Nadi, Fiji, Hostel, 21st May,10.30am. This will be my last blog post of the trip. After tomorrow, Aiden and I will separate and I will be on the last leg of my trip, destination: home. But before I get philosophical about the last three months, let me catch up on what we’ve been up to since my last post.
The day that started with pancakes. So my feet were still about three times their usual size, the skin stretched uncomfortably, with hives working at a psychotic break-inducing level of itchiness. Walking was painful and will power didn’t seem enough to stop myself scratching.
But anyway. The pancakes were good; afterwards, we went back to the room to relax until the activity we had booked the day before – basket weaving. Half an hour after the start time we were told (eh, we work on Fiji time!) the six of us Poms sat on seats on the veranda, and we were each given a palm branch by our instructor, a young Fijian man. He showed us how to start the weave, and then the basic steps of plaiting it all. We did one side, then the other, and then plaited the two together. Our instructor then expertly chopped them up and tied parts to other parts, and what we got handed back was a cute little green basket. He even put a flower in it. They put flowers everywhere.
The rest of the morning I spent in a hammock, happily reading, whilst the breeze rustled through the palmtrees above me, and the waves washed gently onto the beach ten feet away. After lunch, I sat on the veranda, and caught up on the blog.
Fiji hostel, sitting between the pool and the beach, 4pm. Aiden challenged me to cards, so we busied ourselves with a few rounds, until we both ended up in hammocks again. It was so relaxing. Nothing to think about, or plan, or worry about. When the lights came on, indicating the generator was up for another four hours, we went the room, then used the internet. Dinner didn’t have any meat, which fazed Aiden a little
We immediately retreated to our bug-free room after dinner. My feet were uncomfortable and painful; putting them up was the only respite I had. It was kinda scary really. They were so grotesque, as if they were going to pop and leak at any moment, with the diseased look of the spotted skin not helping matters.
Whilst we relaxed, Ben came to have a look at our room. He remarked that it was quite a bit nicer than the dorm, so I offered him and – oh crap, I’ve forgotten her name – the double for the night. He came on his own and slept in it, which was weird, but okay. Aiden and I watched a bit of TV on the netbook, then retired. I had a better night than the one before.
Tuesday 17th started when Ben left us, and I was delighted to find that my feet were only double their normal size. It was easier to walk but they still itched like the devil. After breakfast, we packed, sad to leave Long Beach but looking forward to a new island. We read in the morning away in hammocks, and Aiden was joined by a dog. Lunch was large, a huge pile of vegetables and rice. Soon after, the long boat was loaded with bags and people, and we made slow progress out over the reef, essentially by tropical punting.
Once out in deep water, we dropped anchor and waited until the big yellow boat came into sight. At the travel desk, we found out that the next resort we had hoped to go to was full, so we had to change plans and choose another that was two hours away. So I had a nap. When we were called to identify our bags, we did as told and stayed. But then the last boat was being loaded, so we went forward and asked when our boat was.
We got big grins as we were told it had already left. Luckily we were able to get on another resort’s boat and get dropped off specially. On arrival at Naqalia we got tea. Afternoon tea was popular on the islands. When the receptionist came round to us, we were told they were full. They conferred, and discarded the idea to send us to other resort on the island, so told us they had a bed, so they’d find room. It was over an hour later that we were brought to the place we were supposed to sleep, to find it was a cubicle at the back of the dorm, with a single for both of us.
We sat back down in the main dining space and must have been complaining loudly, for a Danish guy called Peter heard our problem and offered a solution; he had a double room to himself, so he was happy to swap. We were so grateful. We sat talking to Peter until dinner, then we retired to our new room. We watched the netbook then had an early night. I had a hard time stopping myself scratching my feet.
My feet had shrunk a little over night, so they were a step away from normal size (pardon the pun). The beignets at this resort weren’t as good as those we had previously had for breakfast. I washed my hair in the cold shower, then we moved our bags to the dorm, where we had another double bed. We spent the whole day in the main dining area – there were only two hammocks, both in the sun, and nothing to sit on on the beach.
