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Fiji - I spent 2 nights on the main land and then headed over to Mana (Magic) island where my friend Sarah, who i met in NZ and her travel buddie, Russell were staying. I spent the rest of the whole 2 weeks there except for two nights where i went to Bounty Island with two lovely Swedish girls i had met. We took out a Hobie Cat but gave up as there was no wind. Instead we kayaked around the island but i nearly sank as my kayak quickly bagan to fill up with water! When i returned to Mana i realised that despite being basic, it had so much about it. It is the people who made the island and living as part of the local village made it slightly different to a typical resort.
The staff were all adorable and it was like being part of a big family. Having spent quite a bit of time on Mana, we saw lots of different people come and go but by the end there was quite a big group of us who had all caught "Mana Fever" and couldn't leave!!
One evening we booked to do the all night sandbank party. 13 of us (including some of the staff) got in a little boat and headed into the middle of the sea to a tiny sandbank. As the tide was rising and there had been some bad weather we were unable to get off on the sandbank so instead we went to a deserted beach and partied until 3am. All evening we could see that a storm was coming over and just as it started to bucket it down we packed up everything including 2 tents, BBQ and electric generator and lights - mayhem! and all piled on the boat with "boatman" at the helm. I have never been so drenched. By the time we got back to Ratu Kini's (hostel) the rain had died a bit so we sat soaked on the decking and finished off the remainder of the Fiji Beer!
Every evening at on Mana was a highlight - there were themed nights of dancing and i got to see every night twice. The staff were all amazing at dancing, singing, playing guitar and everything else that goes on with little else to do on the island. In the evenings they often joined us and we became "locals" - we even learnt the welcome song and had to sing it to new arrivals!
The first week was really fantastic weather but for the majority of the second it was cloudy and rained lots. We kept ourselves amused by playing so many games of hearts and one day a few of us took out kayaks in the rain.
It eventually came to the day i had to leave and i was really sad to be going. For a few days i felt quite home sick from leaving so guess it will be somewhere to go back to.
L.A - I spent just 2 nights in L.A. We stayed very near to Venice beach. It was exactly how i imagined California to be but felt quite sureal. I had two Wednesdays last week due to flying -18 hours from Fiji. Think im probably still adjusting as it's hard to sleep at night and then im really tired during the day! Anyway, the first afternoon we walked the stretch of Venice beach as far as Santa Monica where we got a HUGE burger for dinner... and got very excited about the shops. The following day we took the bus back into Santa Monica and spent the day shopping (just looking in my case). I can't wait to go back there in June and be able to buy things before coming home. I had the next day just relaxing before flying to Washington DC in the evening to connect with my flight to Cancun.
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - I landed in Cancun around midday on Saturday and got the bus to Playa. I am staying with some friends here in their apartement which is about a minute walk from the beautiful beach. Playa is quite touristy and there are lots of modern shops which fill the main street stretching from one end of the town to the other. The weather is really good and i spent yesterday Sun baking on a lounger on the beach. Re-charging those batteries before the hectic tour begins on sunday! On sunday we all went over to Cozumel Island and hired a retro soft top VW beetle to get around the island. We stopped off for some snorkelling and had dinner over there before getting the ferry back.
Im heading to Cancun on Friday so will update again there, love to all xÂ
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