BULA!!!!!

I have thought a lot about how to write this blog post for Fiji and I still haven't quite come to a solution, so I am just going to start and see what happens. Up to this point on the trip Mike and I have had famous luck with every place we've been to. I guess it hasn't been all luck but more so has been my commitment to research the heck out of every place before departure. Thanks to reviews and blogs, we have managed to avoid any truly unpleasant situations.....until this one. We booked Fiji on a whim while  hanging out with our friends, the day after new years. We didn't really look into anything for the trip and booked with a company called Awesome Adventures. We paid $1400 dollars for the two of us, which included our accomodation, meals and transportation from island to island. After cutting our trip short due to a series of unfortunate events, we submitted a complaint to Awesome Adventures and they refunded us for over half of the trip. In the end we are so grateful that we got some money back and it definitely helps to ease the sting of the trip. I don't want to focus on the negatives from the trip so I will not add all of the details from each place in the following post. 

Day 178- As we were checking in for our flight, we were informed that we needed to have our flight booked out of Fiji  before we could check in. This was terribly disappointing as the flight out of Fiji had gone up $400 dollars since we had last checked but we didn't have a choice, so we booked two flights from Fiji to New Zealand at $600 dollars a pop. We shrugged it off and boarded the flight. A quick couple of hours later we arrived in Fiji. The weather was fierce and the rain came down on us violently as we arranged a taxi to our hostel for the night. As soon as we landed in Fiji, the words BULA surrounded us in every direction. We soon learnt that it meant hello and so from that point on, we repeated BULA as loud as we could to everyone we passed. After checking in, we braved the storm and enjoyed a beer on the main island of Nadi.

We were both exhausted as we were lacking sleep from our many nights in noisy dorm rooms so we hit the hay early, hoping to catch some zzz's before our 6 am wake up the next morning. 

Day 179- Imagine while you are sleeping, no, Sandra Bullock doesn't fall in love you with you but instead, a semi truck drives through your room. Then as you're getting used to the sound of its loud engine, it begins to break using its retarder breaks, then just as it comes to a stop it starts to honk, over and over and over and over. That is the best way I could describe the monstrous snoring that came from the man in the bunk next to ours. It was wild to say the least and it kept us up all night. 

The rain continued to fall and we overheard on the radio that Cyclone Ula was coming through Fiji so we knew there was more to come. We actually laughed quite hard when we oveheard the weekly forecast on the radio, it went a little something like this...

Radio Advertisement: This weeks forecast brought to you by Fiji Gold.

Radio Host: "It will rain in most places."

Radio Advertisement: This weeks forecast was brought to you by Fiji Gold. 

We got picked up from our hostel and took a bus to the harbour where we jumped on the Yasawa Flyer to take us to our first island. The resort was called Mantaray Resort and it was on the island of Nanuya Balavau.

Mike and I were a bit lazy when planning Fiji and we didn't read the fine print when booking the trip, which left us surprised to find out that we needed to pay an extra $90 dollars each per day for the meal plan at the resort. Since most of the islands are still owned by tribes people, they aren't populated, commercialized islands. There is only one hotel on each and one restaurant attached, which means the meal is included in the price for most options, except for this one. We swallowed hard and paid the fee. The dorm rooms were especially nice so we got over the spent money and looked forward to a great sleep. 

                         

We took advantage of the rain and lack of wifi and spent hours upon hours reading our books. 

After a delightful dinner, we had the BEST sleep! It was just what we needed. 

Day 180-We woke up to another rainy day on the island and repeated our acitivities from the day before. 

We napped, we read and we snorkelled but the water wasn't very clear and the humidity left our masks fogging up in seconds. Not the best. 

At night the resort had some games going on that Mike and I couldn't help but try our luck at. The rock game is where one person in the couple stands beside a line drawn on the ground. With the help and brute strength of their partner (that would be me), they would stretch down and move the rock as far back as possible. The strong and beautiful partner was then responsible for pulling up their other half without letting their foot cross the line or letting any of their body parts touch the ground. Although we were close for the win, Mike wasn't strong enough to help me pull him back up....look, it's my blog so I write it as I perceive it and I wasn't the problem in the combo..Mike let us down. 

Then it was time for individual games, Mike came out on top for the win out of all the guys and I was the first one out for the girls. Yes, I let the other girls win, I was trying to let someone else have the glory for once. It's good for em yea know.

After the games, Mike and I were invited by some new friends to join them for a Kava ceremony. Kava is a root plant that grows in Fiji and locals have long used it as a relaxant. The root is dried, then ground into a fine powder. Once the powder is mixed with water, it creates a muddy looking drink. Surprisingly enough it also tastes a lot like mud. Kava is part of a nightly tradition practiced by most Fijians after a long day at work, the men and women sit around a large basin, drink kava and tell stories from their days. We had a local take us through the ceremony and together with our new friends we enjoyed a few high tides (also known as a full bowl, one could also request low or medium tide) together. With the first bowl, the kava numbs your lips, throat and tongue, then, as the numbness disappears, the body is left feeling utterly relaxed and at ease. I did some research and it turns out kava is widely used around the world as a remedy for anxiety. FUN FACT. Turns out kava also helps with sleep and I can attest to having a fantastic rest later that night. 

                      

Day 181/182- We woke up to a beautiful sunshiny day and we still had 2 hours to kill before our boat picked is up to bring us to the next island. We figured we'd give the snorkelling another shot and it turns out the bad weather had a lot to do with the lack luster coral we explored on our first day. This time it was vibrant, full of life and just off the front beach.  