I used the kindle – which had internet signal – and chatted to Emma, which was fun. We played cards, had lunch, then Aiden played games on the computer and I read on my ereader. We moved at dusk to the bed, to hide under the net, and watched the netbook before and after dinner. And it was another early night. It was hot and noisy, with storms coming and going, though apart from the thunder and lightning, the rain was helpful in bringing down the temperature with a breeze. It still took a long time to get to sleep.
We did a similar thing the morning of Thurs 19 – breakfast, cards, book, computer. This time when we went out to the yellow boat, we bypassed it because the next island was so close, its long boat was on the same pickup place. We just hopped from long boat to long boat. Kuata was a much bigger resort than the first three. We were used to about 8-14 people – this place held about 60. 45 of them that day were Canadians in a big group. On arrival, we were given a lemon drink and a welcome brief. We met the other two arrivals, Kat from Hampshire and Eloise, a Tahitian who had grown up with an adoptive family in France.
We were put into the dorm, and then I found a shaded hammock to read in. I answered the call of the conch shell to lunch, then the pair of us sat on a shaded bench, Aiden still gaming on the computer. He went back at one point, and after half an hour I went to see what had become of him. I went into the dorm, didn’t see him, then noticed our bags had been replaced with someone else’s.
I left, then stood, confused and very worried, as I tried to work out if I had gone into the wrong dorm. But no, I definitely hadn’t. At the point at which I was starting to contemplate an episode of amnesia, or something similarly dramatic, Aiden came jogging into view.
“Come on,” he said, “I’ve got something to show you.” I asked him if I had got the right dorm, and he said yeah, but to hurry along. We reached the end of the path, and he entered a small hut. Inside were two doubles, and our bags. Aiden explained that the Canadians had requested to have everyone in the same dorms, so we were moved. I was so relieved. We were sharing the room with Kat and Eloise, which was nice.
We relaxed until we heard the conch, and opened the door to find torrential rain. We ran, squealing, to the other end of the resort to the canteen, and got under its shelter, dripping. After dinner, the staff organised some fun. They divided the room into countries, and asked each to sing their national anthem. Canada went first, which was of course a rounding success, with 45 of them. Then two Norwegians, three Swedish, Eloise on her own, and they all did pretty well.
Then it was the turn of the eight Britons. Oh, we were so bad. Eight separate keys, with most knowing only the first five words, and no one knowing a whole line – which we still sang with ‘ na na na na’s – until we fell into giggles on the last line. Just awful.
Then we were herded into a circle, and paired up. The music started, and each pair had a few seconds in the middle to show off their dance skills. It was pretty embarrassing, but kinda fun. The next dance was a lot of fun – the Fijian macarana. Not for the Fijians was it a simple shout of ‘Ai!’ and a jump to face the left. No, it was ‘Bula!’ thrust hips forward, jump, ‘Bula!’ thrust hips forward. Quite energetic.
Suddenly it was conga time! We put our left hands between our legs and grabbed the hand of the person in front with our right, and danced round the room, with many giggles, and the warning ‘If you don’t own it, don’t touch it!’ I think we should tattoo that to Declan’s forehead.
Finally, we played musical statues. I collapsed onto my chair when I was out, puffing, and so sweaty, I was dripping like when I had arrived for dinner. It was a lot of fun. I talked to Kat for a bit, then went straight to bed. We had our best night’s sleep of the islands that night. We had a fan for the heat, reassurance against mossies in the net and gapless ceiling.
Yesterday, as we packed after breakfast, we said goodbye to the girls when they went snorkelling. We ended up on the same bench, and read/gamed. After lunch, we took our stuff out of the rooms, put it in the reception area, and sat with it until the boat. It was half an hour late, but hey, Fiji time baby.
We joined a convention of long boats waiting for the ferry, and we were surprised to see this one, our last, was a white one. When we boarded, I made sure to pick up a bag tag for Kuata, as we hadn’t been given one for our unconventional swap. I napped on the way back to port. We got into Nadi after dark, and collected our bags to get on the courtesy bus. We were waiting around in the bus for a while, but eventually it took us here, to the hostel Smuggler’s Cove.
