Island Hopping . . .

---

The last few days I’ve been hopping around to different islands, some good, some not so good.

From Mantaray, I went to the island of Waya to the Octopus resort. I’d planned to stay at Octopus for 4 nights and was really looking forward to it. I’d only heard good things about the resort, that it was really nice. My guidebook had it for the top pick in the Yasawas. Unfortunately though, I only ended up staying one night . . . The resort was nice. Very nice. It’s not a backpackers resort at all. It gears to families, middle-aged couples. They just happen to also have a dorm for budget travelers like me to stay in to enjoy the resort. I first realized that I was not the market they were catering to when I glanced at the bar menu - the prices of everything was incredibly inflated compared to other places I’d stayed. There were a few things I needed to do when I arrived there. Laundry was a top priority. I was pretty much out of clean clothes. Everywhere else I’ve stayed in Fiji charge about $10 or $15 Fijian dollars for a bag/basket. At Octopus, they were charging per item! $1 per pair of underwear, $2 per shirt, $2 per shorts, etc. Suddenly I was analyzing my clothing and trying to figure out exactly what I’d need most desperately to get through 4 days until I’d be back in Nadi. My next source of frustration was the lack of cell service. I’d purchased a local cell when I first arrived and have been texting home throughout my trip. Now that I’m nearing the end of my trip, I’m trying to sort out my arrival back home. Everywhere I’ve been in Fiji - even the most basic of accommodations has had service. But not this more upscale place. My third need was to get online using my laptop. My kobo (online reader) suddenly was acting up. I needed to reconnect it to my online account to get it sorted out. The resort had internet - at $24 Fijian dollars per hour! (That’s like $13 Canadian per hour. I can’t believe I’ve actually found somewhere that’s more outrageously priced than onboard cruise ships!) However, they would not let me use my own computer. Nor would they let me use a USB or any other device on their computer. So now, I could email home about my returning arrangements at a ridiculous price, but I couldn’t sort out my Kobo leaving me with little to do for the next 4 days. I spent the first night there. The dorm was very comfortable. The food was great. Again, the resort was very nice. But I was frustrated by my inability to take care of things I wanted to. The next morning, I decided that I’d stay one more night there and then move on somewhere else for the last 2 nights of my travel pass around the islands. My pass works that I have pre-paid my accommodation and I have vouchers to use at the different resorts I’ve been going to. When I went to the office to tell them I wanted to change my reservation to leave the next day, I was told that they would be keeping my vouchers for the nights I wasn’t going to stay. The resort is popular and the dorm is full pretty much every night from what I’ve heard. I enquired about the fact that they were getting advance notice, they could fill my bed for the following 2 days. It didn’t matter. I said that I was frustrated about how expensive things were at their resort so I wanted to leave early and then they were going to take my money anyway? They just sat and smiled and looked at me and said nothing. I walked out of the office and sat out by the pool. Okay, so I was stuck there. And then that’s when I got really upset. There’s been a small part of me that has felt a bit claustrophobic on some of the islands I’ve been to because they’re so small and isolated. But I’ve ignored those feelings by focusing on how beautiful it is and how much I’ve liked the resorts. Suddenly I just felt so trapped and stuck and powerless and I hated it. I decided to cut the financial loss of the three nights accommodation, went to the dorm, packed my bags, returned to the office and said I was checking out. I wanted to leave on the first boat out - about an hour from then. They asked where I was going and I said I’d figure out another resort on the boat, but I was unhappy and I wanted out of there.

An hour later, I was back on the Yasawa Flyer. When I sat down at the tour desk to try to sort out my accommodation, they asked if I was okay. I burst into tears! I kept apologizing, I was embarrassed to by crying, but I’d been so upset and I just felt relief to be out of there. The staff on the flyer couldn’t believe the resort had kept my vouchers and also that I hadn’t been given lunch before I left. I’d paid for three meals, but had only gotten two. That aside, I decided to return to the Mantaray Resort, the next closest island stop and the place I’d been to most recently. I really enjoyed my stay there. Got that sorted and half an hour after that, I was back at Mantaray.

Looking back now, a few days later, I feel kind of sheepish and dramatic. It really all came down to that trapped feeling and I just didn’t want to feel that way.

And you know, within an hour of being at Mantaray, the girls had taken my clothes to be washed, I’d confirmed things with my family back home for my return and my Kobo was up and running again. And I was relaxed, smiling, at ease and happy again.

