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Bula guys
I hope you're all well...
So, Fiji, where to begin!!
Firstly I must include a quick note to Ellliot,Alex and Naz, incase they're reading.....guess what film was on during the flight guys!?! Alvin and the Chipmunks!! Unfortunately I'd drunk too much wine so couldn't keep my eyes open for the entire film but I couldn't help but grin when they announced the in-flight entertainment!! I tried dragging the guys along to see this film at every chance in Oz, but there was always a reason why we couldn't go see it, and finally I got my wish!!
So, it was raining when I landed in Fiji and that night there was a thunderstorm! Not what I was expecting but luckily for us the weather did improve over the next ten days.
We spent the first night on the mainland at the Nadi Bay Hotel. To our complete horror a cockroach appeared on our table during dinner and did a couple of laps of the table before I flicked it off with a knife!!
The next day we got on a bus which took us to the Marina and boarded the South Sea Cruises Catamaran where we had our first experience of 'Fiji Time'!! After dropping off people at four islands we returned back to the main land to refuel and so we arrived at Octopus resort on Waya Island 2 hours later than scheduled! We didn't mind too much though, the sun was shining and we sat soaking it up on the top deck eating Magnums!! En route we also saw the most beautiful rainbow, you could see the start and finish, something I've never experienced before and it was simply wonderful!!
So, anyway, we eventually arrived at Octopus and had to get into a smaller boat which took us over to the island. I got chatting to a guy called Ian in the boat and from then on the three of us hung out together for the next few days! On arrival at Octopus we were given a lovely fruity cocktail and told all about the resort. We were also told we had to attend a Kava Welcome Ceremony that night! It rained the rest of the afternoon so we played guess who (I won by the way-Joe hates to lose!) and became friendly with the bar staff!! At 6.30pm when the ceremony commenced we had to sit in a circle with all the other newbies and when we were given the cup of Kava by the Fijian dudes (which looks and tastes like dirty water and is actually illegal in some countries!) we had to clap once, say bula, drink it in one and clap three more times! Joe (who was already quite intoxicated at this point from all the beer he had drunk during the day) was elected as chief which meant he was given the first cup and also had to stay with the elected spokesmen of the group and finish the remaining Kava once everyone had had a couple of cups!
Ian and I laughed so much watching him trying to focus!! After dinner about 9pm we sat drinking with the Fijian guys who played/sang a few more songs but by 9pm Joe was not in a good way and so it was a very early night!!
Over the next few days it continued to rain in the afternoon which meant games time!! We played Cards, Scrabble, Pictionary and Monopoly!! And even when the weather did improve and we had a few full days of sunshine, we took part in several of the activities that were on offer.
One morning Joe got up early and did a 4 hour hike up a mountain!! He was hungover too, I couldn't believe he actually went! Meanwhile I went to visit a local village and school which was great fun. I gave the local kids some crayons, co louring and sticker books and they were so excited! The school children were such posers! They all insisted on having their photos taken and then they would practically grab the camera off you to have a look at themselves! Oh yes, you may notice in some of the photos of the children it looks like they're sticking their fingers up at me but they are in actual fact trying to do the peace sign!! I did manage to get a few of them to turn their fingers round but not all so don't be alarmed!! They actually enjoy having their photos taken!!
I also attended the local church service. I put on my Sunday best! A long white skirt and a nice top (shoulders and knees have to be covered when entering villages) but the skirt didn't stay white for long as we had to walk through a load of mudday tracks to get there!! The service was absolutely amazing, even though it was all in Fijian I found it really emotional and the choir singing was just beautiful. To my amusement a dog ran into the church mid sermon, it had the saggiest b******s I have ever seen and then proceed to lick them!! Talk about inappropriate!!!
The kids were sooo cute, they kept running about and the mums were having to feed them sweets to keep them quiet. If they misbehaved too much a man would come over with a stick and give them a tap on the bum!!
As well as entertainment during the day there was also nightly events such as quiz night, movie night, games night, international crab racing, and hand line fishing. Joe and I didn't have much luck with the fishing (I'm far too impatient!) and our crabs only made it to the second round but it was a lot of fun!! For movie night a giant screen is erected over the pool and free popcorn is provided. There were three movie nights whilst we were there and we only attended one.
