Fiji

The Trek Dec 5th

Fiji

December 8, 2016 by jackson

We decided to take it low and slow the first few days at The Beachouse. Other than the horse ride, Saturday and Sunday were quiet and full of reading. The Wifi was down so we couldn’t do much more than nap, lounge and nurse our ridiculous sunburns.

(Note: don’t make our rookie mistake and think that a light coating of SPF 30 on your face and shoulders is enough. For god’s sake: slather on that sunscreen!)

Monday found us more uppity and we decided to sign up for a 4-hour trek ($10FJD/ea).

Juta, a grizzly white-bearded islander with a white gauze patch on his neck, greeted us with a “Bula!” and promised to be our guide. 3 more women joined us: Lee, a former Australian flight attendant; Maria, a German professor teaching in Guam; and Andrea, a Filipino currently pursuing a doctorate in archaeology in Australia. The 5 of us practically jogged to keep up with Juta (who we half joked was probably 80 years old) who stopped briefly on the road to ask his daughter for a pair of sneakers so that Lee could wear something other than flip-flops. “There’s a lot of mud up there.” Juta promised, “but don’t worry, my friend, if you lose your shoe I will go back and find it. No problem.”

Juta lead us past a school with the Korean flag and then explained how Jesus had blessed his people and that the heathen god was gone and God was so helpful to his people because he sent the Koreans to build this school. It was a rather long-winded way of explaining a little about the local village and gave Jackson and I the full blast of Christianity that we had read the Fijians possessed, but hadn’t seen until that point. I looked at the other 3 as Juta talked, but all remained stone-faced and polite while Juta went on to bless all of us and congratulate God again on the wonderful gift of bringing the British to the Island to give them all Jesus. I wanted to ask about what the “false god” that the locals were worshiping was like, and what he was doing now that he’d been laid off, but thought better of asking.

Juta took us deep into the jungle along a very muddy path (it had poured the day before). It was steamy and hot, but there were a lot of rivers and we walked through each one, the milky water felt so cleansing on our mud-caked feet. Juta took it one step further by plunging his water bottle into a stream and taking a long drink, grinning at us as he did so (I guess the tourists he takes on this trek would have gasped at this point?).

My glazed hot face. (Notice the sweet milky river behind me!?)

The hike was to a waterfall, about an hour uphill. We scrambled over boulders and roots, up ravines and down slippery slopes avoiding huge amounts of caterpillars. One of the local dogs followed us. The bitch would run ahead and then come back, herding us toward the promise of a cool dip.

The fall was very secluded. No one else but the 6 of us were there. Juta took a seat and directed us into the water. It was delightful. We paddled around the pool a bit before Juta stood up and started barking directions. “YOU!” he shouted at Lee over the roar of water, “stand up there! On the falls! Yes! All of you! Go!” We dragged ourselves up the slippery rocks and sat as Juta snapped a shot with Maria’s camera. “NOW! GO! INTO THE WATER!” He gestured wildly indicating that we needed to stand in the falls. We did after a lot of difficulty because that water was coming down hard! Juta snapped another few shots. He was a pro.

Sitting on the rocks for a breather before the march back, Juta asked me why Jackson looked so red and if his skin was really like that (or did he just mess up at life?). I told him it was all a sunburn and, no, my husband was not a lobster. Pale people, amairight?

Sitting and thinking about the walk back.

The walk back was far quicker. It was all downhill and sliding in the mud really made coming down much faster. We arrived at a small hut where Juta’s niece had prepared roti and curry wraps for us ($4FJD/ea for all of it). The pumpkin curry was delicious and steamy, which I held by my finger tips to avoid burns. We were also given a fresh coconut. The juice was cool and a little fizzy and tasted like nectar of the gods.

I couldn't drink that water fast enough. It was HOT. — I couldn’t drink that water fast enough. It was HOT.

Chuta cutting open a coconut. — Juta cutting open a coconut.

Little boys were stalking the hut and laughing at us. They kept screaming “BULAHHH!” at us before breaking into giggles and circling back to the matron. Juta told us the largest group he’d taken was 37 Canadians. I tried to imagine that big a number standing by that tiny hut: too many people!

As we walked home Juta pointed out a watering hole. “You want to jump in? It will be good to be wet for the walk back!” There was a drop down to what looked like a stream. Juta pointed at his son who had followed us clearly for the intention of jumping in. “Jump in and show them!” Juta barked. The boy bounded into the stream like he’d probably done a million times before. He smiled as his head popped out of the water.

“Come!” He beckoned.

Jackson threw his clothes off. Juta started to count to 3. Jackson jumped. My turn!

The jump was long enough that as I fell I wondered what the very hell I was doing. I plunged into the light brown water and came up sputtering. It was delicious. Suddenly a gaggle of local boys came running over to our group. Lee, Maria and Andrea had only just jumped when the boys threw themselves in, laughing and chattering away in Fijian. Little heads kept bobbing and disappearing in the water all wearing smiles and shyly staring at us.

It wasn’t until we got back to the hotel, utterly exhausted by the heat and exertion of the hike, did I realize I had a butt rash and Jackson got a stomach bug. Island life can be delightful, but not without a price, I guess. I’d do it all again if I could.

Fiji Camera Roll: December 3-5

Fiji

December 6, 2016 by jackson

Natalie, reading, with a flame tree in the background

Me, looking off into the middle distance, what goes on in that mind?

The grounds of The Beachouse (that’s the correct spelling)

These little crabby critters are everywhere… they’re shifty little buggers

This dog accompanied us on a jungle hike…photos of that later

This ratty bastard was causing trouble all over the show. Showed up out of nowhere and started begging for food and humping everything he saw. He got chased off at one point, but was back within a couple of hours.

