"Bula" We are on 'Fiji Time'

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“Bula” we are on “Fiji Time” Friday 17th October 2008

People here talk about “Fiji Time” meaning you take it slow and everyone says ‘Bula” (“Hello’) with a smile. We are in Paradise and we’ve hardly seen anything yet since this is only our third night here. Fiji wouldn’t be everyone’s ’cup of tea’; unless you are in an excusive resort, of which there are several, it is a bit scruffy, very rural and inefficient, the public loo in Nadi is unapproachable if like me you have a sensitive nose and the local busses are crowded and rickety; the mosquitoes are ferocious (we have the coils alight) we’ve been without power for the last four hours and cooked by candle-light (it has just come back on and the thunder and lightning has only just stopped and it is very hot and still raining). On the other hand, it is lush and tropical, the people are delightful, and a big fat gecko is on the wall behind me and will hopefully eat a nice supper of mosquitoes, I can hear the surf lapping on the shore, the stars are out, I’ve got a bottle of Fiji Gold beer on the table in front of me and I absolutely love it here!
We arrived two days ago on Wednesday and spent our first two nights pretty close to the airport on Nadi Bay. We did very little yesterday, swam in the sea (right outside our door) lounged about, went for a little stroll down the beach, ate really good food and went for a little stroll down the beach again. Today we checked out, caught the bus in to Nadi (only one window which was broken glass at the front near the driver, the rest are open to the air which is lovely in the heat) and then trudged around Nadi with our backpacks on to find the post office. We wanted to send a small parcel home (just little things for Christmas which we bought in Hawaii). The cost was $5 (Fijian) by sea and $60 by air so it went by sea and we were told it probably wouldn’t arrive until after Christmas! After getting a coffee so that we could use the loo, we headed back to the bus station to get a bus to Korotogo near Sigatoka on the south coast, about one and a half hours drive along the coast. We were the only tourists on the bus and the only ones who got off at the deserted roundabout past Korotogo. By this time we were dripping with sweat, the backpacks felt like they had doubled their weight since boarding the bus in Nadi, and our destination was up a steep hill. We got a taxi (well it probably wasn’t a taxi but then everyone with a car is a taxi driver in Fiji) up the hill. Now all of the guide books tell you not to do this, that you will be ripped off but the guy only charged us $3 (about one pound sterling) and it was a long hill. Finally we got to our accommodation, which is great, near the sea and there is a little swimming pool in a gorgeous garden (and this is cheap backpacker digs recommended in ‘Lonely Planet’) and not too far from the small resort of Korotogo (the hill is OK without the packs on the back). We have checked in for three nights and then we’ll head off east again towards the capital Suva on Monday. We believe that there is a nice place called Colo-I-Suva forest inland and north of the city which sounds idyllic so that is where we plan to go next (at the moment)!

Great news friends, my mobile is now working, thanks to my son Nick and with no help whatsoever from Movistar. There isn’t much WIFI access here (I am typing this blog but have no idea when I’ll be able to publish it) but apart from that everything else is ace. One annoying thing happened on the flight from Hawaii, US customs opened my rucksack, damaged one of the toggles on the zip so now I can’t lock it properly with the padlock and broke the fastener on the breast strap which makes it much more difficult to carry in comfort (I’ll try to get it fixed but not sure if it is possible). All of my clothes, which had been washed, tumbled dry and carefully folded were just squashed back in and all screwed up. Precious things that could get damaged had been carefully wrapped in clothing but they were all just chucked in the bottom and the clothes stuffed in on top. As a result, the billycans are dented and my snorkel connection from the tube to the mouthpiece is really loose. Let’s hope it doesn’t let in water next time I use it! They stuck a note inside one of the outer zip pockets saying that they had opened my luggage, that they do this at random and that they are not responsible for damage to luggage or locks! I didn’t discover this until we got to Fiji. I think this is quite outrageous. Once, at Gatwick I was asked to take my luggage for special security checking. It was passed through an x-ray machine and I was told that I might be asked to unlock it (I wasn’t). This was a random check carried out in a civilized manner whilst at check-in. US customs just trash bags after check in, as they see fit and without consulting the passenger; security paranoia. It must here be noted that at Honolulu airport, whilst passengers are removing their shoes and trudging through security in their stocking feet (and I was frisked as well, John reckons I must look very suspect) a couple with two young children managed to get to the boarding gate without boarding tickets! You cannot pass through security without boarding tickets! Like us they were in transit, but without on-going boarding tickets, and they had simply got on the shuttle out to the gate. The ‘Wiki’ shuttle busses go in and out between the terminal buildings and along open internal roads to the gates as well. In other words, these people had got off one flight, gone out of the airport, then taken the shuttle to the gate they needed for their next flight without checking in again for their new boarding passes and without passing through transit security. Amazing! Meanwhile, behind the scenes, customs were breaking open my luggage. Oh well, it’s the first mishap of the trip, probably will not be the last and now I need to stop typing and get back to “Fiji time”. “Fir milega” - until the next time!

