Ah, Fiji, where the sun never shines

I like these guys!
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Somebody needs to remind the British that smoking is hazardous to their health.  We arrived at our hostel, Nadi Bay, and found that the vast majority of the visitors were from Britain.  All of them were younger than us, which was expected, but all of them had a chimney hanging out of their mouths.  Moreover, not any of them used sunscreen.  White backs, red bellies, and an endless supply of cigarettes;  time to become a dermatologist in England.   We explored Nadi for a few days and quickly learned that Fiji hosted the most aggressive sales force in the world.  Just short of a full blown tackle, the sales force would pursue you through the stores as if you were buying a Renoir or Van Gogh.  They would ask "qualifying questions" to see how much money you would spend.  i.e.  Where are you from?  (Don't answer England as the pound is the most powerful currency!)  Where are you staying?   Here's a question we would answer...at the backpacker place.  A fading smile would pursue and we were left on our own.  After a couple days of Nadi we would move to the small island of Nananu, just to the Northeast of the main island of Viti Levu.

This is what it would look like if we had a family
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With four bald tires, and a complete lack of suspension, the 3 hour shuttle ride to the Northeast part of the island is one that I'll never forget.  The driver was like Dale Earnhardt on lap 199 at the Daytona 500.  We begged him to stop for the goats in the road in which he was happy to do so, slam on the brakes and jacknife the minivan/trailer.  I immediately became religious and cited three Hail Mary's and three Our Fathers; my customary confessional penance while I was an alter boy.  The prayers worked, and after a short boatride, we arrived at Nananu Island Resort - a very small and rustic backpacker hostel.

I immediately became religious and cited three Hail Mary's and three Our Fathers

8-9 footer
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While disembarking the boat and walking up to the reception hut, Anne and I felt like part of a disturbing social experiment.  All eyes gazed upon us as we were the fresh meat of the day.  Nananu reminded me of the book Lord of the Flies, with everyone having their place in a social hierarchy.  Through the remaining 6 days, we earned our place and would soon stare at the arriving people, just as it had been done to us a few days earlier.

We completed five dives just off the coast of Nananu.  Of all of the places we have dove, this is among the very best.  Countless types of butterfly and rainbow parrot fish pick at the coral that lay beneath us.  And speaking of coral, Fiji is at the very apex for soft coral formations.  There is no close second.  Every color in the spectrum is represented and it puts your visual senses on overload.  On one of our dives, we ran into a school of reef sharks.  Their grace in elegance in the water reaffirm why they are the kings of the massive oceans.

Nemo
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On one of our last nights in Fiji, we stayed at an extremely small island called South Sea Island.  It was an enjoyable place to stay as there was about twenty women, aged 21-29, and I was the lone Alpha male.  We awoke the next morning, had breakfast, and then Anne and I went to pack our bags in the dormitory.  One of the women decided to come up to the dormitory to pack her bags with us, when Anne immediately left the area.  Leave me all alone?  Ya right.  Before she left our presence, Anne left the most foul smelling silent killer a person could drop.  It was like she was marking her territory, but leaving me to carry small conversation with the young, innocent Kiwi.  I've never been so humiliated in my life.

Anthias--they were everywhere
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Well, it's time to pack our bags one last time in Fiji.  We leave tonight, 4:15 am sharp.  This has been an interesting two weeks.  We have met some of the nicest and gracious people from all across the globe.  Kind of weird on the other hand.  You develop some great relationships for a two day period, just to have the person vanish on to their next destination.  For now, we are nomads, 8000 miles from home.

bkh