Instead of going to first one Ian, Joe and I decided to get blind drunk and sang the night away to songs on our ipods! The second one only three of us voted for 'meet the fookers' and some boring film was chosen so we played NZ Trivial Pursuit instead which proved quite tricky when you're not a NZ resident!! We did however watch the movie on the last night which was called the golden compass!! Don't bother is my advice! To Joe's horror I fell asleep and began snoring! (on more than one occasion!) He had to keep prodding me to wake me up!! The free popcorn was good though!!
One night we decided to play Poker. Now I've never played Poker before and I was soo drunk I could barely focus whilst everyone tried explaining the rules to me! However to everyone's amazement I won!! Apparently it's beginners luck but we'll see when I get to Vagas!!
The Octopus resort was mostly couples and families but there were a few backpackers and in addition to Ian we made some lovely friends. Jess and Lauren from Liverpool who were very funny. Erica and Dave who were a great couple, James and Lance, Adam and Claire who got married on the beach whilst we were there. And a trip to a new country wouldn't be complete without bumping into friends you've already met in a previous country. On this occasion it was Gemma, Lisa and Gill who I met on the Milford Sound Cruise Coach in NZ, they're lovely, really genuine girls and funnily enough Gemma also worked for JPM so we're going to be lunch buddies when we both return there! The staff were also really lovely, the bar tenders loved Joe as he talked rugby with them and our cleaner was so kind. She made me show her all my photos of the family and friends, and she loved the piccies of Ben!!
We had no real concept of time whilst in Fiji, the only way we knew what time it was was the sound of the drum to signify that breakfast/lunch or dinner could then commence!! There was also tea and cake at 3.30pm each day and the food was delicious!! Now you all know I love my food so I have to dedicate at least a paragraph talking about it ! So breakie was cereal, toast, fruit, cakes, tea and juice etc. There was a choice of ten dishes for lunch, although I had the beer battered fish and chips nearly ever day! It was just too good!! Dinner...well where to start! We had Italian night (Joe's favouite), Curry night, Fijian night, Seafood night, and various other dishes. My favorite had to be the night we had Coconut and yam soup, followed by a roast and then bread and butter pudding. Although the fish pie was pretty damn good too!
As for beverages, we certainly got through some bottles of Fiji Gold and Joe developed a taste for the Rose wine, so we had quite a few bottles of that!! I also took on the island with me two bottles of Fiji Bounty Rum (58%!) One night we sat talking and drinking the rum at the bungalow and ended up missing dinner as were so drunk!! Good job I had a supply of pringles to snack on! Another night we made everyone else give it a go and we knocked it back to the classic 'Roxanne!!' I was blamed for everyone's hangovers the next day as I had bought it!! We also enjoyed several cocktails whilst watching the sun set each night. One time we sat on our loungers listening to Frank Sinatra on the ipod and watching the sun go down, it was pure bliss!!
As people arrive on the island and leave the island the Fijian people sing a song and play the guitar, the songs always made me smile (We heard them quite a lot being there for ten nights) and I've even bought a CD of the band's songs so I can reminisce once home in England!!
Fiji is a wonderful place, and the Octopus Resort was fantastic. I throughly recommend it to anyone thinking of going to Fiji. The website is as follows; http://www.octopusresort.com
So, now here's the part you've all been waiting for...how Joe and I got on!! As you know, I've always been honest in my blog entries and I'm not about to start lying now so the truth is, the first couple of days were really quite weird for both of us. I think it was because we had both put far too much pressure on ourselves with regard to the whole situation. Afterall we'd only had one real date and it was a big thing Joe coming all that way, plus 5 months had passed since we had last seen each other! We had a chat about the situation after a few days and after that everything improved. We were so much more relaxed around each other, and we laughed and had fun like we had done all those months ago!!
That said (and before you start digging out the wedding hat Cilla!) I can't see us having a long term relationship. But never say never, we'll certainly stay friends and meet up once I'm home....well at least I hope we will...
So, there you go folks. I'm currently in Hawaii, it's been a crazy couple of days here but I'll tell you about that next time.
Until then take care of yourself and each other! Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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