Staring at the sun...standing in the sea

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Trip Start Dec 04, 2005 Previous
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  Nadi, Fiji
Saturday, December 10, 2005

MG: Technically, we're already in Auckland, but we wanted to make sure that Fiji was represented on the map. I'm going to be somewhat brief as the clock is ticking on the amount of time we have on the computers. Fiji was a wonderful vacation. We arrived VERY early in the morning Fiji time, but it was mid-morning Seattle time and we were really excited to be there, so we weren't too tired (plus, the flight wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be). I was really surprised (because I'm an idiot, apparently) about how thick the air was. Strange as it is to say, the humidity was not what I had expected at all. Must have been leaving the cold Seattle winter that made me forget what it would be like to be some place so tropical.

We had a little bit of downtime in the airport, but then were shuttled directly to a boat to go to the islands. After much hemming and hawing, we booked a reservation at David's Place Resort on Tavewa Island in the Yasawa Islands

Birthday Sunrise

. Of course, we did not realize this was pretty much the furthest point we could have picked on this particular boat route. It meant that we spent 4 hours shuttling north on a "high speed catamaran." It was the perfect way to unwind from the past couple of very stressful weeks.

The resort picked us up from the catamaran in a little, wooden motor boat and shuttled us to Tavewa. We were staying in a bure (a Fijian thatched hut) pretty much directly on the beach. With a hammock in our front yard. And a view of surrounding islands separated from us by water in several shades of blue - aqua, midnight. The first day, we swam and looked for shells (all those years on the Cape prepared us to be picky shell selectors) and talked to some of the Fijian small friends we met on the beach.

We were very lucky because the people who were staying at David's Place while we were there were VERY cool - people from South Africa, Sweden, Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands. We ate dinner with the group the first night, but were stricken by the time change (and probably the fact that we had been awake since 2AM Fijian time) and went to bed early. What can I say? We're old, we're party poopers, we're not as fun as we once were, right Jess?

JG: Right

En Route to Tavewa

! So one of the other incredible and surprising things about where we were in Fiji was the wind! It was unbelievably strong and even knocked one of the screens in our bure out of the window very early in the morning startling us awake. We woke up just a short while later, around 5:15 or so to our bladders screaming at us, which was actually a lucky thing as the sunrise was unbelievable.

Our second day was also my birthday...although it definitely did not feel like it. Tropical weather, swimming, and sunburns on my birthday?! It was a great day (although yes, a little sad not to have the usual phone calls and birthday wishes)! We went swimming in some caves on another island...okay, so this was a little disappointing as it was pretty much: jump in the water, dive under this cave wall into another space, swim for a minute into a larger space, guide talks for a full 2 minutes and tells us we are going back to the main entrance pool (which apparently is in the movie the Blue Lagoon, which neither of us have seen). What happened to the swimming around and exploring the caves?!?!?! So when we got back into the main pool he did ask if we wanted to see more, which of course we did so we climbed a little into the caves (yes, mom, we remembered that wet rocks are slippery and we were very careful) before jumping into another pool, diving under another cave wall and back into the main space

Fijian Small Friends

. Clearly I am not doing this experience justice, but what I mean to say is that it was cool, but not sure I would highly recommend THIS cave swimming experience to all.

After lunch, though, we went snorkeling in the Blue Lagoon. This was by far the highlight of Fiji for me! We saw so many different fish--zebra fish, leopard printed fish, needle nosed fish, blue glowing fish (yes, very dr. seuss-like), huge blue starfish (which Missy first thought was a sock when I pointed it out to her), and much more sea and plant life. It was incredible.

That night, after dinner there were "activities" at the resort...Missy was a good little joiner and even did the Limbo. We then learned the Bula dance and had a blast with the Fijian staff and the other travellers. I am embracing 27 with open arms (even though it means I have officially entered my late 20s) and plenty of laughter, thanks in large part to Missy...

MG: Right. I thought that I would have some quiet time before we went to the Blue Lagoon. So, I got my journal and went to the hammock at the bure next to ours (the one in front of ours was occupied by Joakim, with whom Jessie was chatting)

Missy Eating Coconut With Aka

. So, I went to the next one over, got in successfully and attempted to make myself more comfortable. Which resulted in me hanging upside down on the hammock gripping the edges for dear life and unable to talk because I was laughing so hard. Of course, this also meant that I was useless in terms of righting the hammock. Eventually, the whole thing flipped over and I landed, unceremoniously, directly in the sand. In absolute hysterics. And, of course, no one saw it. Ah well, it's incredibly funny in my mind.

JG: The last day in Fiji we woke up and did a short hike to the top of a hill on the island, which gave us amazing views of the ocean and some of the other islands. We then took one last dip in the beautiful Fijian waters before packing up to get back on the great yellow catamaran to ride back to the main island.

The time in Fiji was short, but it seemed like the perfect length of time for the two of us. Neither of us felt like we needed more time lounging, although it was a great way to unwind before jumping into the meat of our travels...and we gleckel on...

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Our Bure	Post Blue Lagoon Snorkel	View from the Hammock	View from the Hill

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