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Published: November 15th 2006
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The vibe
Me on the beach at barefoot Fiji has been incredible. Right from the start we were ready for relaxation. (4hour flight from Quito to Miami 3 hours layover in Miami, 5.5 hour flight to LA, 4 hour layover in LA, 10.5 hour flight to Fiji...) We pre-arranged our hostel so that when we arrived at 5am we had a bus waiting for us and breakfast upon arrival. We are staying at Tropic of Capricorn with the owner Mama, who welcomes you home and treats you just like you were her own, its really nice. At her place we arranged a trip to Barefoot Island Resort, with an open ended stay. We didn't want to plan too much yet, we were sooooo tired.
Our first day in Fiji we were welcomed with the word Bula to every shop in town, its similar to the word aloha in Hawaii. After a long stroll on the beach we went into town to get some cash, lunch and do some interneting. We planned to take the bus back, but then got on the wrong bus and took it really far past the turn for our place, but when we finally realized it we weren't sure exactly where the turn was,
ocean front bure
our place on barefoot so we walked...for over an hour...and finally made it back without making a wrong turn, we were just that far away. We promptly jumped into the pool and cooled off, I was fairly jet lagged and needed rest. The next morning we were off to Barefoot island, on Captain Cook Cruises, a boat that looked quite like a pirate ship, but smelled gross and mildewy. On the way we did some snorkeling and it was incredible! The brightly colored coral was like a beautiful garden full of rainbow colored fish. I don't think I've ever see such impressive coral, all different types and the fish were great too. The water was so warm as well, in the Galapagos the water was cold and there was little or no coral, so this was a great change. When we got to Barefoot they were singing and welcomed us to our ocean front Bure, like a small hut. It was perfect. That evening after a hard afternoon of reading and lying around and watching the sunset, we had a traditional Kava ceremony. The Kava ceremony is very somber, you aren't allowed to smile or take pictures until after the chief and the spokesman
kava ceremony
for a closer up view of what we were actually drinking, see aaron's pic drink the kava and they close the formal ceremony. The chief is usually the oldest man and the spokesman the second oldest. After the chief then everyone can drink it. Its a drink made from a root that is ground up and then put into a cloth bag that is put into water and squeezed and rung out, kinda like a tea bag, but the water isn't hot, and the result looks like dirty water with a dirty dish rag in it. The taste is like oragel, you know the stuff you put on the inside of your mouth to numb a sore, and Kava even numbs your tongue. Strange drink, makes you tired and I had the best night of sleep after about 4 cups and about 30 minutes of star gazing. The resort at Barefoot didn't have electricity other than a few lights in the main bure (main house) so the stars were spectacular.
Our second day on Barefoot island was basically more lying around in hammocks and reading, we went on the snorkel trip to look for the manta rays that apparently go between the islands, but all we saw was huge schools of fish, and
beautiful fish. It was really neat to just float down the channel between the islands, the current pushed you along just slow enough to feel like you were floating without being pushed. It was an incredible feeling, not to mention the cool view below. That afternoon we just layed around some more and did a short hike up to the highest point of the island to get some good views, and then after a short snorkel off the beach in front of our bure, we went promptly back to hammock time. That night we enjoyed more star gazing and kava.
The next day we spent more time laying around and after lunch changed islands to go to Manta Ray resort, which was just the next island over from Barefoot. Manta Ray was a lot hipper, and a more lively scene with about 30 other guests rather than the other 10 people who were with us at barefoot. But that didn't hinder our relaxation one bit, we did even less at manta ray, and ate a lot more. The food at barefoot was less than average, bad really, but at Manta Ray they actually had a chef and we ate
awwww
we're so cute mountains of food at the all you can eat buffet lunch and dinner. At both resorts they had a sunrise beach and a sunset beach, so it was always nice to go over to the sunset side to watch the sun go down. I really couldn't say what we did either day there, we just chilled out. Eventually we had to go back to "the mainland" which is just the big island in Fiji. We returned home to Mama and in time for dinner and chatted with some English guys that had just come from a couple weeks stay in LA. They stayed at a hostel in Venice Beach and weren't sure what they thought about LA, don't blame them...they were there for Halloween.
The next day we just did some shopping in Nadi, the town there, and some internet of course. While we were at the internet it started to rain, pour down really, huge drops and there was thunder and lightening, the streets quickly became covered in about 2-3inches of water! We were to ride the open air bus back...so after a quick run through the rain, which soaked us, we made it to the bus. Luckily
hammock time
me and francis resting in the hammock they had put some tarps down over the open parts, but that didn't stop the school kids from lifting them up to feel the rain and peer out. We made it back to Mama's and in less than an hour the rain stopped and blue skyes were revealed. We took a walk and were back in time to watch the sunset from the top storey of Mama's new house, still in construction, and have a beer, Fiji Bitters. The next morning we boarded our flight for New Zealand.
So a few things I still havn't mentioned...while we were on our cruise in the Galapagos I broke my camera's screen, I just tossed it up to the bunk and it happened to hit my Nalgene bottle, damnit! It still works to take pictures but you obviously can't look at the picture after you take it, and I can't use any of the menu features, luckily Aaron has the same model so I can put my memory card in his and look at stuff, but that was a real bummer. And then when we were flying through Miami, I left my jacket in the seat at the gate! I really loved
figi bitters
like a corona ad... that jacket, black North Face, it was perfect...lightweight but just as warm as you need, worked against the wind...damnit! I'm going to need one here in NZ so we're going off to look for one today, after we get our rental car that I have to drive on the other side of the road, wish me luck!
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jealous
Wow Fiji, now i'm starting to seriously envy you! I cant believe its only 10hrs from LA I would have looked at this for sure when booking my belize trip if i had known - have fun p.s. Sheena is 5 months pregnant again!!!!