I spent the afternoon on the beach, reading, sunning, hammocking. I ate dinner that night with a Canadian couple on their honeymoon and a British guy. We lingered for hours after dinner chatting. They were great and the conversation was wonderful. That night I had a wonderful night’s sleep back in the Mantaray dorm.

Meanwhile, I still had two more nights on my pass - accommodation was no longer included, but I could travel around the islands. I debated about whether to stay at Mantaray where I really liked the resort or if I should move on somewhere else and see another island since I had the time and transport covered. After a lot of debate, I convinced myself to move on and see somewhere else in Fiji. I only have a few more days left in the country, so I thought seeing more of it should be done. So yesterday afternoon, I said goodbye again to Mantaray and boarded the Yasawa Flyer.

I’d decided to go to Bounty Island resort. The island is actually part of the Mamanuca Island group, to the South of the Yasawas. It’s only about a half hour sail from Denarau Marina, near Nadi. It was almost strange to see the main island’s mountains again, just across the water. I arrived at Bounty just before sunset and thought I’d stay two nights there. Soon after my arrival however, I thought that maybe I’d made a mistake. The communal areas at Bounty were quite good - the beach was nice, the bar was good, they had solid and reasonably priced internet and a fresh water pool. The staff were very friendly and they put on some entertainment in the evening after dinner which was really nice. The food was only fine, but it was included in the price to stay and overall it was reasonable. But the dorm had seen better days. The bed was comfortable enough, but the floors, the walls were just aged. It was the first bathroom I’ve had in any of the resorts I’ve stayed at that I questioned how clean it was (which says a lot for the general standard of places I’ve been to in Fiji!). But my biggest complaint was that the dorm was HOT. SO HOT. Even before dinnertime I knew I’d have a hard time sleeping. Which of course I did. Thankfully by the early morning hours it had cooled enough to be comfortable, but I had the worst time falling asleep, I was up really late and exhausted in the morning as a result. I feared that I’d made a mistake leaving Octopus, that I should have just sucked it up and stayed at the expensive resort where it was impossible to communicate but was beautiful.

However, at dinner, I sat with four people from Germany and while talking with them I realized that my travel pass was good for a second boat that travels around all of the Mamanuca Islands, not just Yasawa Flyer that does the Yasawas and the Mamanucas closet to Nadi. Seeing as I’m now paying for my accommodation each night I realized that I wasn’t limited to the Yasawas - a whole other group of islands were possible! I did some quick research in my guidebook and found a resort on the island of Malolo that looked promising. I called the resort and booked a reservation.

This morning, after the sun was up and I was out of the dorm, it was quite nice at Bounty. I swam in the pool and lounged in the sun and under their shade covering. They have a pool with turtles and I spent time watching them. I love turtles! If I wouldn’t have had to go back to the dorm, I would have been happy to stay.

But just after lunch the South Sea Cruises boat came. They took my pass (I kept reading the fine print making sure the Germans were right I could use it!) and then I had just over an hour on the boat as we cruised around to the different Mamanuca Islands.

The boat stopped at a different end of Malolo Island from where the resort actually is, so I had about a ten minute ride by speedboat. When I’ve arrived at the different resorts, there’s been anywhere from 3 to 25 people arriving along with me. This time I was the only one! As my chauffer and I sped across the water, bouncing over the choppy waves, the sunshine beating down, I felt like I was on a great adventure. For the most part, my travelling around Fiji has been pretty easy to just shuttle around from place to place. Maybe it was being on my own for the boat ride, maybe it was not knowing which resort along the island’s coast was the one I’d be going to . . . but it felt adventurous today. And I loved it.

Staff at the resorts usually sing on the beach when guests arrived. Here at the resort, they did too - but just for me! I felt pretty special. When I checked in, I found that I was getting a discounted rate. Then I was taken to my room and told that I’d also been upgraded from the dorm to one of their oceanview lodge rooms! Bonus! I was taken up the hill (quite the little hike actually!) to the lodge. There is a porch with a common living room/lounge, a bathroom and then a couple of bedrooms, one which I’m in. So far, nobody is staying in the other bedroom. I think the lodge is intended for a family, the way it’s set up. But I have it to myself and I love it. My bedroom and the lounge have windows out over the resort and out to the ocean. The resort faces west so I’m sure they’ll be a lovely sunset tonight too.

After settling into my room, I took a quick dip in the pool, then read my kobo while lying in the sunshine. It’s pretty quiet here. I haven’t seen too many people. There are huge palm trees lining the sand between the pool and the beach. I love it. I’m really glad to be here. It’s a good place to finish off my island hopping.

Tomorrow I head back to Nadi. Two nights in Nadi and then I fly home!

---