April 6 Depart and Arrive on April 8th, 2019
27 Hours and counting....
Left the house at 3:30 pm for our flight to San Francisco. Kids happy as can be on Delta with an amazing lineup of movies. A 3 hour layover in SF and boarding at 10:15 pm for our just over 11 hour flight to Fiji! Unfortunately, after boarding and the doors are closed we sat for almost an hour. Not what you want when you have a long red eye in front of you. Finally off on Fiji Air. Not a good movie line up but as soon as the fasten seat belt sign was turned off Saylor and I grabbed 2 other seats each which made for a little extra room to try and sleep. The boys spread out over our four seats.
Not a bed, but definitely appreciated the extra room. We crossed the date line and lost a day and the kids crossed the equator for the first time! Just as we landed the captain announced the Fijian rugby team won and everyone on the plane got very excited and cheered! 5:00 am landing, got our luggage, cleared customs and exchanged some money. Note to others to exchange money outside of customs because they do not charge you at that location. Got our car and off we went to explore. We only had about 6 hours of airplane sleep but we were ready and then boom, we got a flat tire, bent the rim three minutes down the road. A quick change and off to the mud baths and hot springs.
First covered each other with buckets of mud that they got out of the bottom of pool #1. While waiting for it to dry we walked around the beautiful garden. Once the mud dried and looking very funny we got back into pool #1 to do our first rinse. Then went into each consecutive pool that kept getting a little cleaner and a little warmer until we ended in pool #4 that was 106 degrees. Skin was soft and we felt alive again!
Back to the car rental place to get a new spare tire and to learn that our little misfortune cost us $500 USD :-(. Pay the man and move on from it so it doesn't affect our trip is the mindset we will try to go with.
Everyone is hungry and ready to eat so a stop at a breakfast place called Tu's Cafe for some amazing banana pancakes and of course Andy is wasting no time getting his curry on so ordered chicken curry.
Already realizing everything is going to be on island time here. It took a while for breakfast but it was much needed.
1 1/2 hours to our hotel Fiji Hideaway down on the Coral Coast. Feels like we have been traveling for days and looking forward to our place. We have a really cute bure right on the water with the perfect little hammocks in front to relax and enjoy the day, but in our family's style of traveling there is no time for that.
Kids are off on the water slide and then a quick snorkel and off to our home stay that Andy booked. Yep, we have a double booking going on for the first two nights. We wanted to not just be a tourist, but to get to know the locals and experience their life. It is only $15 a night for the room (plus food is an additional $80 for the four of us a day). We are told to meet in this small town across the street from the grocery store. I have no idea how we are going to find some random guy, Navi, from Airbnb in a town and then I quickly realize he will be finding us and our very white skin in a car that advertises it is a car rental. We stood out! Navi quickly finds us and takes Andy into the market. They buy kava root. We are expected to present it to the chief of the village for the kava ceremony that we will be participating in. Navi ends up getting in the car with us and showing us the way to his village another 15 minutes up the road. We turn off the main road and go up a dirt road surrounded by lush tropical jungle. Seven minutes in we arrive at the village and everyone is staring! Yep, we still stand out....of course. We pull up and are told to leave a car in the middle of a sort of kind of road/walking path. We are quickly greeted by the wife, Isee and their two boys (11 and 4) and their daughter (17). We are invited into their home. Most don't wear shoes here and but those who do leave their shoes at the door. The air is hot, thick and humid. It is a small simple house made out of concrete. They don't have real windows, more like the built in shutter type window panes that open and have a sheet of metal mesh protection over each window for typhoon season. This is the newer style I was told. Many of the other houses have a wood window that is propped open from below to allow air in and I see them closing them at night which I can't imagine because no air would get in. The kitchen is very small - what Andy and I call a one butt kitchen because that is all that can fit. The refrigerator is in the living room. I saw no soap in the kitchen, lots of dirt and one cold water spout. Those that know me know that I am totally freaked out by now and my head is spinning on how I am going to get out of eating the dinner they are making us and hoping my family doesn't get sick. A covered porch to sit and relax that has a clothes line where you can hang your clothes to dry. Driving, we have seen many clothes hanging out to dry getting soaked by the tropical storms. We were taken around to meet everyone which is about 100 people in the village. Saylor and I had to wear a sarong and the boys had to make sure their knees were covered out of respect. Almost all were very excited to meet us and so friendly. We were greeted by all with the traditional BULA greeting. They use it as their hello and also told it means they are wishing us a long life. They say it with a deepness that comes from their belly and with a smile on their face. It is verbal but makes me feel like they are giving me a hug every time someone says it to me. There was a building built by the American Psychology Association here in the village. I didn't understand the story behind it and they are no longer here, but for the young ones we are the first Americans they have meet. We are the first Americans to stay in the village. Doors are left open and you are always welcome to go in for visit. Hudson brought a couple frisbee to teach the kids to use and there was lots of soccer to be played.
The kids also all sat on the living room floor playing hand games. Saylor and Hudson taught the Quak Tilioso and Concentration hand game. Dinner time and they presented us with our plates that each consisted of fish, two hot dogs, a chicken leg, dry sweet potatoes and potatoes. It was difficult for me because we asked is we could just keep 2 of the four plates because we couldn't eat all the food and didn't want to waste it. They insisted that we keep the plates and eat. They would not sit and eat with us, Navi finally agreed to but the rest of the kids had to wait. I could tell they were hungry as they stared at us eating. Navi told us to not worry, the kids would be eating the same thing we have. Turns out they would literally be eating the same thing, they ate our leftovers. After we were done, out plates were brought in and the kids were waiting with their plates. They took the food we didn't eat and put it onto their plates.
We were taken into a church service. Not a traditional looking church but a cinder block building with not furniture. You sit on hand woven mats on the floor. Once in you realize that 1/2 of the building was the church and there was a wall that you could not see behind where the leader lived. We did not understand a thing and it seemed even hotter in the church as we sat there dripping sweat and lost in the prayer and suddenly we heard a horse on the other side of the wall (inside the church). I guess the horse lived in the church with the leader! Then the villagers began to sing and it was beautiful and surreal all at once. Navi waived us to come out.
It was time for the kava ceremony with the chief. We sat on an outside porch, on the floor.
They put the kava in a wash cloth, run water through it and wring it out. It looks like old dish grey dish water when done.
They fill up a coconut cup either high tide (full cup) or low tide (small amount) and present it to Andy.
The men are always first. He drinks it, then the chief and other village enjoy it. There are a series of claps and bulas throughout the ceremony. The kids and I are offered some and we decline. I'm thinking to myself this is a very special opportunity but there is no way I am drinking that stuff, with that water in the same cup that everyone (yep the ones that are sick too) just drank from and who knows where that water came from. Thankfully Andy is brave and participated.
Back to Fiji Hideaway to sleep. Andy planned on sleeping at the house, but after driving the kids and I back it was late. Up for almost 30 hours with only 6 hours of sleep we were all exhausted.
