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Greetings from Fiji! I have just returned from a four-day tour of the main island of Viti Levu, which was brilliant. Fiji is a wonderful place and I love it! I only wish I could have stayed here longer. My tour concentrated on showing you the village life in Fiji and took you to local sights rather than tourist spots.On day one we first stopped off at the Nadi markets and I was struck by how much it resembled India! I later found out that there are approximately 52% indigenous Fijians and 48% Fijian Indians living here. The Indians are decendants of the sugar cane labourers that were brought over by the British. So I felt right at home with all the hagglers and Indian mannerisms. We then stopped off for a barbeque lunch on the Natadola Beach where we all relaxed on the beach. There were about 15 of us on this tour and we all got on really well. After lunch, we headed to a coastal village at Malo-malo. On the way we passed through huge fields of sugar cane. It is a big part of the locals' diet and villages are reliant on it for income and family meals. Once we reached the villages, we put on our sarongs (including the boys) and wandered around. None of the villagers need money to survive here as they grow their own crops around their houses, fish in the sea and wash in the well. The people were so friendly and welcoming and always greet you with 'bula!" We went inside a traditional bure, which is a type of hut. It is put together in the traditional Fijian manner using only traditional methods and local materials and sits on a foundation of coral much higher than the rest of the surrounding village. This structure has apparently survived seven cyclones and not a single nail is used in its construction! We were told all about the old traditions of villagers and chiefs. The Fijians used to be cannibals before they were converted to Christianity. Now most Fijians go to church every Sunday. In this village, the church was situated in the centre of all the little houses. There was a wooden drum that is beated at 8.30am, 9.30am and finally 10.30am, to call people to church every Sunday morning.Our final stop of the day was the Sigatoka sand dunes. Here we had the the opportunity to go sand-boarding. However, I was under the impression that there would be a lot of sand. Instead, it was one narrow strip with grass at the bottom and barbed wire along the side. Having watched the boys come tumbling down, I decided to give it a miss, along with a few other cautious onlookers! I was also feeling a bit unwell this day, I think from the sudden change of climate from cold New Zealand to a very hot and humid island. We stayed the night at Mango Bay Resort which is on the Coral Coast, between Nadi and Suva. This was a lovely place and we all listened to local music while eating dinner. Before dinner we had to take part in a kava ceremony...I shall have to continue this all another time as I am unfortunately out of time on this internet. It is ridiculously expensive.I fly out to LA and then New York in a few hours time so that is it from Fiji! I have an 8-hour stop-over in LA after a 10-hour flight and a 7-hour wait for Rich after another 5 hours flight so it is going to be a long journey!xxx
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