Bula!

Sorry for the lack of contact; we are back on the mainland now and therefore back to 24 hour electricity.

We arrived in Fiji last week to 31 degree heat- a bit of a difference from New Zealand! We spent the first two nights in Nadi, near the airport. The less said about Nadi the better. It was a vile place and I actually spent 20 solid hours in our room because it was just so horrible! Don't ever go!

Fortunately, the next day we began our island- hopping trip. Fiji is made up of 300 islands; 30 of them are habitable and 20 of them have accommodation available. We chose to stay on 4 different islands in the Yasawa group. Our first island was Waya Lailai and it was absolutely stunning. It was picture perfect with a white sandy beach and the sea was lovely- crystal clear and 25 degrees! Our room was lovely, set high above the beach with views right out to sea. After our short (but long enough) time in Nadi, we were beginning to think that the Fijians' reputation for being the friendliest people in the world was a bit of a myth but thankfully our faith has been restored. We were welcomed that night with a traditional Kava cermony. Kava is a Fijian drink made by mixing water with crushed tree roots. It looks just like muddy water, and that's pretty much what it tates like too! For dinner we had traditional Fijian food cooked in an underground oven. We also had to eat like Fijians too- with our hands. Not too much of a problem with meat and potatoes, a little more tricky with rice and coleslaw! But "when in Rome" and so on.

The next day we headed north to Nanyua Lailai to stay at Sunrise Lagoon Resort. It was much smaller than our first resort- only 9 guests. There was much more of a family atmosphere and at meal times we all sat together round one table which was nice. We were staying in a traditional Fijian Bure complete with thatched roof. On most islands electricity is available for at least some of the day but here we had none. We were given a lantern for our room, it was like being in a Dickens novel. We met some great people at Sunrise and they happen to live on the Wirrel and in Cheshire so we're planning to meet up when we're all back home again. We spent our evenings just sitting round talking and playing cards while the locals played guitar and sang. It was really lovely.

Our third resort was Coral View and it was by far the best one we stayed at. We were greeted with a song on the beach and a nice cool glass of juice. Our bure was perfect, no bugs or lizards. That evening, after a bbq dinner, we all joined in some traditional Fijian dancing which was fun! We really didn't want to leave in the morning when the boat came to pick us up. Our last stop was Kuata Island resort. It was perfectly nice, although I wasn't too happy about the presence of a mouse in our room- both nights! These Islands really aren't for those who like their luxury! But its all part of the experience.

At the moment we are staying on Momi Beach, which is south of Nadi, at Seashell Cove Resort. We picked it because it works with a company called Scuba Bula through whom Fin is doing his PADI dive course. It's a big resort although there are only a few guests at the moment and there's a lovely pool for me to lie by. The weather has been lovely, not too hot. The only downside here is the many many frogs at night time. It was quite a sight seeing them all when we arrived last night- horrible things!

We are enjoying Fiji and are getting used to relaxing again after New Zealand. We are on "Fiji time".

Love Sian and Fin xxx