This Is Me - Staying Home and Resting a Bit - HAH!

So, I told Bruce I was going to need to stay and home and rest a while.  It's a good thing I qualified that with "unless some super deal falls in my lap."  Just a couple of days after making that statement, a super deal fell in my lap.  An unheard of deal.  Just over $500 round trip from LAX to Sydney, Australia, unheard of!  Including a 3-day/2-night stop in Nadi, Fiji!  No way I could pass that up!  Especially since it wasn't even a glitch fare - it was a guaranteed fare on Fiji Airways.  Obviously a push for boosting tourism in Nadi, but hey - I'm good for taking them up on it!  So, I started planning this epic trip.  In the process, I started upping my physical therapy game.  Let's face it, the last trips I've been on since my foot and leg problems have come up, especially after shattering my shoulder, I have had to lean pretty darned heavily on my traveling companions - especially overseas with Chrissy.  She's been my rock, but she only gets so much vacation time from work.  And it was too far for Bruce to be able to fly.  So, it was either go alone or don't go.  I chose to risk it.

The first part of the journey was Seattle to LAX.  Since that wasn't part of the deal and couldn't be added and keep the low price on the important parts, I booked that trip separately.  Knowing how frequent delays are, I built in PLENTY of time for there to be connection problems.  The lady at the check in for Alaskan Air offered to check my bags through, but I could just see that being a recipe for disaster on having my bathing suit and snorkel stuff sitting in LA while I needed them on the ground in Fiji.  So, I collected my checked bag in LAX - and toted it around with me for right around 12 hours.  I definitely had plenty of time to collect my bag and get to the international terminal.  I took a couple of cat naps on my suitcase, hugging my carry-on, but eventually, we got boarded, and I slept almost the entire 10-1/2 hour flight.  I did put on the Rebel Wilson movie about life as a RomCom to watch during dinner, but I slept through most of it.  It had some pretty funny parts in it.

When I got to Fiji, it was time to hit the ground running.  I had a cruise to an island for snorkeling booked.  So, I collected my bag, cleared customs and immigration, and went to meet my transfer that was supposedly arranged by my hostel.  It wasn't there.  A lady at the airport called them and told them I was waiting and that I had to change, store my bags, and catch another shuttle, so they came straight away.  I did get a good shot of the sunrise from outside the airport.

They got me to the my hostel, the Traveller's Backpacker Resort, got me pre-checked in, and I went into the restroom to change.  After repacking the stuff I didn't need and putting the bags in storage for the day, I went to the beach area to wait for my shuttle to Port Denaru.  Definitely a nice place to chill for a little while.

I got to Port Denaru with plenty of time before the boat boarded, so I looked around a bit.  There really wasn't much there.  A few clothing shops, a Hard Rock Cafe, and a bunch of boats.

I did decide to put on my sunscreen before getting on the boat.  I put the rub-on stuff on the parts I could reach, and tried to spray my back.  Guess what!  You can't spray your own back, either.  At least I can't.  Fortunately, the border patrol/customs guys were sitting outside at a picnic table, and one of the officers was willing to spray my back for me!

Finally, it was time to board our ship to Tivua Island.  We were greeted by a couple of guys playing guitar and ukelele.

The trip out was beautiful!

And the boat was awesome!

The crew made the trip fun, as well.  We had a tea and cakes, and a kava ceremony, along with a sing along.

Kava is a plant that is prepared like a tea with depressant/downer effects if drank in quantities not quite so large.  It's also a large part of Fijian culture.  In fact, it appears to be one of the few pieces of Fijian culture that has survived colonization.  But, I digress.  Tomorrow, we'll talk more about the culture, including the surprisingly not-so-distant past.  Anyway, I participated in the kava ceremony on the boat.  You're supposed to chug it, so I did.  While I didn't feel the downer effects, my tongue did feel thick with that one little cup.  And it tastes like mud.  Not really a pleasant experience, but to someone who never developed the taste for beer, it really wasn't much different than having a few of those.

The island was beautiful and there were plenty of colorful fish.  Several species of parrot fish, tangs, clown fish, wras, and multiple others, including some little black tip reef sharks.  I didn't get many pictures.  My mask was acting up and leaking from the top.  I assumed I just didn't get the snorkel on right after we took it apart.  It's one of those full face masks.  I also apparently still don't know how to work the action camera.  It was great to see the fish, but I was kind of disappointed with it.  They said they had sunk a shipwreck and grown a full reef, but the reef appeared as if it was just taking hold.  In a few years, assuming it's well cared for, it should be an awesome place to snorkel.  It's not really deep enough to really dive, but they offer the discovery diving and if you want to do a full dive, you can.  I wouldn't bother using your dive hours here, though.  I hear there are much better islands to snorkel and dive, including the one preferred by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau's son.  It'll have to be another trip, because I only had one day for snorkeling.

These were all shot with the underwater camera.  I got nothing on the action camera.  Hopefully, I'll have it figured out in time to use it some in Cairnes!

The food they served wasn't far removed from regular fare:  grilled snapper, slaw, potato salad, bar-b-que'd chicken, etc.  Not really exotic at all and seemed to reflect the British colonization much more than traditional fare - a little on the bland side.

But the old ways aren't completely gone.  On the way back to Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji and the one that contains Port Denaru and Nadi (pronounced Nandy), we did pass a single hulled outrigger canoe, similar to that depicted in the Disney movie, Moana.  It crossed our path, so I got it both front and back lit by the sun.

When I got back to the hostel, I was exhausted.  I got my room and got settled in and showered.  Then I went back for dinner.  I got a spicy rice and prawn dish that I simply can't remember the name of, but it was good and was probably more traditional than what we had on the island, especially since Sala said it was a traditional dish, not one that had been changed much over the years.  I intended to have Sala give me a massage, but I fell asleep and didn't get it.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow.