Chapter 7 - Bula Fiji!

Fiji is beautiful!! We arrived on July 31 and are staying at the Club Fiji Resort, which is right on the beach. We are staying in a bure (pronounce bu-ray), which kinda looks like a thatched hut. So far we've spent our days relaxing on the beach, paddle boating, and getting to know the resort staff. Last night, Bola (the bartender) and his friend took us out for dinner to a Chinese restaurant, and then to a bar/club nearby - After Hours. The bar was cool, and the DJ played my current favourite song (Hips Don't Lie by Shakira). He also played some Kwaito, Reggae, local Fijian music, and even a Ugandan song. Fijians are a mix of Indian, Polynesian and Chinese. The Fijian women all wear their hair in the same way, which kind of looks like a square 'fro.

Fiji is made up of about 300 different islands, and we are staying in Nadi (pronounced Nandi), which is on Viti Levu.

Downtown Nadi is full of all kinds of activity. It could easily be downtown Kampala – sans the boda bodas. There are the usual souvenir shops with people beckoning you to enter them, markets, etc. I thought I would be able to blend in with the locals, but I keep getting stares. Maybe it’s my hair - I knew I should have left it out! We were warned not to tell anyone our names coz apparently there are con-artists who quickly carve your name into a wood souvenir, and you are forced to buy it. I don’t know why you wouldn’t just say no. So far no one has tried that on us – they must know we’re from New York J

Today (Thursday) we left the mainland and took a ½ hour boat-ride to Beach Comber Island. This is supposedly the party island in Fiji, so we wanted to check it out. Most of the outer islands also have much better beaches and clearer water. The highlight of this trip (for me) was snorkeling. I had never done this before, and after I learned how not to get water in my pipe, I was blown away by the whole experience!! The water was absolutely clear, and we didn’t even have to go far out before we could see the fish and coral. There were all sorts of bright colors and I even saw about 7 electric-blue starfish!! Absolutely breathtaking!!!

Views from our resort...