Cloud 9: A floating pizza bar in the middle of the South Pacific
(CNN) — As our two-engine speedboat starts the journey back to Port Denarau Marina, a major port on Fiji's main island, we lurch to an unexpected stop.
A seal on the fuel injector on the engine has loosened, so we sputter back to the mainland at half the usual pace.
But the possibility of such a transit hiccup is the chance you take when visiting a floating pizza bar in the middle of the South Pacific.
Opened in 2013, Cloud 9 bobs above Roro Reef in the Mamanuca archipelago, about 45 minutes off the west coast of Fiji.
"Prior to Cloud 9, Fiji was famous for family getaways and swaying palms, but it was really, really quiet," Bar'el Wachtel, co-founder of Cloud 9, tells CNN Travel.
"There's still not a lot to do, but Cloud 9 offers a gathering spot for people to come from all the hotels and experience a different kind of place."