Two Days In One

Lucy showed us around one of the local villages outside Nadi.
see all photos »

Two days in one!

Left Tampa airport at more or less 3:00 on Saturday. Changed planes in Dallas and again in Los Angeles. Arrived in Nadi, Fiji at 5:30 on Monday. Time is truly flying by. Sunday just seems to have disappeared. Actually, it did disappear. Between the three flights, we were in the air about 16 hours but not all that bad. Lot’s of food on the plane. Claire’s happy.

Two Days in One

Fiji: Best know for being somewhere in the vicinity when Captain Bligh was given the boot after the mutiny on the bounty. Still many of the brown skinned beauties that were in the movie, although most of them have put on a couple of pounds since filming.

This is the view from our bure.
see all photos »

Arrived to find Fiji everything we hoped for and more. We found friendly people, beautiful scenery, lush foliage and a bure (little bungalow thingy) right on the beach at a comfortable small resort. The “more” was the rain. We didn’t realize that it was rainy season. No wonder the foliage is lush. We arrived to a constant deluge which continued during transport, check in and making our way to breakfast. Normally all the dining here is outside in the sun or under the stars. We started with breakfast in the covered veranda area, protected by canvas. Sort of felt like camp, only with the camp counsellors in skirts. (Like, I mean all the camp counsellors.)

The outside terrace where we ate most of our meals. Claire in a familiar position.
see all photos »

The rain eventually cleared up. Went in to visit Latouka. Don’t bother. A little too local for us. Back to the First Landing hotel for the obligatory first beer of the trip. First Landing is a pleasant small “resort”. Around 40 bures overlooking either the ocean or the marina. Mostly Brits as guests. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Super friendly staff and a great open-air restaurant. Before dinner we went to a kava ceremony sponsored by the hotel. Apparently a mild narcotic, big in Fiji society. After some mahi mahi, a glass of wine and a strange craving for chocolate chip cookies it’s off to bed to try to lose the jet lag.

On Tuesday, more rain. On and off all day. Into Nadi for lunch and shopping. Much more pleasant town. Had an outstanding lunch of dahl, pea & currie soup and an ahi tuna sandwich at the Edge restaurant. Great spot. Clean. Friendly service. Back to hotel for orientation session around locals and their history. Fijians were cannibals until recently. Apparently no longer, although I never saw any of them actually eat in the restaurant.

Wednesday. Rain. But longer sunnier breaks today. Recovery day. Hung around the resort except for a visit to a local real live village where we met some real live residents. We kept a watchful eye but no sign of boiling pots. We avoided meal time, although to be honest I don’t know the proper cooking time for a lean Canadian.

Early to bed and early to rise to catch a flight to Auckland.

View of Fiji?

Cons: Not quite as “developed” as I’d anticipated. Nothing redeeming about the cities. Didn’t get a chance to experience the natural beauty of its several dozen islands. Mostly a “go to a self contained resort and enjoy” kind of a place. Can rain a lot.

Pros: Some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met including Newfoundlanders. And the Fijians were easier to understand. In spite of being there during the rainy season, still pleasant climate: shorts and tee-shirt morning noon and night. Relaxing. Casual. Outside dining. Good food. Affordable.

Overall: With so many other tropical destinations we wouldn’t rush back but would certainly return if the opportunity presented itself. The next time we’d stay for a longer time. Would stay at two or three different places on different islands. And wouldn’t come during the rainy season.

Next stop Auckland.