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After many hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Fiji. It was 5:00 a.m. local time, so, unfortunately, we weren’t able to see any of the islands as we flew in. However, the 5 hour bus ride from Nadi (home of the airport - no other reason to go there!) to Suva (the capital) afforded us some spectacular views. It was definitely a unique experience. Loud music was blaring, the bus rattled like it was about to fall apart, people were packed in on top of each other… But we loved every minute of it! Especially the stop at the market in Sigatoka, where we bought bananas (very tiny and bruised looking, but delicious) and kumquats. We didn’t realize that kumquats are really sour -- don’t try to eat them on their own! The woman sitting next to us laughed when she saw us trying to eat them. Apparently, they’re much better if you squeeze the juice out of them and mix it with coconut milk.
We stopped in Suva long enough to use the bathroom, make a phone call, and switch buses, so we really don’t have much to say about it. Except that the people were very
Our Bure
No running water, no electricity, a few yards from the beach - it was absolutely perfect! friendly, even though we totally didn’t fit in. We caught a local bus to Nausori, and then a taxi to Waidalice Landing. It was NOT what we were expecting… It was just an empty, half completed wooden building on stilts with a set of steep concrete steps leading down to the water. It really felt like we could fall through at any moment… We had 2 hours to kill until our boat arrived. Luckily, there was a local guy, Waisake (this could be a totally incorrect spelling - Fijian is a very interesting and crazy language…), there waiting to take some people to a different island. We talked him into playing Yahtzee with us (he was leery at first, but quickly got into it - he rolled a Yahtzee on his very first turn!), which really passed the time.
Our boat arrived on time (which is somewhat remarkable in Fiji - “Fiji time”, similar to “Erin getting to work time”, is more common than real time) and took us on a peaceful, if cloudy, 30 minute ride to Caqalai (pronounced Thun-guh-lye - see what we mean about the language…). Caqalai is a tiny little island off the east coast
of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. We HIGHLY recommend that you go there (except for Tina - see the pictures of the shower to understand why!). It’s pure paradise. Even though it started raining the moment we arrived, it was gorgeous. After 32 hours of traveling (which included a day we didn’t exist!), by virtually every method but train (we took multiple planes, buses, taxis, a car with no radio - seriously Al, get on that! - and a tiny little boat) we were elated to finally be there.
We arrived just in time for afternoon tea, which was a good time to meet the other guests at the “resort” (Everything in Fiji is called a resort. It doesn’t matter if it’s high end, or there’s no running water or electricity. It’s still a resort.). Then we went for a walk around the island, which takes about 15 minutes. The whole thing is ringed by white sand beaches and surrounded by stunningly beautiful coral reefs. Great for snorkeling. You can snorkel from virtually any part of the island. Which we did - a lot! The best snorkeling was by the aptly named Snake Island - a tiny offshore island.
You could swim there at high tide, or walk out at low tide. The reef drops away sharply just after the island, and thousands of fish (and some sharks - Erin spotted one on our last day) gather there.
Originally, we were going to spend 3 nights on Caqalai. But it was so wonderful, we extended it for another day and a half. Our days consisted of getting up with the sun, having a sunrise swim in the ocean, which was just steps from our beachfront bure (a traditional thatched hut), eating breakfast, swimming/snorkeling/laying on the beach, eating lunch, more swimming/snorkeling/laying on the beach, having tea, followed by even more swimming/snorkeling/laying on the beach. Such a rough life! At night we would eat dinner, have a few beverages, and hang out with the other travelers and the locals. We met some great people (including the most normal Swedes we’ve ever encountered - if you’ve ever met anyone from Sweden, you’ll understand what that means!) and learned some fun new card games. Swedish Rummy is definitely a good time, if you can figure it out…
We also tried kava for the first time. Kava is a traditional drink made
Yahtzee!
Thanks to Christy and Al, a Yahtzee craze is now sweeping Fiji from the powdered roots of a relative of the pepper plant that has mild narcotic effects - we really liked it! It tastes like muddy water with a hint of cinnamon, and makes your mouth go numb. It’s a tradition in Fiji to give a sevusevu (gift) of kava to the chief when you arrive in a village to show that you are friendly. Of course, we didn’t know that, so we arrived on Caqalai empty-handed - they gave us kava instead. They’re very tolerant of ignorant travelers like us.
The food on Caqalai was excellent. All the meals were prepared by the resort staff. They mostly consisted of fresh, local ingredients, including fish caught that day on the reef, fruits, vegetables, and roots that we’d never heard of before. Everything was delicious! We especially liked the cassava leaves cooked in coconut milk and everything from the lovo. The lovo is a traditional meal cooked by hot stones in a hole in the ground, which they prepare every Sunday at the resort. We had been planning to leave Sunday morning, but were lured into staying another night by the promise of a lovo and great weather.
You’d think
that such an amazing experience would be pretty expensive. But you’d be wrong - part of the beauty of Caqalai is the price. Everything we did cost us $70 (U.S.) a day. Total, for both of us. It was GREAT!!! You can see why we didn’t want to leave…
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What were you thinking???