Ni Sa Bula Fiji!

Janine, the primary resident of Vosaniua, decked out for Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.
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Fantastic location to start a trip around the world, especially for a US citizen.  The climate is warm and relaxed.  Different languages are spoken (Fijian and Hindustani), but most people also speak English.  And while it isn't as great as some southeast Asian countries, the exchange rate is still favorable.  Most of all the landscape will help allay any worries, fears, or stresses.

I landed in Nadi, one of the two large, busy, dirty towns on the biggest island of Viti Levu.  It was recommended to me that I leave Nadi behind as quickly as possible.  There were plenty of other islands that would be more like the 'real' Fiji.  With the help of Sereana, an accommodation agent at the airport, I was soon on my way to Mana Island in the Mamanuca chain just west of Nadi.  Before leaving the airport, Sereana gave me my first two lessons on Fijian culture:

Everything operates on 'Fiji Time'

The sign at the club we went to my last night in town.
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(1) Everything operates on 'Fiji Time'.  Just because something is posted as happening at a certain time, doesn't mean that it will.  People will arrive and events will start when they are darn well good and ready.  I had some harder lessons on this later.

(2) People are very happy to speak to strangers, especially out-of-towners, with just a simple greeting: "Bula" (hello) or "Bula Bula" (hello, how are you?)

I arrived on Mana with a sore bum after Boko, the driver, decided he would brave the 1+ meter waves (yes, i'm working on switching to the metric system) in the small aluminum-hulled dingy at top speed.  Welcome to Fiji, wimpy.

My first trip buddies: Jen, Laura, and Anne.
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On Mana, I did some hiking, snorkeling, sunning, and island hopping.  The Mamanuca chain is home to at least one island many people have seen, the island on which 'Cast Away' was filmed.  However, this is not the same as Castaway Island, which is named for the resort that has been there long before the movie.  On this island I also met my first travelling companions: three German women, two of whom were living and working in Australia before they headed back to Europe for uni.  Before I left the States, I had made a series of name cards, business cards with just personal info, and even though I felt a bit cheeky giving out a card with my face on it, these three were the first recipients of the card and plans were made to meet up again in Australia or Europe, should the timing work.

I'm trying to recognize conditions for B&W photos, so I took this one of myself at twilight.
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After Mana, I caught a ferry from Lautoka, just north of Nadi, to Savusavu on Vanua Levu, the other main island in the country.  Enter the pain of "Fiji Time".  I show up to the docks at 1 pm on departure day and ask when the boat leaves.  The answer: 7pm that night.  Perfect.  I return at 5:30, thinking I know how Fiji Time operates, and they tell me that the boat is grounded until the following morning when it will depart at 7.  So, I signal a driver to take me back to Nadi to a comfortable, cheap hostel.  I unpack, clean up, and eat a fantastic meal on the shores of Wailoaloa beach.  Couldn't have been better.  As soon as I finish, I am told I have a visitor.  The driver from Lautoka, Tui, had come all the way back to tell me that the boat was now leaving at 6am.  Since the earliest bus from Nadi to Lautoka would arrive at 6:30, he suggested I sleep on the boat.  Much to my chagrin, I agreed with his logic, so we trekked back to Lautoka.  When I arrived at the docks to sleep, we asked what time the boat would leave.  Their reply:  "7am, but check in is at 6."  Crap.

From the hammock on the beach. That's right....hammock.
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So my welcome to Vanua Levu was muted by a poor night's sleep and 12-hour ferry ride in which I watched the most poorly dubbed version of Live Free or Die Hard one could imagine.  I was the only one laughing, which made things even funnier.

However, my luck changed as soon as I stepped off the boat.  I met Bongy and his brother, Junior.  Thinking they were taxi drivers, I asked where a backpackers' lodge might be.  They knew of a couple places but told me that booking a room late on Sunday night would be difficult.  They must have seen the worry in my face realizing my fate for the evening, because they suggested that I come sleep at their house.  Part of me thought, "This is one of the things you want out of this trip."  The other said, "This is where you could lose your possessions, money, or something worse."  Gut check time.  I consider myself a good judge of character, so I relied on that.  I was not disappointed.

Me and Esther at the club.
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Bongy took me in, fed me some fresh fish from the day's catch, and whipped up a bowl of Kava, the traditional alcoholic drink of Fiji, for us to share and over which to bond.  Over the next week in Savusavu, Bongy and his family became my first and closest local friends.  I played with his kids, hung out with his friends, and even helped them rebuild the motor of a bilge pump for a boat they were fixing up.  The engineer can't keep his fingers off a tinkering project.  It was great to teach them a few things and apply a bit of knowledge where it was really needed.  With $7 two-part epoxy we save a $300 pump.  I love that.

Laila gives Anne and Jen a ride in the hammock.
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In addition to Bongy and his connections, my other close friends on the island would come via the Koro Sun Dive shop.  A friend of mine had recommended I come here to learn to dive if I was to learn in Fiji.  It was the main reason I came up to Vanua Levu.  On my first day in the dive shop I met four Europeans, or 'Kai Valangi' as the Fijians say, and one Aussie who were all there as part of a program to learn about Fiji's culture and awesome dive sites.  The Valangi were not the only ones with whom I connected with.  Everyone at the shop was a pleasure to be around and talk to, but the person I got to know the most was a Fijian named Tim-Tam.

Like the flower?
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Tami, as we nicknamed him, is a 22 year old living in the nearby village of Nagigi.  He is a gifter rugby player, dancer, and palm tree climber, but, more importantly, he is one of the nicest and most caring people I met on the island.  Whomever he was with, male or female, he was always making sure he/she was safe, comfortable, and happy.

By the end of my time on Vanua Levu, I had renounced the budget lodge in town for the house in which the divers were staying, Vosaniua.  The sound of waves crashing.  Aptly named as I found out on my first night on the balcony.  The commute into the dive shop was much shorter, so I was able to spend more time with my diver friends and Tami.

Laura and Anne silhouetted at sunset.
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Saturday 10 November was the date on my ticket from Savusavu back to Nadi, but I wished it had said 17 November.  Only when I was scheduled to leave had I made some roots on the island.  Bongy and crew wanted to take me spearfishing and up to his village in Bula Bay.  The divers wanted me to come with them to Namena Bay, one of the most sought after sites in the Pacific, and Taveuni, the Garden Island of Fiji.  However, that's what return trips are for, right?

Vinaka Vaka Levu, Viti.