Bula from Fiji!

So I'm currently in Nadi, on Viti Levu island and have finally found a laptop to borrow! I can't remember where I got to writing about LA but I guess it was probably just more of the same until we left. I'll have a look later and add to it maybe...

We flew to Fiji on Sunday- September 11th, 10 years from 9/11 which was interesting, though strangely it was much easier getting on a plane then than it was getting into America to begin with (a lot of repeated luggage checking, scanning, bag unpacking because of half a ham sandwich (thanks Elliot!) and a suspicious bar of soap which they had decided looke too much like an apple (dun dun duuuuuuuuuun!)- it was quick and easy and the flight was good- I somehow managed to sleep in the terminal and almost the whole way to Fiji, waking up only when we were eating and about to land- bargain! It did mean that I missed my designated squatting, ankle twisting and head rolling time and woke up with feet the size of a small country! Thoughts of elephantitis were forgotten when we got off the plane to find a Fijian band singing and playing guitars, flowers in hair and smiles on faces. Love this place already!!!

We were picked up at the airport by the funniest Fijian man called Elia, who is like a big kid and has a hilarious, infectious laugh. He took us to Bamboo hostel and when we checked in, they all seemed surprised to hear we had planned on staying there for the whole 12 nights as there isn't much to do in and around Nadi and it's quite far to get to other islands and near impossible for day trips- so our limited google research didnt help us this time. Anyway, we figured we'd have a relaxed day and think about what else we could do the following day. We'd just sat down when another guy that works at Bamboo- Rico- decided to teach us how to husk a coconut that he'd climbed a tree for- I don't think I have laughed that long or hard in a while- absolutely every part of it was, apparently, like having sex. Needless to say, neither me or Laura quite got the hang of it and we really couldn't stop laughing for long enough to properly concentrate. It was certainly an education! We spent the rest of Tuesday picking up Nicole from the airport (Elia holding a sign that said sugartits- love that man!) and pottering about. We walked to the local shopping centre for some dinner- a little caged room off someone's house, selling about 10 items. A lot like Tanzania! We had a bit of cava- a traditional drink in Fiji- looks and tastes a bit like muddy water, but they were adamant that we had to try it as it meant a lot in their culture. The men got out their guitar and we sat and listened to them take turns to play and sing in very impressive harmony- it was pretty good :) That was followed by an early night in the hope that we get rid of any trace of jet lag (I'm pretty sure we managed to escape it on the most part so far).

Yesterday (Wednesday) we got up and found Elia to ask about what we could do and it seems the best places to go are in the north of Fiji- he showed us some incredible photos of actual paradise and introduced us to a deal that involved getting a night ferry to Taveuni and spend a few days there, then a speed boat to Qamea for a few days, followed by a ferry back- it included all food and things like trips to waterfalls, kayaking, etc- basically sounded a little too good to be true... then he told us that the ferry only goes twice a week and we'd just missed one- making the whole north island combo a little closer to impossible (but still showed us more photos!). After A LOT of 'there-must-be-a-way'-ing, we finally figured out that we can do it if we fly back instead of getting the ferry- we booked the last 3 seats on the the plane for basically the whole of the weekend we needed them (though 2 are on one flight and 1 on another, but the same day). So- we leave tomorrow for the ferry and get back on the 23rd, in time for 2 final nights back at Bamboo before NZ. Cannot wait!

We spent the rest of the day weaving hats with Rico- I'm not sure what he had in mind, but I'm pretty sure our attempts weren't quite right- he laughed at mine and asked if I was making a hat for a leprichaun ... Hmm good! We cooked dinner and Rico did a fire dance show for all the Bamboo guests, which was pretty good. That was followed by drinking games at the bar and a bonfire on the beack with some other people from our and nearby hostels. I ended up staying up chatting until around 3 and am pretty tired now!

Today we got the bus into Nadi and had a potter about- it's pretty small, lots of shops selling sarongs and dresses and lots selling carved masks and homemade jewelery- I bought a sarong for F$5 (about 1 pound 80) as the decision to not bring a beach towel has not worked well for me so far- lying just on the sand, especially when wet gets old pretty fast- especially having been muched by a whole army of mosquitos- rubbing sand off very itchy bites does not help! I tried to nap on my sarong on the beach, but it's a bit windy today and I kept inhaling sand, so I gave up with the beach in favour of a hostel hammock and a spell of blogging.

So that's me for now. I guess I'll see if I can borrow the hostel laptop again when I'm back in a week or so, may even have a stab at uploading photos- until then, feel free to email or message me!

xx