Mana Island, Fiji

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By the 5^th day in Fiji, Melissa and I were getting a little restless at the same hostel and wanted to try somewhere else. Bamboo conveniently doubles as a travel agency because neighboring islands pay them to promote day or overnight trips off of the mainland.

Our budget and time was limited but we were open to spending a couple nights at a hostel on one of the islands. We heard good reviews about Mana Lagoon Backpackers on Mana Island and decided to give it a shot for the next couple nights.

Mana was about an hour away by ferry and we couldn’t even see the mainland in the distance anymore. We were excited about that because it meant the water would be much more clear than it was on the volcanic mainland. When we reached the island we could see that we were right: clear water and white sand!

We got off at Mana and were greeted with a welcoming song from the staff. Melissa and I were pretty excited about this place but there were a couple of ladies that also arrived with us who were pissed to say the least. After talking to them later, we found out that they didn’t know Mana Lagoon was a Backpackers. They thought it was a resort…HAHA!! For partying 20-year-olds on a budget, a Backpackers is perfect. For 50 years olds looking for a paradise vacation, it must be a nightmare! They hated that the rooms weren’t spotless and were amazed that the staff didn’t even supply soap and shampoo. Their reactions were tooooo funny. They had the best sense of humor though so we ended up cracking jokes with them the whole time.

On the first day, Melissa and I walked to the other side of the island to see the private beach. It was gorgeous but the tide was too low to go swimming so we heated up pretty quickly. On the walk back one of the boys from the hostel climbed a tree and chopped down coconuts for us! The water is so delish and I know I’m going to miss it. That night we went to another hostel on the island to see what was going on over there. There were more people and lots of guitar playing so we hung out in the Kava circle for a bit before calling it a night.

Before we knew it, the next day was the end of the trip!! We relaxed for our last afternoon on the beach then partied at the hostel for our last night! We played cards with people at the hostel and perfected our tans before the sun went down. After dinner, the staff put on a big performance for everyone. They did a few traditional dances and twirled around giant knives and fire batons! They even took a couple volunteers (including me, of course) and showed them how to fire twirl! I thought I was going to burn my hair off. To end the celebration, we learned the Fijian version of the Macarena. Everyone was singing and dancing and it was a great last night in Fiji.

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Photos

This is the life
Mana Island was beautiful

Our friends
These ladies were not ready for the backpacker experience

Fire Twirling
Check out my skillzzz!

Climbing tree
Getting coconuts for Melissa and me!

Knife twirling
Notice the blindfold...