We were the first to check in, and we were shown to our lovely four bed dorm, ensuite. Luxury, after the bare facilities of the islands. When we went to the poolside restaurants (over looking the beach), we bumped into our Liverpudlian friends. We watched the entertainment (Fijian men and women wearing very little, dancing; man, those coconut-clad girls could run Shakira out of the club with their hip undulations, and the men were oiled up nicely) and chatted over dinner with our friends. We went back to the dorm early, strangely exhausted. We met our room mates, two cousins from Dundee – Hannah and Louise. We enjoyed talking to them so much, we only went to sleep when we realised it was 11 o’clock.
The girls left early this morning, to get their own boat out to the islands. We met the Scousers at breakfast, then spent time in the room – I used the internet, and Aiden packed and did laundry. On his way back from the laundry, he took part in a uni student’s project, which involved getting his picture taken.
We decided to go out and explore the town a bit. Though Nadi is the capital city, it is no bigger than a town. We got a taxi with two English guys also going in, and established that they were going to New Zealand soon, and they asked our opinion on the place and the Kiwi Experience, which we shared gladly.
Once in town, we went into the nearest café, and got some lunch. Over the food, we reminisced a little about our time that was coming to an end. But I’ll get to those ruminations at the end. We wandered down the street, and Aiden picked up some motion sickness meds for his flight tomorrow. We were accosted by a salesman who invited us into the tourist shop, and we went along with it. He then invited us to sit down and join in a free Kava ceremony, which we agreed to because it isn’t really a Fiji holiday without Kava, though we had been warned about the awful taste.
He asked us a little about ourselves and our trip, then made and blessed the drink (straining water through kava roots, which produces a concoction that looks like it’s been collected from the Thames) then we all clapped and chugged a small cup of the disgusting stuff. Tastes like the muddy, soapy water that it looks like. We then explored the shop, and I bought a necklace and bracelet. We said goodbye to Moses and headed on down the street.
We got to the end of it, where there was a big temple, crossed, turned, and went back down the other side. We then got a taxi home, because that was about all to do.
Since we got back, we went in the pool, then sat with cocktails and I’ve written this. The sun is setting behind me, Aiden has just got back from having a shower – which I’m very glad he had because the cocktail was rather strong – and it’s almost the end of my last day on my trip.
And so to my final thoughts. It’s hard to sum up three months of non-stop drama, activity and adventure. I’ve of course that a great time, I’ll start with that. I haven’t enjoyed every minute, but then I wasn’t expecting to. Journeying with Aiden has definitely been the most up and down element, but I don’t regret for a second coming with him. He has been a fun companion, sensible when needed, a comfort in the worst times, and I couldn’t have done it without him.
I can’t believe all the things I’ve done. There’s so many, when people ask me when I get back, I’ll only be able to remember half of them off the top of my head. It’s amazing to think I’ve done once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list things. And it’s also staggering to think about all the things I’ve still to do, even in Australia and New Zealand still. We spent a lot of money on activities, but it was well spent.
It’s been a learning experience; being self-sufficient, restricted contact with friends and family, dealing and coping with when things go wrong. I know that I’m a stronger, more confident, and changed young woman coming out of it. I’ve learnt about people and how they behave, I’ve seen how different cultures are influenced by elements like the weather and immigrants. I’ve learnt about myself, and tried to improve on my flaws a little.
And I’ve met so many people along the way. Hopefully my memory of them won’t fade, with this account of my acquaintance with them. I have so many stories of great people, strange people, bad people, and people who were my best friends for sometimes only an evening. Meeting someone, learning about their life and being a brief part of it is a unique experience, and it’s been so different out here compared to my tour in the autumn.
I will always remember my gap year travels. And having touched briefly on the life of a traveller, I am determined to do it again, however far in the future. Either with friends, family, or someone dear, or maybe on my own; whenever and with whoever, it won’t beat my first three months away from home, thrown in the deep end, and finding I having sunk. I’ve been able to cope, I’ve learnt where I didn’t know how, and I’ve enjoyed it the whole way. My adventure has been through geographical terrain, over oceans and mountains, but also through emotional terrain, and philosophical even. I have explored high and low through four countries, and through my own sense of self.
Enough with the sentimental drivel, I’ve had a blast, and now I’ve coming home!
Thanks for reading my ramblings and being part of my trip. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, but I know you haven’t enjoyed it as much as I have!
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