November 1, 2013
After breakfast we pulled up our anchor and headed off to a very small island called Leleuvia. Today’s passage was relatively short (about 14 miles) and very pleasant.
One of the first things we noticed: it was sunny here! It seemed Leluvia was not subject to the cloudy mountain effect of Viti Levu or Ovalau. The good news for us: we were now far enough south that the heat had lessened, and once again we welcomed the light and warmth of the sun.
Below, a map showing our trip to Leleuvia (only an approximate route—not to be used for navigation).
We motored in behind the island and down around a reef before being able to approach. As we did, we got our first look at the south side of the island and wow, did it look nice. A small thatched-roof resort sat amid palm trees along a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach. The anchorage, well protected by reefs, was still and calm, the water beautiful shades of blue. We loved it already!
As we got closer we could see the moorings we’d heard about. Just then a guy showed up on the pier and pointed us toward one of them, which we picked up easily in the calm waters off this resort. Our next task was go to in and visit the resort’s office. The moorings were free of charge, but in cases like this there’s an implied obligation to come in for a meal or at least drinks; so we wanted to introduce ourselves and make a dinner reservation.
We motored to the pier and tied up. Our first impression: This was the stereotypical idea of a tropical island paradise come to life! The palmed-lined white beach, the clear blue-green water, the hammocks strung between tree trucks, and a large Swiss Family Robinson-style bure (that housed the bar and dining room) all combined to make this a beautiful place. (Click to enlarge/scroll through any of the galleries that follow.)
After making a dinner reservation we headed to the bar for celebratory umbrella drinks, taking them to a table with a good view of our boat sitting peacefully in the lovely blue water. Ahhhh, paradise found!
Afterwards we walked on the beach, where I snapped a photo of a perfect palm tree hanging over a finger of white sand beach. I felt like I had stepped into a page from one of the tropical images calendars I used to hang by my desk back home.
It had been a long journey to get from there to here but standing here, feeling the pleasant wooziness from the afternoon mai tai in this idyllic place, was one of those “it was worth it” moments. Knowing this would be home base for a week or so made it even better.
Later in the afternoon our new friends on Meikyo pulled into the bay. We changed our dinner reservation from 2 people to 4 and all headed in for sunset drinks before dinner. I noticed how the water had changed hue and all the colors here were richer and deeper in the evening light.
We enjoyed our sunset beers and after that, a lovely beef curry dinner. We noticed this place had a couple of cats wandering around and enjoyed that, too. It’s always a plus for us when a place has a cat and/or dog or two.
We later motored back to our boat using a flashlight to light the way, always a good thing in an area where you might have a surprise line, mooring or bommie on the route. We had a final drink for the day, some rum while watching Survivor. Our very favorite way to watch Survivor is while drinking a rum cocktail in a tropical locale.
Later in the night we had the gift of a lovely downpour to rinse off the boat. I loved listening to the rain but was too tired to stay awake very long. It was a lovely end to a great day. –Cyndi
Update: We visited Leleuvia in 2018 and while it’s still beautiful, it does have a few issues. If you’d like to read about them; see the bottom of this post: Good-Bye Leleuvia
