We arrived on time in Fiji, at 5:10 a.m. local time. It was approximately an 11 hour trip. We were all glad to get off. We got our stuff and discovered that the three other groups we were traveling with were on the plane also.
One group from Ohio were all adults. The other two groups were from the Los Angeles area. One was graduating seniors led by teachers (about half our group), and the others were a small group with some younger.
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| A Fijian welcome
I exchanged 50 dollars at the airport and got 85 Fiji dollars.
Looking back, it was the best rate I'd seen here on the island. We all got on
the bus and headed to the Sheraton Fiji Resort. They had fabulous facilities,
and our rooms were near the ocean. Mine had a little patio that I could sit at
and see the ocean.
We went to our rooms for awhile after a great buffet breakfast.
We settled in, rested, showered and prepared for our day. I managed to get a
quick nap out by the beach in the shade. The temperature, breeze, and setting
was great.
We met around 1:00 to try to catch the local bus to see some
sites downtown. The bus was 50¢ per person and we
got on with some help from one of the hotel's employees who was going home. The
Fijians have been very nice and polite, greeting us with "Bula", or
Hello.
Our bus was a sputtering vehicle that had
open windows, so the breeze felt good in our hair. The route took us away from
the hotel (in the Devarau region) towards town through one of the poorer regions
of the area. It had reminded me of Africa with the lifestyles and buildings we
saw. There was a lot of sugar cane fields we passed as well as some bovine. The
houses were mostly block since they didn't have to worry about the winter.
Blinds were open as well as doors and birds flew in and out.
On the bus to Nadi
We got off at downtown Nadi and thanked our
helper. We spent the next couple of hours shopping and exploring. At 4:00 we
went shopping at the supermarket to buy some supplies for tomorrow, as we only
had one meal prepared for us. We got on another bus that was more direct and we
got back to our hotel to rest before our Fijian feast.
The feast consisted of pig, steak, and
other traditional cuisine. After we were done eating, we waited for the program
to start at 7:45 p.m. While we were waiting, myself and most of the group grew
very tired. The day's events and jet lag combined with the meal and made it
difficult to stay awake.
At 8:00 the songs started.
Both male and female members of the dancing group took turns performing Fijian
songs and dances. At the end they got members of the audience to come up and
dance. Sleep made me miss a portion of dance, so I was glad to get to my room
and get to bed.
Day 4 7/9/06 The Fiji
Islands
Despite awakening a couple of times, we got some good sleep under out belts and came down to the buffet breakfast refreshed. We leisurely enjoyed the meal with the beach out front and breeze blowing. Alex took off on the optional tour of Tivua Island for the day. It provided lunch and a boat to and from the island. He snorkeled around the reef. He said it was very cool. Meanwhile, the six of us enjoyed the resort and its amenities. We tanned, took kayaks into the ocean (The banana boat was too expensive), and read by the pool. Some watched TV in their room while others took naps or played ping pong. I hoped I didn't get too much sun from being in the ocean. It was a great temperature. Once Alex got back, we decided not to go to town for dinner, but to eat at the hotel. The main object of the group was to get rid of as much Fijian dollars as possible. The boys and girls each split two cheese pizzas. I had the snapper filet and thought it was very good. I noticed throughout my time here that most of the tourists for Fiji came from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and India. I guess it makes sense as this paradise place is closer to these countries instead of what I usually see. On the beach, I saw young boys kicking a rugby football around instead of a soccer ball of football like I see in the states. Boys (and young girls) would divide up into teams and play rugby on the beach. We got done with out meal after 7:00 p.m. so everyone packed their stuff in preparation of the 5:45 a.m. wake up call. The sky was clear with a full moon. I got to see the Southern Cross again and was amazed at how beautiful it looked in the night sky of Fiji. It definitely made me count my blessings that I could see it again in its beauty. I will certainly miss Fiji.
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