Kuata Natural Resort

Playing fields in front of the school with student dorms in the background
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Valentines day today. Didn't even notice for most of the day.

Got up around 5am and went on a sunrise summit hike. The hike was quite steep and even at 5am it was getting muggy. I had to stop a few times due my leg aching. I have a bruise the size of my hand on the back of my leg. I have no idea how it got there but it has made the the muscle feel achy and swollen.

The singers played a few songs I knew and they got me to sing along.

Traditional Song and Dance
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The views were beautiful but no spectacular colors at sunrise. No hot water here in the showers but after the hike I was drenched in sweat, so a cool shower before breakfast was just the thing.

After breakfast I went on a kayaking trip across the to the beach on Waya Lailai before paddling back to Kuata. The water is such a beautiful blue and turquoise color! And so clear! I can't wait to go diving!

After lunch it was off to Waya Lailai again. This time by motorboat to visit a Fijian village. At the village we visited the school and the church. The women set up a shell market for us and I got my brother Eric a traditional Fijian wooden mask. Then I participated in my first kava ceremony. Kava is the national beverage in Fiji and is made from grinding pepper tree roots and mixing them with water. Kava is a huge part of Fijian culture and is consumed at any kind of social event. The effect of kava is a slight numbness of the lips and tongue and a very good night sleep! Depending on the strength, it tastes like slightly dirty water to strong herbal tea with a bit of pepper. I had been warned about kava being a horrible thing but I didn't mind it at all. Not bad at all really.

The full moon that we saw that night
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After the kava ceremony we were entertained with traditional song and dance. Its nice to see the variation of the song, dance and costumes. The motorboat ride back to the island was a bit rough and one of the Fijian boys stood up in the boat the whole way back. Quite a feat since the water and waves were getting pretty rough!

Once back it was time for dinner. It was Fijian night at the resort. We had another kava ceremony before dinner. Dinner was traditional Fijian food and we didn't have any cutlery. I'm not sure that the Fijians ate creamed spinach (or what looked and tasted like creamed spinach) and coleslaw without cutlery. So it was a bit messy, but very yummy and I enjoy eating my food without cutlery! :-)The dinner tables were set up outside on the sand this evening with torches lit. It was a very lovely atmosphere! Our table consisted of Charles and his harem! Olivia, Sinead, 2 Kiwi (New Zealand) girls Chloe and Hayley, and me.

Michell L and me resting on the Summit
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After dinner I got up and danced a few dances with the staff and some of the other people there. It was lots of fun! All of stayed up talking for hours. We went down to the beach for awhile but came back so they wouldn't close the bar on us.

Sinead and Olivia left our group so the 4 of us went and sat with the Fijian staff and listened to them singing and had lots more kava. Eventually the crowd was down to just a few Fijians singing and playing the guitar and the 4 of us. I stayed out until about 2am. It was just too nice to leave!

Boys from the school
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There was a beautiful full moon and we were sitting on a deck overlooking the moon and the beach. Plus it was so much cooler outside than it would be in the stuffy dorms. The singers played a few songs I knew and they got me to sing along. They also played 'Imagine' and then dedicated 'Leaving On A Jet Plane' to me since I was leaving the next day. Eventually it was back to the dorms and due to all the kava I had that day I was asleep instantly and woke up at 7am quite refreshed.