Bula!

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Bula to you all! Bula is the Fijian word for just about everything, it is hello a dance and they just randomly say it for the fun of it!

We arrived in Fiji quite late and were greeted by a band of men in skirts with flowers in there hair it was great. We were soon ushered into an office with lots of options thrown at us. We had an idea of what islands we wanted to go to but were not sure how to get there and about the accommodation that was available, as we have not got a book on Fiji.....which was a bit of a mistake! We ended up with a boat ticket one way to the Yasawa islands. The Yasawas are known to be the nicest islands and are the furthest away. A one way ticket cost us $110 Fijian each which we thought was a bit steep but as we found out there is only one boat that goes to all of the islands so you have no choice but to pay it! We also ended up booking 9 nights on Nacula at a place called Nabua lodge. All of the accommodation includes food on all of the islands. We paid $50 Fijian each for a private bungalow with shared bathroom and all food included. You have to pay for your drinks though. all of this was booked by a very nice lady boy called 'Poni' who provided us with a shell necklace each.

We stayed the night in Nadi at escape beach resort, it was like staying in a room made of mdf and the size of a small small box! It was only for 8 hours until we were dropped off at the ferry terminal. It soon became clear that it is so organised and there is no competition for anything, we thought it may be a bit like Thailand where you can just get a boat to anywhere but hey ho..............

The Yasawa flyer boat was full, it drops off people as it goes along we were the last drop off. The islands that we dropped off at along the way looked all so different but following the same theme of crystal blue green waters and a real jurassic park feel to the landscape. 4 hours later and we arrived and were picked up by a small boat from the resort. There were us and a pair of Brazilian lads that went across.

Nabua lodge is situated right on the beach and is surrounded by the most unbelievable water i have ever seen.......think brochure pictures trying to sell you a holiday well that it what it is like there amazing! We were greeted by the staff again the men wearing flowers in there hair and skirts all with the biggest smile on there faces. Lunch was served inside what was like a guide or scout hut but the food seemed OK a bit basic but you have got to remember that you are on a remote island with limited food resources.

On the subject of the food for those of you that know me, you will know that i don't like peas or sweetcorn and i am not joking they appeared in almost everything we had...................pea and sweetcorn soup, pea and sweetcorn pasta, pea and sweetcorn rice, peas in scrambled egg for breakfast the list goes on! They also served Papaya with every meal. The food we had some nights was very strange they just seemed to throw random ingredients that they obviously had in the fridge in!

At first we thought the island was a bit cheesy, they make you do the Bula dance every night which is basically the macarena but with the word Bula in! ha ha ha. It felt a bit like butlins, with activities to do meals set at certain times and the dancing but after a few days we met some fab people and had such a laugh. Those people included the Brazilian lads who were kind enough to mark out lots in our south America book which is very helpful. Most people seemed to be either at the beginning of there trip and had come via LA or at the end of the trip and going home via LA.......nope not us we were the odd ones being half way through!

The first Sunday we were there we went to the village church......it was a Methodist church and they all dressed up so smartly to go. We all went along and what a experience, all the kids were running around during the service and the choir sang songs in Fijian that gave me goose bumps. The songs were really spiritual an amazing sound. One of the elders of the village also thanked us for coming which was very nice. The next day we visited the village again and net up with the chief and his grand-daughter in the meeting hut. The chief was a normal guy who just shook our hands and asked where we were from and again thanked us for coming! The village itself is home to about 600 people who all still live in traditional huts and get water from a well, all the kids just run around without a care in the world. It was great to go see how they lived and take part in beating a squid to make it tender hmmmmmm very interesting. When we visited they were preparing for a party so all the kids were excited and dressing up in grass skirts, it was such a great atmosphere.

Wow this is getting to be a rather long entry isn't hey....................sorry

Kava is a drink that they all drink, there version of alcohol except with different effects. It is made from the roots from the pepper plant......they dry it out for 2 weeks before placing into a cloth a bit like a big tea bag really. They then mix it with water to drink. It looks and tastes like muddy water and is a sedative!!!!! Needless to say we were involved in a few Kava ceremonies. They have a chief then a spokesman and they say when the kava is given out. You clap once and say 'Bula' to receive the coconut cup of muddy water..............next you down it...........then pull a face as it tastes horrid (you can not wash it down with anything as it is thought to be rude)................then 3 claps to say thank you! After 3 of these i was out like a light and slept for a large proportion of time the next day too. It is a very old tradition in Fiji and most men do it every night!

In a nut shell we spent most of our time in Fiji on the beach admiring the gorgeous waters, snorkeling on the fab reefs, chasing the biggest spiders we have ever seen around our bungalow and relaxing in hammocks perfect! The Fijian people are so friendly and willing to do anything for you and welcome you with open arms. There are no beach sellers at all which is great only on the main land. We feel that staying on the one island was better as we really got to see the locals and get to know them, we found that a lot of people island hop sometimes spending just one night on an island.......to me this is not enough to see it all and spends time getting to know the culture! It would have been great to see a few more islands but as we only had a one way ticket it would have cost a small fortune to travel between the islands. For those people reading this that are planning to go they do a Bula pass for 7. 14 or 21 days which allows you to island hop as much as you want! In hind sight that would have been much more worth while never mind.

It was soon time to leave the island, another sad day with people asking us to come back to see them! we returned on a good day, the weather took a turn for the worst so we sat for 6 hours on the way back, picking up people that we had been on the island with us at some point like a reunion ha ha ha! It was like the film the island 'when it was your time to leave' you would leave on a boat waving goodbye!

Once back on the mainland we met up with a few people who we had met on the islands, it was lovely to catch up and we all had a nice civilised meal after our detox of rice sweetcorn and peas!!!!!!!! another night in the mdf shoe box and onto another flight bound for New Zealand!!!!!!!!!

We arrived in Auckland yesterday afternoon and are staying in a nice hostel by the sky tower. as this is the busiest city in the country it is so laid back we like it! Went to the museum today it was really educational, we found ourselves in the kiddie interactive bit! Off up north in the morning to see the family members so best go get packed up.

Speak to you all soon xxxxxx

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Photos

Village Children
Getting Ready For a Village Party

The Yasawa Islands
View from the Top of Nacula

Bex,Ste and the Chief
Ste was Saying "Bula" as the picture was taken!

Squid Bashing
The Practice of Tenderising Squids!

Sunset
Stunning Colours Every night in Fiji

The Smoking Crab
6 beers and 20 fags later, the crab got rowdy

Fiji Time
Fiji Time Translates as When I Can Be Bothered

Bula dancing
We were natural's at the Bula dance!

Fiji's empty beaches
Me trying to control my sarong on a sand bank!

Fiji fisherman
Bless him!

Beautiful water
I lay and watched this coconut being taking in and out by the tide, it was the only other thing on the beach

Kava ceremony
The mixing of the kava (muddy water) in a big wooden dish before we drank it from coconut shells......yum!