Wellness and a museum visit of a special kind

We start the day early with a swim in the pool. The pool is nicely located in the sun, and to avoid getting sunburned, we make use of the morning hours. After that, we received a soothing neck massage from the hotel 😘. We liked it so much that we booked an extensive tropical massage for lunch (good marketing concept 😂).

Afterwards, we walked through the Thurston Gardens to the Fiji Museum. It only had half an hour left before closing, but since it is not very big, we still went in. The museum seems rather provincial, but it is lovingly put together. It explains the history of the island group, life, trade, shipping, and of course, customs and traditions. The original oar of the HMS Bounty is also exhibited here! In the small museum shop, we choose a wall painting made from Masa, the traditional bark cloth, as a souvenir for home. The museum should already be closed, but Tikki, the young saleswoman in the shop, is in a chatty mood and joyfully explains the meaning of the fabric to us. She also proudly presents a few German words! Not because she was in Germany, but in New Zealand and then she knew someone there who had been to Germany before 😊.

So we left, or rather wanted to leave the museum. It turned out differently, the nice lady at the entrance explained to us the model of an old Fijian village, which no longer exists today (at least not completely).

Meanwhile, the museum's employees had gathered around a table on the large veranda to enjoy the traditional Yaqona, also known as Cava, of the Fijians. We were immediately invited to join them and have a cup. Cava is made from dried roots of a pepper plant. The roots are crushed and then kneaded in water in a cotton bag. The result is a concoction that tastes slightly like pepper and has a strange appearance. It is consumed from half coconut shells in a very specific ritual. When the shell is handed to you, you clap your hands once, say "bula," drink it in one go, and then clap your hands three times. It is an honor to be invited to drink Cava. We were very surprised, the people are so open and friendly, they are happy when you show interest in their home and willingly explain everything!

After chatting and laughing for a while, we said goodbye, shaking hands with everyone. It felt like leaving good friends, incredible!!

Oh yes, Yaqona, or Cava, is not my favorite drink. It leaves a slightly numb feeling on the tongue and palate, tastes slightly like pepper, and otherwise has no effects 😉, except that we have met a few nice new people 😁👍🏻. Which is at least better than getting drunk 🤣

Tonight there is live music here in the hotel garden, let's see how it goes!