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Published: December 26th 2006
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Bula everybody from Fiji. Despite what some of you might be thinking, I was not hiding out in the American Embassy fearing for my life while here in Fiji. About the only things I saw any Fijian armed with was a big smile and plenty of Bulas. The only thing the coup met fore me was a better exchange rate and fewer people.
I left the Cook Islands at 12:15am Saturday morning November 25th and got to Fiji at 2:00am on Sunday the 26th because we had crossed over the dateline. There goes one day that I’ll never get back. I stayed in probably the worst hostel I’ve stayed in yet in Nadi on Viti Levu (the main island), but at 3:00am you don’t get too picky.
Once I woke up I booked myself in the Seashell Cove Resort about an hour south of Nadi and caught the transfer bus down there at noon on Sunday. I got all of my things set up and checked out the resort in the afternoon, checked out the surf scene and relaxed the rest of the day.
The next morning, those of us who wanted to surf got up early and got breakfast and
loaded up the boats by 7:30 to head out to the surf breaks. There were 12-14 of us the first day as we boated out in two boats past the famous Tavarua Surf Camp and Cloudbreak to Wilkes Pass and Desperations. Wilkes Pass was not that big that day so we headed over to Desperations and surfed there for 2-3 hours on chest to one foot overhead surf. The break was a nice quick reef break that broke in both directions over fairly shallow coral. The water was super clear so it made the water look shallower than it was, but I was glad I wore my reef booties that day. There were a few times I ended up in waist deep water standing on coral. I got some good waves with the rights being the best on the day. After a couple hours in the brutal heat I headed for boat to get some water, more sunscreen, and to change boards from the 6’4” (the new board rocks by the way) to the fish as the tide came up more. I paddled back out and got a few waves on the fish before calling it a day and struggling
my way back to the boat with my spaghetti arms. The rest of the day I spent relaxing, reading up on Fiji and filling up on the great food.
The next day was more of the same thing. We hit Desperations again and got some good chest to head high surf. The sun was beating down on us the whole morning and I was beat and a little dehydrated after two hours out. I got more used to the wave and the board and had a great time in the water.
After the surf we all had lunch and relaxed. I got to know three guys from San Diego who had been traveling around New Zealand and Fiji together and also a great couple from San Fran who were honeymooning around Fiji for 3+ weeks. That evening we did a kava ceremony with one of the guys from the resort. Kava is a root that is dried and crushed which they use to make a drink out of by soaking the dried root in water and then wringing it out. It basically tastes like dirt water, makes your mouth a little numb, and makes you feel very relaxed.
Kava is used during several important ceremonies in Fiji and is an important part of their tradition. We got 10-15 of us from the resort around and sat around, drank kava in the traditional way, talked, and played some music. After the first bowl was gone another guy from the resort came in with more kava and fixed another bowl so we drank more. This went on for several hours until we were all full of kava and ready for bed.
The next day we headed out to surf Wilkes Pass first and then Desperations. Wilkes was a fun, mellower right hand break with a more forgiving, deeper reef. The waves were 4’-6’ and fun. I surfed there for about 30 minutes and then over to Desperations with the rest of the people. Desperations was slightly bigger and fun. After about an hour of surfing I headed over to the boat and snorkeled around the boat until the others were back. The rest of that day there was more relaxing and more great food.
The fourth day I surfed Desperations again with the San Diego crew and got some great 4’-6’ waves. That evening we had a great
all you can eat feast with several local dishes made with cassava, taro, and local fish. Later that evening we had a serious ping pong tournament with the San Diego crew and a few others.
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