                               

                            

After a couple days of poor weather, things were starting to look up. 

We were sad to leave but the meal plan was expensive so we knew we needed to move on. The view from the boat was fantastic and I was starting to see why Fiji gets so much attention. The photo below is of Mantaray Resort resort as we waved goodbye from the boat. 

Our next stop was Korovou resort on Naviti island. The staff stood by to sing us a welcome song and or course we heard a few BULAS come our way. 

After we were welcomed on the island we were briefed on meal times and on information about the island. We were told that water wasn't included and it was not safe to drink the tap water so we'd have to purchase water at $6 dollars a bottle. This irked Mike more than a little but we shook it off and went to our rooms. The dorm rooms were not quite what we expected for the price we'd paid and we were dissapointed to see the bathrooms and surounding area wasn't kept very clean but we continued 'shaking it off' and headed to the beach. 

The weather was still holding up so Mike napped under a coconut tree, while I read my book. I read my book facing the ocean, with a delicious Fiji water by my side. A $6 dollar Fiji water!

After meeting 3 other couples on the island that couldn't help but voice their opinion on the poor quality of the food, accomodation and staff, Mike and I were seriously regretting the amount of money we had spent on the holiday. (haha we actually considered Fiji a holiday, which we later discussed as ironic given the trip we're on) We got feedback from another traveller that said our next destination got even worse and that they actually served instant noodles as the main course for dinner. This was our queue to call it quits. I called Awesome Adventures to begin our refund claim and we took the next boat off the island, back to Nadi. Before we left we enjoyed a pretty sweet sunset. The sky turned from a storm into a sunset within minutes.

Day 183/184- Unfortunately our luck didn't improve once back at Nadi and we were our own worst enemies. We were so focused on all of the negative things from the trip that we struggled to pull ourselves out of our funk. We had two beds in the dorm room at Smuggler's Cove and although I didn't think our accomodation could get worse, it did. We couldn't wait for the 11th to come so we could get off the island. We spent our time swimming, chilling on the beach and using the internet. After sulking at the hotel for 2 days we finally got our butts into gear and left the hotel. We absolutely could have made the best of our situation and we were fully aware that many people would be happy to be stuck on an island but as I said we had dug ourselves so deep in our pool of negativity that we were drowning ourselves. The photo below is a visual representation of the brain fog that surrounds you when you allow yourself to wallow in negativity. 

Day 185- We left first thing in the morning, after a heated conversation with the general manager. Topic's ranged from bed bugs to untrustworthy staff but our moods were quickly turned right side up. We had the most amazing driver take us around for the day and he gave off such a strong positive energy and contagious laugh that he made us forget the negative cloud hanging over our heads.  While on our way to the mud pools and natural hot springs, he told us a little about the history of Fiji.

All land is passed down through inheritance and cannot be sold. Fiji is still very traditional. People live in villages and the villages are divided into clans. The clans have five categories, each one with its own jobs and responsibilities. The warrior clan are responsible for going to battle to protect the village. Given the lack of battles between villages, today the warrior clans are most famously known to play rugby. With a population of under 1 million, Fiji is a top world contender in rugby. Pretty impressive. The builder clans are responsible for everything construction. They are the engineers of the village. As Fiji's main resource is fish, there is a fishing clan who are the pros of the ocean and everything fishy. The spokemans clan are the voice of the chief clan. They also manage all other clans based on the rule of the chief clan. Lastly, the most important and powerful clan is known as the chief clan. They make all of the decisions that will ultimately affect the village. This is also the reason why the nightly kava ceremonies are such a routine. When the village comes together at the end of the day to share stories, each group is excited to hear stories from fellow clan members as some of them never get to leave the village! Our conversation with the driver was incredibly interesting but we needed to change the subject... all this clan talk had Mike itching to play Clash of Clans.

We also learned that Fijians originally practiced canabalism as their main religion, until the british rule came to power and converted all to Catholicism, which is now the main religion on the islands. Our driver joked that we need not worry, he had already eaten for the day. Now there is a subject that will keep Mike focused on the story and off of his game... 

The journey to the mud pools flew by and I loved listening to our driver share his history and stories but it was time to 'immerse' ourselves into the country side. 

We covered eachother in mud from top to bottom and walked around the garden while the mud dried. 

                         

It was cool to be at hot springs that are completely natural and not overly commercialized. After we cleaned off most of the mud from our bodies, we went into the natural hot springs to soak up the health benefiting nutrients. Our skin felt soft and refreshed.

After the mud baths, our lovely driver took us to the market to buy some kava of our own to ship home. We will have our own little kava ceremony with friends upon our return. Lots of stories to be shared.

We returned to the hotel and joined a Kava ceremony by the beach. It was just what we needed after a lovely day on the island. 

                                 

We enjoyed dinner on the patio, with a very impressive traditional dance to entertain us. The guy in the front was particularly good. Very very good. 

Our last day in Fiji was great and it definitely helped us feel better about the week, although we were still beyond excited to get on the plane the next day. 

Day 186- After some more bad luck at the airport and a few tears.... (poor Mike couldn't take it anymore! JK It was me who broke down, first tears of the trip by the way) we finally boarded the plane.. the next photo is all I need to share to express our excitement.

Bye Fiji, can't say we'll see ya later!!