Just Starting Out

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Bula! (Hello),

I have finally found a decent internet cafe to update this from - in the islands they charge $15 per hour - only $1 per hour here in Nadi (Nan-di), the equivalent of roughly 30p.

So I set off at stupid-o'clock in the morning to catch the 11 hour plane out to Los Angeles. I thought it was going to be a nightmare but it ended up being alright as it was a BA flight, and therefore comfy, with lots of films and food - ended up watching Karate Kid (rubbish), The Last Airbender (good), The History Boys, The Back-up Plan and some random stuff off TV. The food was okay, though I wouldn't recommend eating Chicken Tikka whilst on an aeroplane going through turbulence - it doesn't work. The airport in LA was very dull and I had 12 hours to kill so once I was finally through customs, I went out into the town, which was also very dull - ended up eating dinner and heading back to the airport. Getting back through US customs took even longer than getting out, not helped by a security alarm - just after I had taken my bag through security one of the police guys yelled "EVERYBODY FREEZE", and we all had to stand around dead still whilst he checked some girl's bag, but as it turned out the 16-year-old girl wasn't concealing any WMDs, so we were allowed to go. The next flight (Air Pacific) wasn't as comfy as the BA one, but ended up sleeping anyway as it was about 3am GMT when we got on - the 7th of September ended up being 32hours long for me with all the time changes.

At 1000m, 5am, Fiji was 18 degrees, at ground level it was 23! Slightly hotter than the UK! After getting out of the airport I went down to Port Denarau to go on a yacht called SeaSpray for the day. Waiting at the dock I had to get my sunglasses out, despite it only being 7.30am. Finally the transfer over to SeaSpray on Mana Island came, and I made friends with a couple (Rajni and Amit) going on SeaSpray and out around the Yasawa Islands as well, as part of their 4 month honeymoon. The transfer took about an hour and when we got there SeaSpray turned out to be a fairly old but well-looked after wooden yacht, though unfortunately lack of wind meant we had to motor round the islands not sail. By this time we were quite hungry so when the Fijian crew brought round cake, freshly picked pineapple, and champagne, it was well appreciated! The first place we stopped off was Monuriki, the island where Castaway (with Tom Hanks) was filmed, and we jumped off the boat (into lovely warm water) to go do some snorkeling on the reef, which was amazing. The water was a perfect turquoise colour, and really clear, so we saw loads of brightly coloured fish and coral. It was almost as if we had just jumped into Finding Nemo Live. However after at least a couple of hours we were glad to get back on SeaSpray to discover a massive BBQ buffet, including potato and pasta salads, weird fijian sausages (kindof foamy in the middle, but really nice), swordfish, kebabs and loads more, washed down with the free drinks provided.

The next island we stopped off at was to go and visit a small Fijian village, with roughly 600 villagers (only 1 nurse). We walked in through the boarding school (6 teachers to 150 pupils), and as we reached the main village everyone had to take off their caps, as the chief is the only person allowed to wear a hat. Also, all the girls had to cover their knees and shoulders. We were all shown through to the village hall where the chief, his father, and the next in line (his brother's son) performed the Fijian welcome ceremony for us, which basically consisted of saying hi, and passing round Kava. Kava is made from the root of a pepper tree being ground up, and the Fijians mix it with water to make a drink that tastes basically like muddy water at first. The chief fills a little wooden bowl with Kava (from a big bowl in the middle), then passes it to you, you clap, say "Bula" (Hello), and down it. Then you pass it back, say "Vinaka" (Thank-you), or "Mara", and clap 3 times. Then they showed us out to where a crafts market had been quickly set up by the villagers to catch the tourists, and got the boat back into Nadi. In Nadi, I left Amit and Rajni and went to Nadi Bay Hotel where I fell asleep at about 8pm as I was very tired after flying for 2 days, and then going yachting!

Katie x

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Photos

Village Chief and son
At the Kava Welcome Ceremony

Me, Rajni and Amit
On the SeaSpray, going back to Denarau

Manuriki
Where Castaway was filmed

Port Denarau
Waiting for SeaSpray

Snorkelling
Underwater gap in the coral

Me snorkeling
Diving down to look at the clown fish

Fijian Church
The main religion in Fiji is Methodist

Comments

[Nick]

Good start
Good start Katie, though it seems like you've gone further than the logged 26.5 miles. Think I'd probably prefer our own version of Kava, sparkling wine seeming more appealing than muddy water! Look forward to the next installment when you feel in the mood, and ahave internet access. Have fun x