The South Seas is calling

Friday, November 23, 2018

When traveling to Fiji, it's like in religion. The journey to paradise is long and rocky! Our flight naturally started with a 3-hour delay before finally taking off. We were able to enjoy the flight to some extent. I never thought I would say this, but apparently my research on all the airplane noises was useful 😅.

Arriving in Nadi, we were greeted with Fijian music at the airport! We spent our first 2 nights right by the sea. It's good to live in a hammock with a coconut in hand, especially under palm trees. 🏝

From now on, we have to be careful because coconuts kill more people than sharks! 😰

On Sunday morning at 07:15, we were ready for our transfer to the harbor. The evening before, there was a big party with a bonfire by the locals. Around 00:45, we saw the police arrive because sleep was out of the question 😅. Sleeping was difficult during the whole journey. The beds were too small, the walls were too thin, and there was a lot of noise. Gianna had a particularly hard time sleeping. As for me, well, I was in the military and I can sleep almost anywhere 😬. But it is still very difficult!

But the Fijians slept better. While we were waiting for our bus, 2 people were sleeping on the sidewalk. 5 minutes later, a taxi passed by and a gentleman in the taxi promptly vomited 😂.

It started off interesting. Gianna and her 2 German colleagues used the 4-hour ferry ride to gossip about how unexciting the islands are. The women got along great and the topics were very worldly. How disgusting the salt feels on the skin after swimming in the sea, and how silly it is that Fijian men flirt with German women. As for me, I couldn't complain, so I just enjoyed the beautiful islands! Even though the women didn't recognize it at first glance, it is beautiful here!! 🏝🏝

Arriving at the first resort, Gianna had to overcome her huge culture shock. Luckily, that happened quite quickly. The people were very nice and joking around all day 😂. As for me, I arrived very quickly and I can also get along very well with the food. It doesn't bother me that there are only 6 women and me as guests here, as some plates remain half full and are happily handed over to me 😎.

Actually, we had no idea what to expect here, so we were very excited. In general, there is one word that everyone must know about Fiji: Fiji Time! It means that things here go slower and more relaxed, if you plan something at 10:00, the Fijian will arrive at 11!

In our small hut right on the beach, we are called to eat by drum 😂! The accommodations are very simple because we booked backpacker accommodations including meals. We found it very cozy and clean. There are more expensive resorts, but there were more older people and families there. Since we still feel young and wanted to meet other people, we were in the right place here.

The staff doesn't do much during the day. They sit together, laugh a lot, drink kava, or play the guitar.

Kava is a famous Fijian drink. The roots of a certain tree are dried, crushed, and then wrapped in a piece of cloth. This is then dipped in water, giving the water a brownish color. Kava calms the nerves, relaxes you, makes you a little sleepy, and as we were repeatedly told, it works great for having kids 😂.

On the morning of Day 2, after a very calm night and a good sleep thanks to the kava, we took a small snorkeling trip to the Blue Lagoon. The movies Cast Away and Blue Lagoon were filmed here.

It's mega interesting how we are being included in the culture here. On our first island, we were practically part of the family and there were only a few guests. We were able to try out various activities, such as a coconut demonstration.

We were shown how to open it and scrape and prepare the flesh. Afterwards, we had fresh papaya with fresh coconut milk! Heavenly 😱😃.

Oh, and we stole the mangoes directly from the house's mango tree. We have never eaten such good mangoes, it was truly phenomenal!!!!! 😊

We made a ring out of the coconut shell. Now Gianna finally has her ring to show that she is taken 😜. I think that's much more personal than an expensive white gold ring 😎!

The food tastes pretty good in my opinion! Gianna isn't too excited about rice with vegetables, but she quickly finished the fresh fish that was caught the night before!