At the train station in Suva a friendly man said Bula! Are you going to Levuka? I said yes, and then I was taken under a new wing again. Tambaki works in the museum/library in Levuaka - a very small town (only one street long, with surrounding settlement and villages) on the island of Ovalau, east of the main island of Fiji (Viti Levu).

There is a lot of history connected to the town: It was the first capital of Fiji, and there was a large European settlement here, and many of the colonial houses are still her - it really does give the place a special look and atmosphere. Prince Charles stayed here during the transition to independance in 1970. There is a factory here, and we are all reminded of it from time to time - it is a tuna cannary.

The bus led us out of Suva, on to a ferry and on a final busride to Levuka. I quickly noticed that I was on the countryside, because people along the road were smiling and waiving to us, and people really SMILE to you here, you don't find any of the stress or cynicism on the faces of these people. Driving through the landscape was so fascinating - it is a rainforest kind of place, and it is so green and lush, quiet and undisturbed. I get the whole paradise connection - but more like the Graden of Eden, it looks just like I imagined it did at the beginning of time, when the earth was new. I wouldn't be surprised if I found a dinosaurus egg somewhere.

Tambaki was telling me about Fijian people and Levuka on the bus, and he kept buying me food and ice cream. Once in Levuka, he walked me to my accomodation and invited me for 10 o'clock tea in the museum.

Well, I arrieved in the evening, and found myself looking up on a terraced house and beautiful garden. John and Marilyn are the Australian couple that runs this place, and they live on the top floor, and rent out four fantastic rooms below it. It coulnd't have been nicer, cleaner, and more home-like. After a drink on the terrace, overlooking the ocean, John took me down to the Ovalau Club, a club that has survived since the colonial days. Every Tuesday, all the people from overseas meet there to talk and have a drink and they collect a dollar each time and give it to a charity. It was fun to meet all the characters, and many of them are mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide to Fiji, so that was fun. They all moved to Fiji for love of the country and its people, and they run tourist businesses and try to help the community. Very interesting to listen to the conversation and the jokes, a very friendly gang.

Still a bit jet lagged so I didn't manage to stay up for supper, but had a fanastic night's sleep in my beautiful room. And the breakfast!

Marilyn is famous for her breakfast, and people come from all over the place to try and get some, but she only gives it to her guests. On my first morning I had breakfast with a group if Japanese primary school teachers. They were here to visit a collegue who was working as a volunteer in the local school. In Japan volunteer work is encouraged, and the the place of work will continue to pay their normal salary while they are abroad. We couldn't believe all the delicius stuff that kept coming from the kitchen: coconut, mango, pinapple and papaya from the garden, smoothie made from locally grown fruit, freshly made banana pancakes with maple syrup or lemon and passionfruit butter, toast and endless spreads, and John kept filling our cups with coffee (akkurat som Bastian). And while we were eating all of this, Marilyn asked us how we would like our eggs - scrambled, fried or poached. It just went on forever. When they were done serving us, John and Marilyn came to join us and the pleasant conversation continued and I never got tired of looking at the ocean. Like John says, somebody's got to do it.

At 10 o'clock everybody in Fiji has tea and so the rest of the staff joined us, and I didn't leave the breakfast table until noon. It was time to see the main street, and say hi to Tambaki. Marilyn explained that nobody got offended if you didn't show up for the 10 o'clock thing, everything is very laidback. Tembaki showed me the museum, and we had lunch - luckily a small one.

When I got back to my little porch outside my room, Nox the gardener wanted a chat - and we talked for a really long time. He wanted to know about Norway, and he is very intersted in languages (he is learning Japanese at the moment) so he learned som useful Norwegian phrases. We walked into town together, I bought a bottle of water, had another talk on the terrace with J&M, and La showed up with her son. La is the maid, and her son had picked some mangoes so she thought it would be nice for breakfast. We walked into town together and I had dinner at "Whales's Tale" - and went home to sleep. I didn't 'do' anything all day - just met people and talked. Very different from Suva.

So here I am at the Levuka Diveshop, run by a German couple, and while I type away, I am given a cup of coffee and lots of Bula's. Very friendly people.