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Published: September 7th 2010
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Six years ago, I was dreaming of travel. I'd just finished university and all I wanted to do was see the world. To feed that interest, I constantly read different travel books. One of these books was a woman's stories of travel, much of it on the island of Taveuni, in Fiji. For whatever reason, it was reading about that remote island on the other side of the globe that it sunk in just how big the world is and that I'd never get to see all of it. Taveuni would be one of those places. Then, in the next month, I read two other books - both anthologies, so I had no way of knowing the places in the pages. Both of them also had stories of Taveuni. Taveuni then became the random, obscure speck on the globe that I had to see.
Since then, I've done a lot of travelling . . . around North America, England, Spain, Uganda, South Africa. I've done 5 contracts on cruise ships that have taken me from many US cities and around the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska. There are so many other places in the world that I'd like
to see, but I've been travelling so much that a "normal" life seems exotic to me now. I'm reaching the point that I want that to be my next adventure. Thoughts of settling down however, don't seem quite right without having mad the journey across the Pacific to Fiji and Taveuni.
So, I've made the time now. It's time to check that off the life list of things to do.
Three days ago I flew from Toronto to Los Angeles and onwards to Fiji. My flights were good. I had empty seats beside me on both flights so I wasn't cramped. I slept most of the flight from LA to Fiji so the time passed easily. At 4:40am local time, I arrived at the Nadi International Airport in Fiji. As we entered the terminal building, men were playing guitars and singing to welcome us.
The lines were long at the airport to get through immigration, customs, baggage scan, money exchange, but everything went smoothly and I was in no rush. I bought a pay-as-you-go cell phone so I can be reached and let home know I'm okay. I checked in with the company that I'll be island
hopping with later in my trip and everything with them is sorted. Then the women there got me onto an express coach bus to take me to the backpackers resort I'm staying at for my first days.
The bus started at the airport in Nadi, which is on the North West side of Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. From there we drove South and then East along the South coast. The drive was long - two and half hours with all of the initial stops we made at different hotels and resort in Nadi. At first it wasn't especially interesting. At this point I've travelled so much in developing and tropical countries that Nadi and the area around it didn't look much different than countless other places I'd seen. After an hour or so though, when we reached the South shore, it got more interesting. This area of Viti Levu is called the Coral Coast and it's quite lovely. As we passed along the coast line there were lush forests and tiny villages, the ocean to one side and mountains to the other.
I was dropped off on the main road right in front of my backpackers
- The Beach House. What a lovely little spot it is. The private rooms, dorms, office, restaurant/lounge are scattered around the property. Huge palm trees provde lots of shade. There are bushes covered with flowers lining the walkways. And at the end of the path is the communal lounge/restaurant/bar/pool area. It's all open air with a gorgeous view of the ocean. The only thing that wasn't quite perfect was that the tide was out - way out - otherwise I would have wanted to dive right into the ocean! I was checked in and shown around the resort then left on my own.
I sat down on my bed in my dorm (which is clean, comfortable and very spacious for a shared dorm) and thought "what do I need to do now?" And it was hard to believe, but the answer was nothing at all. Just enjoy Fiji. I spent the day alternating between walking along the beach and lying in a hammock hanging between palm trees. Out on the beach, I could head some Fijian children down the way laughing and the palm leaves rattling in the wind. Otherwise, nothing. All day that day, it was like I
could feel myself resisting relaxing. I'm so go, go, go all the time. I'm used to working non-stop, no days off (or at camp, one day a week off). On the ship, even when I have time off, it's always limited time cause I'll have to rush back before the ship sets sail. Now I'm on Fiji time and I can just . . . be.
It's pretty quiet here at the Beach House. There's probably about 20 other people plus the staff. There are 4 other women staying in my dorm, who are all travelling together. I don't mind being on my own though. My work life is so socially demanding that when I'm travelling I am content to not talk and just be on my own. The staff here are very friendly. I feel well taken care of but left alone at the same time.
The weather has been nice. I'd guess it's been somewhere in the low-to-mid twenties (celcius of course). Sometimes sunny, but sometimes cloudy. There is almost a constant cool wind, so it hasn't been nearly as hot as I'm used to the tropics being.
I've read so much about the stunning
Fijian sunsets, but so far they haven't been very dramatic - there's been lots of clouds at night. Pretty, but not stunning. And speaking of reading, I've already read two books since I've left home! Glad I bought my Kobo (electronic book) cause I'd never have been able to pack the number of books I'm sure I'll read during this trip.
I have three more days at the Beach House before I move on to my next stop (Taveuni!). The resort is always offering activities which so far I haven't done. I've been trying to force myself to just slow down. But I think I'll venture out and do some exploring beyond the resort soon.
Meanwhile I'm just letting it sink in. After years of dreaming about and talking about Fiji, I'm finally here.
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swills82
Sarah Willett
Congrats!
Love the hammock life Netter. Congrats on achieving yet another dream. Soak it all up. Oh, and remember: if your soul ever craves Honduras, I'm here and waiting for ya! ;)