ear.

The diver happened to be my husband and the signal he was urgently passing on was the presence of a green turtle swimming just metres away from us.

The turtle lazily crossed our path and glanced at us with glassy black eyes before disappearing around the corner of a coral-covered outcrop. But my hand was not released from the vice-like grip my appointed dive buddy had chosen to apply.

Instead, it was yanked and pumped even harder as another creature had been spotted gracefully gliding across the sea floor below us.

It was a black-tipped reef shark moving with effortless guile some 10m away. The slow sway of its lithe grey body was enough to propel it through the water at a far greater speed than we could muster with the collective thrashing of our fins; an indication of the coiled power it held in perpetual anticipation.

Our dive trip seemed to have turned into a dive safari but without the ability to zoom off at top speed if things got hairy...[Link]

On Fiji time

"Bula!"

A mountain of muscular Fijian manhood that would dwarf an NFL linebacker greets me with a grin that lights up Nadi Airport. Tucking my camera bag and suitcase under each arm like purses, he ambles off towards a taxi in that easy, what's-the-rush Fijian gait. Rugby-stoked calves bulge from beneath his skirt, but no one would be game to call this dude a sissy.

I'm relieved to see locals still wearing those sulu skirts, part of the traditional male dress code. They're worn by everyone from villagers to policemen, who sport white ones with zig-zag hemlines.

I'm always a bit nervous returning to Fiji. It's one of those places you never want to change, not just for its empty beaches and spectacular coral reefs, but even more for the easy pace of life here and the good-natured friendliness of the Fijian people who seem so unaffected by the rush and buzz of the rest of the world...[VancouverSun]

[Editor's note: The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, and Fiji in general is one of the best trips/dive sites I've enjoyed...my video from that trip...absolutely recommend it.]