fiji time

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fiji time. let me explain. meesh and i arrived in fiji at 4am and were immediately bombarded with travel agents attempting to usher us into their offices. we succumbed rather quickly, my fault, but it wasn't all bad. we had air conditioning and comfy couches to sit on for the next 6 hours while we waited for our bus. we then were transported to our boat, "the yasawa flyer" that took us to our destination, sunset resort on big waya island. we were greeted a short distance away from the island with a shuttle boat. we loaded our gear and boarded the boat to find only two other people with us. two much older, but very friendly other people. we were serenaded upon docking (or beaching really) with fijian music (think typical island songs) and fresh mango juice. we dispersed after our meet and greet to settle in. there was no lack of help. it seemed as though each of us had our own personal assistant even though it was clear we didn't need one. after we'd set up our tents i immediately jumped in the water. then off to lunch. at meal time the staff blew a horn and we were all supposed to sit down and eat. sort of like in grammer school. picture meesh and me sitting at a picnic table with two old new zealanders (who are originally from sweeden, complete with accent). then picture four fijian men singing to us all during our meal. meesh and i looked at each other and laughed a little. every meal was like this. peter and katie were the couple's names. they turned out to be retired professors and offered us much advice when we asked about new zealand.
there was not too much to do on the island. meesh and i went snorkling for a couple of hours one day. it was great...though i hadn't ever been been before so i swallowed a lot of sea water while attempting fo perfect breathing through the snorkle. our other big adventure was hiking. we hiked to the top of this unbelievable mountain. samu guided us. he started out running, but slowed when he realized we weren't going to keep up. we hiked through his village and stopped along the way for fresh (i mean off the tree) mangos and coconut milk. we came to our final ascent. i think anywhere in the states we would have used ropes and harnesses, but there i just clung to the side of the craggy cliff hoping my arms and legs would fight the burning sensation and hold me up. i had to catch my breath as i stepped onto the peak, for two reasons, because i was afraid i might fall off, and because of the beauty before me. mountains and lush islands sprouted up randomly from the turquoise waters all around me. i thanked samu for the trip and took a picture with him at the top before we headed down.
so, the next four days meesh and i spent quietly reading, walking on the beach (which was about 200 yards in total), and lying in the sun. my surroundings. the ocean smelled salty, like home, but seemed to turn shades of vibrant blue throughout. the sand was white and hot, but not too fine....each pebble uniquely its own. coconut trees line the beach, still too green to be picked. the branches are huge and as the wind passes through them it sounds like soft steady rain on a tin roof. incredible. incredible and hard. i found myself doing a lot of thinking on that island. with little else to do but sit and look out at the water one's mind tends to wander to places perhaps it wouldn't otherwise. it became rather painful, but in a neccessary way i think. i confronted a few things in those four days that i will work through while i'm here. i hope.
that's all for now. til new zealand.

be well.

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Photos

view from tent
unreal eh??

coconut milk
straight from the tree....courtesy of samu.

samu and me
this is samu and me (how big is his smile....) at the very small summit in fiji.