Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Written by: Brian

Fiji:

If you are picturing white-gold sand beaches, palm trees, sun and tropical drinks then you have an  idea of how we were able to spend our honeymoon and the last part of our trip. The islands of Fiji were amazingly relaxing and just what we were looking for after 14 months of traveling. We were able to literally veg out the entire time we were there.

The saying in Fiji is, don't worry about it - you're on Fiji time, which pretty much means just take it easy and don't expect anything fast. The Fijian word 'Bula' is posted everywhere you go and it means “Hello” and it is a must to learn when visiting the country. Everywhere you go you are greeted with a warm smile and a friendly Bula!

The first island that we stayed at was Treasure Island about an hour boat ride from the mainland. We ended up on this very nice island resort because we had not booked anything ahead of time, our first choice of Octopus Resort was booked and they happened to have a killer deal. Otherwise, we would have never been able to afford a place as nice and expensive as Treasure Island. The island was just like we had imagined, with a beautiful white sand beach surrounding the island, reefs to snorkel, lounge chairs to read the day away and lush accommodations  facing the turquoise blue water for mid-afternoon naps.

After enjoying the island for four days it was time to check out another island, four hours farther away from the mainland in a chain of islands called the Yasawas. The place was called Oarsman Bay and was definitely more backpackerish. This is where the sand turned to soft white sand and the water was an aquamarine color. We swam, snorkeled and took a “village tour.” Now if you have ever seen a posting for a Village Tour before you know that they are usually set up villages for the tourists. Well this time it was different and we were pleasantly surprised.

We arrived at the village where the people actually lived their daily lives. The houses were made of concrete with thatched roofs made from palm leaves. Most of the houses consisted of one room with woven palm leaves mats covering the floor where they also slept. The village had around 300 people and had two churches, Catholic and a Methodist. There were no stores or restaurants just a village on an island. During a hurricane they would take refuge in the Catholic church that was built by the French in the late 1800's.

If we had just been back packing the place would have been great for us but the family style dinners required us to partake in conversation, which we were not in the mood for, and the accommodations where average especially in regards to the Treasure Island rooms. So after two nights at Oarsman we opted to take the ferry back to Treasure Island to spend the rest of our trip in the luxury accommodation we had at Treasure Island.

Here is where we would usually tell you about all the exciting stuff that we saw and did while we were on the islands but really all we did was read books and magazines, lay on the beach, and drink tropical drinks. It was pure heaven.

After 12 days of living in a tropical paradise though it was time for us to return home. So we boarded an Air Pacific flight (which was very nice and comfortable) and took a ten and a half hour flight to Los Angeles. After a pleasant trip through customs, where our customs official personally welcomed us back after 14 months and congratulated us on our marriage, we were back in the USA.

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