Fiji

Fiji
Michelle and I arrived in Nadi and we were greeted by about 40 employees of all of the stores. Everyone was lined up to say “Bula!” (which means hello in Fijian). Between getting our baggage and getting to the shuttle to pick us up 3 separate people came up to us, introduced themselves, asked what our names were and checked to see if we needed help with anything. We arrived at our hostel and met up with Ashley and went to bed early. The next morning we were off on our “awesome adventure” cruise!!
During our cruise we island hopped around the Yasawas, which are a string of islands above the main island of Viti Levu. It was a beautiful ride to our first island through coral cays and deserted islands. We even passed the island where “Castaway” was filmed with Tom Hanks! Our first 2 nights were spent at the Coral View resort on the island of Tavewa. Most of the places we stayed had “resort” in their name but they weren’t what you think. They seem to put “resort” in the name of every accommodation in the Yasawas and they weren’t the 5 star hotel resorts you have in mind. Our room was a grass hut with walls and a shower! It was so cool!! As we departed the Yasawa flier we boarded a tiny boat to go to Tavewa. As we approached the island about 10 of the employees we lined up on the beach with 2 guitars singing welcoming music, followed by a very enthusiastic BULA!. We disembarked from our boat and every single staff member introduced themselves, shook our hands, and asked what our names were. I was amazed how nice everyone was and how genuinely interested people seemed to be in you. They weren’t just doing their job they actually wanted to get to know you. Coral view was filled with hammocks hung between two coconut trees. Tropical fruits grew wild all around the island and I took advantage of the mango tree right near my room. Ashley, Michelle and I hiked to the highest point on the small island and watched the sunset over the tropical south pacific. The water colors were so rich with lights blues and turquoises it almost looked unreal. We returned for dinner, which was situated right next to the high tide line. No shoes were allowed because the entire floor was sand. After dinner the Fijian’s performed music and dance for us. Then they called people up and taught us some of their moves. We had a blast. After a few cocktails we retired to our grass huts and went to bed. The next day we went on our first dive in Fiji and it was a SHARK DIVE! They brought us our away from the island and we descended down the anchor line. Then we got to a site where a rope had been attached to the bottom of the seafloor. All the divers held on while the dive master poured heaps of dead fish about 10 ft away from the rope. Then the sharks started to come. First the baby sharks, then the bigger ones, and finally a huge 4m lemon shark! It was really cool because all of the little fish that were munching on the dead fish would sense when a big shark would come and they would all scatter right before it came. Seeing the sharks feed and swallow entire fish hole while they were 10 ft away was so amazing!! After the sharks one of the guys also hand fed a moray eel! Moray eels can be aggressive and have been known to bite divers fingers off, straight through the bone. However, they said that they had been feeding it for a long time and it was “tamed”: We returned to coral view and our first storm of the tropics set in and continued the next day. We were told to expect the rain because it is almost Summer here which means the rainy season. However for our whole cruise that was the only day of rain!
The next day we transferred to the Wanna Taki cruise boat for the night which was located right off the coast of the island of Naviti. We were lucky because the night we were on the boat was the one night of the year both sets of crew members were on board because they were celebrating their Christmas/new Years party. This led to a very lively night with lots of Fijians. After dinner we had a hermit crab race where we all chose a crab, then the crabs were placed in a box in the center of a circle, the box was then lifted and the crabs would race to the edge. Ashley’s was named John Hall and I named mine Obama. After the race we played some card games with our fellow travelers. Since it was a special occasion the crew members began preparing Kava, which is the special drink of Fiji. Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant and it has a calming effect on the body and eventually leads to drowsiness and supposedly wonderful sleep. One of the people I talked to said it is used in weddings, celebrations, and other special events, and many Fijian’s drink it on a regular basis. The active ingredient in Kava, Kavalactones, accumulate in the body so that if you drink it on a regular basis you need to drink less to get the desired effects. I had heard all about Kava before I came to Fiji so I asked one of the crew members if I could try some. They welcomed me with many smiles and insisted I take a seat with them. The Kava is mixed in a large bowl, then one person dispenses it in half a coconut shell t everyone else. Before you drink it you clap once, say “BULA!” then drink it all. After you have finished you then clap three times. It tasted like muddy water and after a couple I got the first sensation of a numb tongue. I talked to a lot of the crew and it was really interesting hearing their life stories and perspectives on life. I asked one of them where his favorite place was in Fiji and he replied “wherever I happen to be at that time, that place is my favorite.” That statement really captured the mentality of the Fijian’s I have met. They are some of the happiest, laid back, and genuine people I have ever met. The next day I woke up after having a great night sleep (another effect of the Kava) and one of the crew members took us on a small boat to a deserted island where no one else was. They had started to build a resort there but abandon the project so the whole area was overgrown with vines and rainforest. It looked like the Lost World when they return to find the old dinosaur amusement park overgrown with plants. Ashley, Michelle, and two other people that came with us stayed at the beach while I started to explore the dense rainforest. I followed a heavily overgrown road through the jungle. It was so cool to literally be the only ones on an island in the middle of nowhere!! We spent a couple of hours on the island snorkeling and found a cave made of volcanic rock that overlooked the entire ocean. After the island we returned to the boat and had some fun taking pictures while we jumped off the side of it.
