Travels in Fiji

Great trip from LAX – except for the 2.5 hour we spent at the gate (on the plane) offloading baggage.

 

Tonga is another 500 miles south of Nadi, Fiji.

I am embarrassed to say that until this afternoon I didn’t realize that we are actually on an Island. It is called Denarau.

We are walking distance from the little village and the marina which is full of all sorts of power and sail boats. It was a treat to see them up close. One can only imagine how much work it takes to maintain them! One boat dad estimated probably has a crew of 30-40. Every inch was being scrubbed and polished. You could almost see your reflection on the hull, and the bumpers on the side were the size of a large Fijian man. The Harbor Master says the boats, or ships I should say, come into port for a couple of months at a time before heading out to sea and another destination. It must be quite the life! I’m sure Dad will send some of the pictures he took when we were there.

On our walk from the hotel to the harbor at Denaru Island.

I went for a walk and dipped my toes in the ocean which was warm enough to bathe a baby in. The air is perfect in the early evening, with a break from the humidity of the day. I just saw a handsome Fijian man and his little son (about 3) walking down the beach in their native grass skirts with a bamboo pole in hand. They are walking around the resort and lighting the torches. It couldn’t be prettier! We have some dark clouds over us now, but the sun is making them a beautiful pink. (sadly my camera doesn’t catch the colors well so I am snagging a picture from google) This picture is down from our room a bit and is for adults only.

Denaru Island Yacht Harbor

After a couple hour nap, we got up for the buffet dinner at the resort.  Sampled everything – very good, and then watched a polynesian show.  Actually, I think Fiji is part of Melanesia (Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia in the South Pacific).

Our name badges attract some attention and we sat next to a honeymooning couple from Bountiful. They are driving to Suva tomorrow to go to the temple – a four hour round trip.  The couple we spent time with in the MTC who had served in Fiji said the roads were not good (she didn’t drive during the two years they were here.)  They lived in Suva.

Our waiter this evening lived in Tonga for two years.  He said the pace of life there is very slow.  He said if we want to buy anything to wait and get it in Tonga.  Less expensive.  Actually cheaper might be a better word because things are not expensive in Tonga, he told us. He said don’t expect it to be touristy.  He was very familiar with the Liahona Campus – largest school in Tonga.

Everyone in Fiji has a smile on their face, but it’s very hit-and-miss as far as teeth are concerned. 🙂  ON the twenty minute drive from the airport through Nadi to the resort, I didn’t see any dental offices or professional buildings.  They are still recovering from the cyclone that hit when the Oldhams were here. It doesn’t look like there are strict building codes here. But the resort is something that you would see in Hawaii – open architecture and bright and fresh.

We commented to each other that we feel like we are in a foreign country – we hear lots of languages spoken and the staff all speak English but they are hard to understand.  I think they think they are speaking well, but I pick up a word every now and then, that sounds familiar, and ask them to clarify a lot.

They say “Bula!” a lot – it’s like hello but serves a wide variety of purposes.  Kind of like Booyah! that Navy Seals say.

Our air-conditioned room (19 degrees C) felt great – slept under covers. I’m really looking forward to wearing a skirt, and definitely NO socks for the foreseeable future. I have seen NO ONE wearing socks and shoes.  Totally sandals.

I was the only person on the flight, I think, who had Customs in Fiji take them into a separate room to open one of my bags – the ones with the lasers in it.  I told him they were physical therapy instruments, and that I was going to Tonga in two days to work at the Liahona Clinic, and he was satisfied.

We still feel like we haven’t slept in two days, which is technically true, since we crossed the international date line.  I think we will arrive in Tonga feeling acclimatized and rested – and then after a day we have the weekend.  So things are good.

Just a quick p.s.  I am sending this on the public computer from the lobby of the hotel – haven’t figured out the internet thing and wireless this-and-that.  So, if I missed someone in the “Hudson Family” group, please forward. Nate said that in Fiji his parents paid for data, and that seems to be the case here.  I have taken a few videos, and photos that I will send after we get to Tonga, to the real world,  and figure things out.  May try to face-time tomorrow from Fiji.

Superyacht!

Near the hotel.

Fiji – It ‘s like a south pacific version of Puerto Vallarta. And
they drive on the left. Very friendly people, lots of sugar cane and
fruit stands. And cows roaming around. The Sofitel resort is very
nice – like a Hawaii resort. Nice staff. Humidity isn’t too bad,
slight breeze. We are pretty tired – mom told you our plane was 3
hours late getting in, so (since we sat on the plane at the gate for
close to 3 hours) it was like a 14 hour flight instead of 11 hours.
Such is life. I was definitely the only person wearing a white shirt
and tie. 🙂 It is 10:30 a.m. and we can check into our room in a
couple of hours. We will probably go have lunch first – they said we
could lounge by the pool, but all of our stuff is in our suitcases.

I think they “resolved” the autoclave gasket issue – they are going to
use a rice-cooker until they can get a replacement part. Innovative.

Indian New Year is Thursday – big celebrations going on all week, but
we are leaving Thursday afternoon before all the fireworks. About 50%
Indian heritage in Fiji.

They are going through a dry spell here – hasn’t rained significantly
for weeks – and the golf course at the Sofitel is quite brown. So I
cancelled my T time. (LOL).

So far the people we’ve interacted with on the plane and Fiji Terminal
have treated us somewhat “transparently.” They seem to look right
through us. When we do talk to people we tell them we are
missionaries and what our assignment is, and that seems well received.
The flight attendants (who may be more accustomed to missionaries)
asked about our mission, specifically. They were very nice.

Near the hotel.

Sofitel, Denaru Island, Nadi, Fiji