Time flies in the jungle, as well as in the entire world, and
that being said it’s been a little over two weeks since we arrived home from
Fiji. What a fantastic place – fantastic Fiji.
After long flights and layovers we finally arrived at the
Nadi airport more than 24 hours after our first departure. The airport is quant, warm and
delightfully pleasant. We were greeted with a lei of seashells and smiles all
around. We found our transport to take us to the resort and on our way we went.
The drive from the airport guided us through vast agricultural
and mountainous land. Cows, horses and houses greeted us on our long drive. We finally
arrived at the resort and a gentleman was drumming on a hallow log welcoming
us. We checked in and set off to our bure.
The entrance of the resort hid its treasure. As we turned
the corner from the check-in area we stepped out onto a beach dream – a Fijian
dream. We were confronted with a crystal clear ocean with white a sandy beach
and far-off breaking waves. Palm trees scattered the property and “Bula” ("wishing
you happiness and good health") was uttered by every employee of the
resort as we walked to our home for the week.
The bure was perfectly sufficient for sleeping as that is
all it was used for but the best part was that it was ocean-facing,
unobstructed and close enough to hear the constant break of the beautiful waves.
Mike and I spent many nights sitting on the patio, talking and listening to the
waves. Gorgeous!! That day we met up with Grandpa Wayne and Grandma T and our
first day was magical -- playing in the ocean, snorkeling and discovering the
abundant ocean life. Truly amazing.
The resort was absolutely beyond our expectations and
perfect for families and couples alike. That night we dined at the restaurant and
enjoyed a delicious three course meal and tiredly ate the delicious desserts. The
next night, unfortunately, both Hannah and Mason got pretty sick and lost a lot
of their spirit and energy until the day we left. Despite being sick they were
total troopers.
I have so many favorites of our Fiji trip. One was the night
we got there, Grandma T and I played in the dark ocean under the starlit sky
while laughing uncontrollably as passers-by heckled us on our craziness.
Another was snorkeling. I have never seen such variety of ocean life and coral.
Mike and I did a ton of snorkeling together (even did yoga underwater, too fun)
while the kiddos tortured many hermit crabs on the beach. The whole family
kayaked one day and Hannah and Mason did a great job paddling.
One particular favorite was when we went to a school at the
nearby village. We walked with our guide Kini, who is an amazing person. She
told us about the village and its culture. She is especially familiar because
she grew up in the village and attended the school there. The school was small
but very organized. As I understand, the Fijian government requires each child
to achieve a certain level of reading, writing and arithmetic in three
languages English, Indian and Fijian. They must achieve the expected level
before they can progress to the next grade. Way to take care of your future
leaders, Fiji! The entire school also does daily devotions and requires each
child to brush their teeth after lunch. I was so impressed with the school and
its teachers as the kids sang and greeted us. It was very moving.
The firewalking and Kava ceremony was another memorable
night. Legend has it that over 500 years ago the men of Beqa Island were given
the gift of being able to walk on fire by an eel in exchange for its life (http://www.fiji.travel/activity/firewalking).
The descendants of those men are the only men who are allowed to participate in
the firewalking ceremony. The men were dressed in grass skirts, chanted and
sang while each one walked over the hot coals. It was crazy. Following the
firewalking was the Kava ceremony. Derived from the kava root and mixed water,
the villagers drink kava out of a large wooden bowl scooping it out with a coconut
shell. They start with their eldest, then men and lastly, women. Each
participant has to clap once first, take a sip, and then clap three times. The
kava root is a mild narcotic that numbs the tongue and makes one feel relaxed.
The audience was invited to drink after the villagers. It was NASTY tasting and
holds up to its reputation of tasting like dirty dish water. An experience for
sure!
The last day we got to go deep sea fishing. It was a cold,
windy and rainy morning. The captain and his shipmate (finally) showed up
holding gas cans and a cooler of beer. They walked us over to a part of the
resort and told us to wait under the shelter of a hut as they proceeded to walk
in the ocean to a small boat. We soon realized this was not going to be a
luxury day at sea. We shed as much dry clothing that we could, took our good
cameras back to the bure and had to make our way through the ocean, in the rain
and, now, fog to the little dingy of boat.
The captain finessed the boat through the tight passages of
coral and we soon hit the waves of the ocean. I am not talking about little
waves these were huge swells that tossed us about and covered us with cold
ocean water. The excitement turned to straight fear. There weren’t any suitable
life jackets for the kids and visions of them toppling into the ocean consumed
me all the while Hannah was losing her mind! Screaming and crying each time the
boat slammed hard on the water after the waves brought us up. To make matters
worse, poor, Grandma T started to get seasick and Grandpa Wayne was starting to
get a little green himself. The captain and shipmate were business as usual.
The shipmate was busy setting fishing lines into the water in hopes to catch a
big one.
After an hour of fighting the waves, Hannah screaming and
Mason motionless (in fear, I am sure) we decided to head back. As the boat
started to turn around FISH ON!! Two of the four lines had fish on and they
were fighting. Mike and Wayne jumped up and each reeled in the monsters. The
two beautiful dolphin fish leapt into the air out of the water. They successfully
brought the fish in and were smiling from ear-to-ear. Our little fishing trip
was now complete.
It seemed like forever to get the boat back to its docking
point because the captain had to navigate through the waves to avoid flipping
the boat over. He even had to go back out to try another angle back in. Once we
anchored, we happily
disembarked the boat, thanked our captain and shipmate and hurried back to
LAND! Mike brought the fish to the chef and that night, our last night, we
enjoyed the fish in a buttercream sauce – delicious! An experience, I don’t
think any of us will forget.
Sunday was a sad day of saying goodbye and tears were
flowing. Back to the jungle we go. I have to admit, I have expressed and
experienced some amazing cultures that are warm and welcoming but Fiji is
comprised of the absolute warmest and most welcoming people of any other
culture. We made many new friends at the Fiji Hideaway Resort and hope to
return one day.
We are settled back into the routine here and now looking
forward to the holidays. I am currently teaching the music classes and
directing the upcoming school musical. It has been a fun and learning
experience and blessed to have such opportunity!
As always to be continued… (more photos to come but my internet is too slow right now ;)