The next morning we transferred to my favorite place; Waya Lailai Ecohaven Resort. We were once again welcomed on the beach with guitars and music then brought our stuff up to our room, which had an excellent view of coconut trees, the ocean, and the giant mountain behind us. The next day we did two dives. The first one was a drift dive along the edge of the reef. We saw some amazing Gorgonians and green corals. The second dive was at a different reef and we saw a stonefish (which can kill you) and a huge Moray eel. The best part was…..I pet it!! The guide said that they had been training it for a couple of months but I must admit I was a bit nervous when my hand was going towards a creature that could literally snap my finger off. It felt exactly how I imagined: slimy. Before we pet the eel the guide fed it some fish and was petting it for quite some time before we had a go at it. Other highlights from the dive include white tip reef sharks and playing with clownfish in the sea anemones. After the dives we did a hike up to the top of the mountain where we watched the sunset. Our guide was super cool and was actually born on the island. As we walked up the mountain he would stop and talk about certain plants. He showed us one called the creeper vine which Fijians use to help clot blood and lower blood pressure. We also passed a mango tree which had been planted by our guides mother. (He was at least 60, so the tree was fairly old) It was really cool to here the history of the land from people who have been living there for so many generations. We also passed by this giant boulder about the size of two SUVs called wobbling rock. Out guide told us to climb on top of it and after we realized how it got its name. We fell asleep very fast after our long day of activities. Another cool thing about all the places we stayed was they were next to actual villages where Fijians have lived for many generations. There was no wall between their village and our accommodation, which made us fell like we were getting a more authentic experience. The next morning I attended church in the village next to us. After the missionaries brought Christianity to the Fijian island s in the 18th century most of the country is protestant. Sunday is a big deal in Fiji and no one does any work. Many people attend service three times: once in the morning, once in the afternoon, then once in the evening. I was invited to church by our guide from the walk and I sat next to him for the duration of the service. When you walk in everyone leaves their shoes at the door. Women sit on the left, men on the right. On the altar is the pastor and then chief of the village sits to his left in a giant chair. The entire thing was in Fijian but I was able to follow along in the songbook. It was a very memorable experience. After church I got my first massage and it was excellent. For 40 dollars I got an hour massage, what a deal!! From the massage table I could see the waves crashing, coconut palms moving in the wind, and ocean breeze all around me. I finished off the day with some hammock time and a bit of a snorkel. During the night we saw the villagers perform the Fire Dance! They twirled batons of fire and one guy even spat it out of his mouth. We also saw more Fijian dancing followed by a giant circle where the whole crowd danced. The next morning was spent lounging in the ocean (which was at least in the 80’s) We transferred to our final destination: Bounty Island. Bounty was a coral cay island (the other two were volcanic) so it was similar to Heron. There was a pool right on the beach and very yummy food. As we were taking advantage of happy hour it was hard to believe that it was December. I was laying in a lounge chair watching the moon come up over the ocean while it was 80 degrees outside, drinking Fiji Bitter, and what song was playing in the background…….White Christmas. It was so bizarre. I don’t think the tropics and Christmas will ever fit together in my mind. They listen to all of the classics we listen to back home but the only “white” they have in their Christmas is the sandy beaches. The next day was one of my laziest (hard to believe I know), and the majority of it was spent under a grass hut finishing my book combined with dips in the ocean to cool off. We had so much fun the last 7 days and I can’t believe how fast it went!! We are in Nadi right now and met up with Sean. Ashley is leaving tomorrow and then its Michelle, Sean, and I for the next week until I come home on Dec 23!! We have exactly decided what we are doing yet but I think we are going to Savusavu to do some more diving and relaxing. Internet is very hard to get here so this will be my last blog entry. You guys will just have to hear about my last week in Fiji when I get home in a week! I hope you have enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see all of you soon!