Me, paddling at sunset. The only time I can avoid sunburn.

December 3: The Horse Ride

Fiji

December 5, 2016 by jackson

“Do you want a ride?”

I was holding my mother’s DSLR, wearing only a bikini, and was alone on a beach in Fiji. My offer came from a dark stranger on a horse.

I didn’t hesitate. “No thanks.” I declined, smiling. I wasn’t sure why I said no, it was more an impulse than anything. Living in New York City taught me from a very young age that you don’t accept rides from strangers, especially when you’re practically naked holding a one-thousand-dollar camera.

The stranger asked me a few more questions about where I was from. He seemed nice and genuine. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” He asked again, patting the horse’s butt. I couldn’t refuse, the curiosity was killing me: I had seen a tourist on a horse earlier in the day when we first arrived to the beach. And here was an opportunity to ride one and not pay for it!

The man, whose named I learned was Simon, held out his hand. I was reminded of Aladdin holding out his hand to princess Jasmine in the Disney movie and thought about how this was about as close to a magic carpet ride I was going to get while in Fiji. I took his hand and he hauled me up onto his brown horse which immediately started to pick its way along the beach.

We chatted about this and that. I told him about New York. He told me about his favorite food and his village. He seemed genuinely curious about my life.

The horse teetered wildly around rocks and coral, picking its way like a mountain goat along a particularly black and rocky stretch of the beach. I suddenly panicked about how I’d get back: I had no shoes and these rocks looked sharp. Sensing my fear Simon asked if I wanted to be dropped off again. I said no. I wanted to see his village. He clicked at the horse and we stumbled on.

Two small boys were fishing in the surf. As we approached Simon called out to them in their language. They responded but stared at me. I felt like a giant: my long white limbs (pink now from a sunburn) my flabby figure pressed up against the lean local, dangling a camera from my shoulder… I dared not take a picture for fear of fully cementing the stereotype.

Turning the horse around at my request to drop me back off at the beach I had come from, I asked Simon how to address the boys we had seen fishing “Simon? How do you say ‘what’s your name?’ in your language?”. He murmured a string of words. I called out to the two boys. They yelled their names simultaneously, grinning at me. I smiled back and waved, gripping the horse with my thighs. “Natalie!” I called back feeling less like a grub than before.

As we approached my beach I saw Jackson in the distance. He was combing the beach for me. I wondered how long I’d been gone. Simon asked if we shouldn’t gallop over to Jackson. I giggled, unsure as to whether I wanted him to or not. Picking up a trot we met up with Jackson. He snapped a shot of me on the horse. I clambered down. “Thanks, Simon.” I said. “That’s an experience I won’t forget!” He waved and galloped up the beach.

December 1-3: Leaving Home for Destination #1: Fiji

Fiji

December 5, 2016 by jackson

Leaving New York felt so good. We were exhausted by all the stuff we had to do prior to leaving, but having our bags ready to go and walking toward the subway was so exciting!

Travel to Fiji was somewhat bumpy, but screw the airplane. Let’s talk about the sweet-ass Korean Air lounge we got to stay in as we waited at LAX! Before leaving for our trip we got Chase’s new Sapphire Reserve card and let me tell you, folks: it is a beauty, it gives the cardholder a chance to use airport lounges all over the world (among other perks!). The lounge was awesome! Free food and drinks (alcoholic!) and comfy chairs to sit in! There was Wifi and plugs everywhere! It was my first time in an airport lounge and I could get used to this.

Waiting at the lounge, looking at all the other people who aren't. — Waiting at the lounge, looking at all the other people who aren’t.

Arriving in Fiji consisted of a lot of waiting at first. The baggage was delayed by 2 hours because it was thunder storming and the baggage retrievers couldn’t go onto the tarmac for fear of being hit by lightning. (Yikes!)

Getting our bags then meant waiting for the bus for Suva which runs on the only road on Viti Levu that follows the edge of the island and connects the two main cities of Fiji: Nadi (pronounced NAN-di) and Suva. Online reports told us it would take about 3 hours to get from the airport to The Beachouse, where we were staying. I noticed as we drove that everything here had a lot of -vu sounds in it. So, getting names like Savusavu is quite common.
The bus was nice and arrived promptly! It was air conditioned (phew!) because despite being 9am it was getting hot and humid. It was busy, too. Lots of locals moving around the island.

The bus trip was easy and cost about $9/each (or $9USD for the two of us as the Fijian currency is about 2:1). We had exchanged some money at the airport, but quickly realized that the $100 notes the counter gave us marked us as tourists (well, as if the raybans and sneakers didn’t already) because no one has change for a bill that large (make sure to ask for smaller notes if possible!).

The locals were so nice. Everyone was smiling and said “Bula!” (hello). The bus driver knew exactly where our resort was and dropped us there easily. The road was smooth and despite the bus driver driving like a maniac on the curves (Note: In my travels I’ve realized that places where bus drivers don’t drive like maniacs is quite rare and in fact to expect the opposite is setting yourself up for disappointment) we got there easily.

The Beachouse bills itself as a budget resort. It’s lovely. Full of a variety of different people: locals on holiday, Aussies, Germans, Brits, Families, singles and couples (and the list goes on). The beach is beautiful and there are very few people sharing it. There is always some kind of reggae playing in the background. The food is pretty good (they offer complementary breakfast and dinner every day, you pay for lunch) and the room we are staying in is nice, we even have an outdoor bathroom!

Getting ready to go to the beach for the first time!

The weather is gorgeous: sunny and warm. It can get brutally hot in the sun during the day, but it will rain and cool everything off again. The water is warm, but refreshing. The beach consists of a bay that is quite shallow until you get farther out to the real surf. There are green plants everywhere and colorful flowers bursting all over the place.
So far: Fiji is beautiful.

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