Hello my friends. After a couple of days faffing around with internet, I have managed to get a nice easy connection to write this (the tablet is very fussy about what it does and doesn't like). So, last we spoke, Mel and I were heading off to Fiji for a relaxing break from holidaying, because it has been so intensely stressful so far.
Sadly for us, Fiji did not initially agree with us on this goal; on our first day we witnessed the tail end of a cyclone, which was a great deal of excitement for such an otherwise relaxed country. Although Mel was disappointed by the lack of tropical sunshine, I really enjoyed watching the sheets of rain hammering down amidst spears of lightning (all very dramatic). Right up until the water started coming in through the doors of the hostel. It wasn't too bad in the end, as the water only made it up to ankle height. Unfortunately, this meant the bottom few inches of all our bags were somewhat damp, and my phone became a waterlogged casualty.
Nonetheless, we continued undaunted on our quest to relax and the next morning, after some confusion about which boat to get on (had to get a larger boat thanks to the stormy waters), we eventually made it out to the Yasawa Islands, a string of beautiful sandy tropical paradises, just a few miles off the Fijian mainland. While we enjoyed this boat trip, we did make an elementary mistake by having left the suncream packed away in our main luggage. Thus, by the time we arrived at our resort on Waya Island we were both quite intensely sunburned (although Mel was at least pleased to encounter the aforementioned tropical sunshine). Upon arriving, Mel immediately made her sunburn much worse by going to the resort's yoga session, which was very nice, but took place on a deck in full view of the evening sun. Which would have been fine, suncream having since been applied, except for the fact that it was so hot all of the suncream was sweated right off again.
But the next day, finally, things began to sail smoothly and relaxation was achieved. Over the next few days we spent a lot of time on the beach; reading, chatting, listening to podcasts, stealing snacks from the breakfast bar... all the usual holiday activities. A particular highlight was snorkeling on the coral reef that surrounds Waya. It's not the most colourful reef, being predominated by a flat, grey species of coral. But it did have a lot very colourful fish! On one occasion we had to swim straight through a huge shoal of fish just to get to the reef. It was prettygreat! Even when the waves were doing their very best to pull us out to sea (it was only *slightly* terrifying when a big backdraft dragged us over the edge of the reef into open Pacific).
We did try to fit in some culture as well as all the hanging around though, attending a Sunday morning church service in the local village, which was super interesting. Naively we had assumed that this service would be in English (it was not) but it was nonetheless fascinating to see a familiar event through the lens of a different culture, and with what was effectively a free performance from the local choral society. Astonishing number of talented singers for the one village.
And that about wraps it up. Fiji was, overall, a beautiful and relaxing country and we had a great time there, whether it was proving ourselves surprisingly adept at limbo, making stereotypical shell-based jewellery, catching a speedboat back to the mainland, or just hanging by the pool and the beach. Oh, and I've just realised I totally forgot about our last day in Fiji, where we unexpectedly ended up exploring the Nadi area, visiting a tropical botanical garden, Fiji's largest Hindu temple (which was super cool and so colourful, and left us with a very positive opinion of Hinduism in general), and watching a local Rugby Sevens tournament. This last was particularly enjoyable, as fast-paced ten-minute games kept everyone guessing. Although the favourites for the title were the team drawn from the Fijian Army, the darlings of the crowd were two teams drawn from the Chinese immigrant community. The locals absolutely loved them for two reasons (as explained to us by said locals): 1) they were embracing local culture by playin Rugby Sevens, the sport in which Fiji won an Olympic gold in 2016, and 2) Fijians, like their British former rulers, love an underdog.
Alright, that's actually it. In summary, you should go to Fiji, it's great. We are now in Melbourne, Australia, doing some conventional tourism and having a little city break.
Until next time, happy travels friends!
PS, Special mention to the lovely Ellie Webb for being our best beach buddy and making Fiji that much more fun.
Sadly for us, Fiji did not initially agree with us on this goal; on our first day we witnessed the tail end of a cyclone, which was a great deal of excitement for such an otherwise relaxed country. Although Mel was disappointed by the lack of tropical sunshine, I really enjoyed watching the sheets of rain hammering down amidst spears of lightning (all very dramatic). Right up until the water started coming in through the doors of the hostel. It wasn't too bad in the end, as the water only made it up to ankle height. Unfortunately, this meant the bottom few inches of all our bags were somewhat damp, and my phone became a waterlogged casualty.
Nonetheless, we continued undaunted on our quest to relax and the next morning, after some confusion about which boat to get on (had to get a larger boat thanks to the stormy waters), we eventually made it out to the Yasawa Islands, a string of beautiful sandy tropical paradises, just a few miles off the Fijian mainland. While we enjoyed this boat trip, we did make an elementary mistake by having left the suncream packed away in our main luggage. Thus, by the time we arrived at our resort on Waya Island we were both quite intensely sunburned (although Mel was at least pleased to encounter the aforementioned tropical sunshine). Upon arriving, Mel immediately made her sunburn much worse by going to the resort's yoga session, which was very nice, but took place on a deck in full view of the evening sun. Which would have been fine, suncream having since been applied, except for the fact that it was so hot all of the suncream was sweated right off again.
But the next day, finally, things began to sail smoothly and relaxation was achieved. Over the next few days we spent a lot of time on the beach; reading, chatting, listening to podcasts, stealing snacks from the breakfast bar... all the usual holiday activities. A particular highlight was snorkeling on the coral reef that surrounds Waya. It's not the most colourful reef, being predominated by a flat, grey species of coral. But it did have a lot very colourful fish! On one occasion we had to swim straight through a huge shoal of fish just to get to the reef. It was prettygreat! Even when the waves were doing their very best to pull us out to sea (it was only *slightly* terrifying when a big backdraft dragged us over the edge of the reef into open Pacific).
We did try to fit in some culture as well as all the hanging around though, attending a Sunday morning church service in the local village, which was super interesting. Naively we had assumed that this service would be in English (it was not) but it was nonetheless fascinating to see a familiar event through the lens of a different culture, and with what was effectively a free performance from the local choral society. Astonishing number of talented singers for the one village.
And that about wraps it up. Fiji was, overall, a beautiful and relaxing country and we had a great time there, whether it was proving ourselves surprisingly adept at limbo, making stereotypical shell-based jewellery, catching a speedboat back to the mainland, or just hanging by the pool and the beach. Oh, and I've just realised I totally forgot about our last day in Fiji, where we unexpectedly ended up exploring the Nadi area, visiting a tropical botanical garden, Fiji's largest Hindu temple (which was super cool and so colourful, and left us with a very positive opinion of Hinduism in general), and watching a local Rugby Sevens tournament. This last was particularly enjoyable, as fast-paced ten-minute games kept everyone guessing. Although the favourites for the title were the team drawn from the Fijian Army, the darlings of the crowd were two teams drawn from the Chinese immigrant community. The locals absolutely loved them for two reasons (as explained to us by said locals): 1) they were embracing local culture by playin Rugby Sevens, the sport in which Fiji won an Olympic gold in 2016, and 2) Fijians, like their British former rulers, love an underdog.
Alright, that's actually it. In summary, you should go to Fiji, it's great. We are now in Melbourne, Australia, doing some conventional tourism and having a little city break.
Until next time, happy travels friends!
PS, Special mention to the lovely Ellie Webb for being our best beach buddy and making Fiji that much more fun.
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