Saturday 18th October 2008
It has been raining relentlessly for over 24 hours and shows no sign of stopping; so we didn’t go down to the beach to snorkel today as planned but went into town instead (Sigatoka) and got absolutely drenched. We pottered around the shops had a few beers alongside other drenched tourists, mostly Australian and then got a geriatric old bus back again, black acrid fumes billowing out, packed with locals going home from the market sitting on seats covered with graffiti. We got off at the Korotogo roundabout in torrential rain, climbed the hill and the clothes are still drying out four hours later. We have named the road up here “Dead Frog Road” because it is littered with big fat dead frogs, poor things. They are huge, measuring about 12/13 cms long and about 6 cms wide. We haven’t seen any live ones! So, we are sitting here in the rain (well I am, John is cooking) then I think we’ll probably dash out in to the rain (more like a waterfall) to the bar. All good fun, but we hope it stops raining tomorrow because the snorkelling here is said to be pretty good. The water is very clear and there is an offshore coral reef. Before the rain started yesterday the water was an aquamarine blue, now it is grey. It is a really pretty coast, quite narrow sandy beaches but within palm fringed coves; even in the ran it is beautiful!
Sunday19th October 2008
It’s Sunday morning and “The sun is out, the sky is blue, there’s not a cloud to spoil the view” only oldies like me will know these old song lyrics but its not “raining in my heart” as the song goes! It is sunshine there too! It rained all night so now all the foliage is looking fresh, clean and dripping wet and the sea is looking most inviting. This is going to be the perfect lazy Sunday, swimming, snorkelling and relaxing. The noise of the waves breaking out on the reef is now melodic, whereas for the last 36 hours it has been thunderous and menacing. Paradise is back as it should be! Fiji time!
Sunday afternoon
The snorkelling was great! We saw lots of fish, blue star fish and then John saw a big fat sea snake so we decided that was enough for one day and headed for the swimming pool! I had been swimming a bit further out, saw some beautiful soft yellow and pink coral and was heading back towards John in the shallower water; he was shouting at me to be careful. I didn’t hear him, so put my foot down about a foot from the snake. Luckily no harm was done (they are very poisonous). It was a brilliant little snorkel time, however, and just off the beach across the road from where we are staying. This is the best place we have stayed on the whole trip so far. We have a great little bungalow room, by the pool in the garden with a view to the sea. Double en suite with a little kitchen of our own at a ridiculously cheap price. Brilliant! There are also dorm rooms and bigger family bures (thatched huts). We haven’t stayed in a bure here yet, but we shall when we get out to the Lomaiviti islands (Ovalau and others) on the east coast later in the week.
Monday 20th October 2008

Where have all the backpackers gone? We meet plenty in hotels, motels and hostels but how do they get there? We have now done four bus trips and have been the only foreigners on the busses (nobody backpacking ‘on the thumb’ either). They must get expensive shuttles or taxis or they have hired cars here as they do (and we did) in the USA. Kids must have more money then ours did when they were gap travelling some years ago. We saw a group getting on a little boat on the beach the other day, going out to the islands. The boys had rucksacks but the girls had great big wheelie cases which the crew had to carry as they all waded out to the boat. Amazing. Most of the backpackers we have met so far have hired cars. It makes us feel quite virtuous as we trudge along, especially since we could afford to get a car but want to experience the local travel. The bus today was a nice one which was just as well since it was a three hour journey to Suva. We are in Suva now and so should be able to use the internet, check the emails and send this lengthy blog. Suva, the capital, is a nice place and guess what? It’s raining! Tomorrow we are going just 10 kilometres up the road to Coli-I-Suva in the rainforest for 2/3 nights. ‘Fir milega”

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Photos

The morning catch
Fishermen on Nadi Beach outside our hostel

Life's a Beach
John's view from the lounger!

Horse on the beach
Nadi Bay

Outrigger canoes
Kids from local schools, evening on Nadi Beach

Nadi Beach
View from our bedroom

Sunset
Nadi Beach sunset

Garden at Vakaviti
The garden at Vakaviti hostel resort, Korotogo, Sigatoka Bay

Blue starfish
Snorkelling on the Coral Coast at Vakaviti we saw blue starfish

Vakaviti
Vakaviti Beach, Sigatoka, Coral Coast

Pool at Vakaviti
No snakes in the pool!

Suva, capital city of Fiji
Lovely old colonial architecture, Suva