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Published: November 4th 2009
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Viti Levu
Church visit at Sigatoka with Maciu who married us 4 Yrs ago The trip back was great and the weather perfect and I got my snorkeling gear back. When we got off the boat, we quickly went around to all the resort buses and caught a lift with one who was heading our way down to Korotogo. It cost us $20 instead of the $80 taxi fare one driver offered us. We made it to the Vakaviti by around 8pm and settled in quickly because it was exactly the same room as we had stayed in two years earlier and we needed dinner. We went next door to a place called The Crows Nest and had a great dinner and cold beer – which we had not had over the last three days (beer that is).
4/10
Sunday was church day, so we went down the road for breakfast and a coffee and ended up at the Outrigger and found out that breakfast was $30-$38 each so we opted for coffee only. It was then time to catch a taxi into Sigatoka to meet Maciau our wedding pastor again.
We walked in and there were only about 7 other people there. Most were ladies who were singing. They were pleased
On the Way to Bega Island
Some of the boat passangers that we had arrived and welcomed us. After the service, had sweet milky tea and some curried fried vegetable which was delicious, and talked to Maciau for about an hour. One of the women there had worked in a restaurant in Adelaide and studied in Tafe. After catching the taxi back to the Vakaviti, we walked down to the end of the street and had lunch. Then it was time for a swim in the pool at the Vakaviti which was nice and warm. For dinner we went to the Swiss Café which was yummy also
5/10
We awoke early and walked to a neighbouring resort (Bedarra Inn) and had a great breakfast with real coffee! It was then time to pack up again and find out our transport to Navua. We found a local taxi driver, but we had to do some serious bargaining to get the price affordable first. We organized for him to drop us off in Sigatoka first as we had a couple of hours to kill, but it meant that he would have to drive around with our backpacks for that time as we couldn’t drag them with us all that time. ‘Trust
Bega Island
Losa and relatives me’ said the Indian,- Sure thought Phil - it was however perfectly safe.
The drive to Navua took 2 hrs and when we arrived, we found the boat already loaded with food and sand bags for concrete making. The captain of the boat was Marika – who was to be our host for the next two nights. The trip took about an hour and when we arrived, we were surrounded by small children who were laughing and showing off.
When school finished an older girl of 9 yrs – Losa, showed us around and took us to a luxury resort next to the village called Beqa Lagoon Resort. – Very nice but expensive! The guests loved the kids with us but I’m sure that they aren’t normally allowed in. We bought a couple of beers – bliss! – And then we walked back to the village (Ravi Ravi)
We gave our sevu sevu of kava to the headman of the village, but it seems that not many men of this village drink kava because of their religion. Marika told us that he used to drink a lot , but not anymore. Another early night of 8.30, and
Ravi Ravi
Marika and grandaughter it was the first night I didn’t cough all night. Marika’s wife took her grandchildren to a neighbour’s house because she thought that they might keep us awake.
5/10
After a cooked breakfast, we walked over to the lagoon resort and went for a swim and snorkel and a sun bake on the pontoon. We also had a coffee there but got the distinct impression that we weren’t welcome because we weren’t a paying guest – not by the Fijians, but by the Russian owner of the resort who was sitting in the office frowning at us. We went back to Marika’s place and had roti and curry for lunch. After lunch we had to go for a long walk to work off some of these meals. Most of the island is made up of rainforest, and unfortunately – lots of mosquitoes.
The dinner that night was a feast with lots of variety. The kids put on a bit of a show for us when they were dancing to Fijian music from the TV. They loved the fact that we were filming them. We had to get up extra early the next morning as Marika was taking
Ravi Ravi
Calisa preparing Roti for our curry dinner the boat back to the mainland at 6.30 am.
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Ginny Gamba
non-member comment
Candy to village children
Great blog about your Fiji travels. However, one comment to make. Although the children in villages adore candy, diabetes and tooth decay is rampant in the islands. As a travel agent, I always encourage my guests to bring tangibles like school supplies instead of sugary treats. As you probably surmised, there is no dentist on Beqa Island. Most of the villagers wait until their tooth decays to the point of no return, then takes the boat to the main island to have their teeth extracted. It sounds like tough love, I know, but it's best to refrain from bringing candy as a gift. Otherwise, glad you enjoyed our islands!