We finally made it to Fiji! It was a long trip, followed immediately by a long but really fun day. We landed in Fiji at 5:15 AM local time and had an easy time finding our bags and getting through customs. Ali, the driver from Bluewater Lodge, where we are staying, was waiting in the arrivals lounge to take us to the hostel. Upon arrival, it took a few minutes of paging and banging on the gate before Ali managed to wake up a sleepy, slightly grumpy man in the hostel, but we finally made it in. At this point, we had been traveling for the past 24 hours, and were in d
esperate need of a shower, but our room was not going to be ready for us until 11:00 AM. We pondered how we were going to spend the next 4 hours and decided that it would be best to start by checking in with the family and waiting until someone slightly less grumpy woke up.
When guests and staff finally started appearing, we started asking around about things we could do for the day. After discovering that the beaches on the main island are nowhere near as good as the beaches on the smaller surrounding islands, we decided that we needed to visit one of these islands. We settled on Bounty Island, as it was supposed to be less crowded than some of the other islands. Ali took us to the port, where we purchased our ferry tickets, as well as some
grossly overpriced sunscreen ($13 for a small tube). A few minutes later, we were on the ferry headed to our island. When our stop came around, only 4 of us disembarked the very full ferry. We boarded a smaller boat that had pulled up along the ferry, which then headed for the beach. We landed at the island to find a ridiculously beautiful beach. We decided to take advantage of the included snorkel gear rental and explored the coral around the island for a while before deciding to walk all the way around the island on the beach. We spent the rest of the day swimming in the pool and ocean, lounging in the shade, and seeing what else was on the island. We discovered a small sea turtle pond within the small forest on the island and spent a little while watching them...wishing we could pet them. The island was the perfect place to unwind after a full day of travel. You'd have thought we'd be exhausted after the flights, layovers, and the dramatic time change...but the scenes of Fiji really made it difficult to draw the shades and just sleep the day away. When it was time to go, a small motor boat picked up us 'day trippers' and boarded us onto the larger ferry to go back to port Denarau. We stepped down in
to the middle level deck where windows to the outer deck surrounded us. Right in front of us were windows displaying the bow of the ferry. An Italian couple decided to use this area as a stage for their passionate, bikini/speedo-clad love affair. The 80 or so passengers, of every age and ethnicity, sat in the middle deck staring straight ahead as the Italians put on a show. It was both hilarious and embarrassing to watch (especially if you happen to be sitting next to one of the 70-year old Japanese tourists). Finally, one of the passengers on the middle deck walked up to 'the stage,' tapped the Italians on the shoulders, and asked them to kindly stop. We finally left the ferry for a bus headed back to the Bluewater Lodge-- our home sweet home.
One of the lovely hosts, Kiara, informed us that our bags had already been placed in our room. We were so excited for a shower! After freshening up, we joined fellow lodgers at the outdoor dining table. A Fijian man sat in the corner playing Fijian folk songs on his guitar, and guests sat along a wooden table laughing and talking about their travels while candlelit lanterns provided just enough light for the evening. The food at Bluewater is famous for being delicious. So much so that guests from other hotels and hostels come here for meals. We ordered two of their prawn specialties: Ginger Prawn Stirfry and Garlic Prawns with Crispy Potatoes. The hearty, delicious meals and the company of fellow travelers were the perfect end to our first day in Fiji.
Zealand in the morning. Today was a great day! We decided to stay on the main island, both to save a bit of money and to see a different side of Fiji from the beaches. We started out with breakfast at the lodge, where we talked to other travelers to get ideas about what we could do around the island, and decided that we would go as a group into town for lunch and shopping, and then to some hot springs. The great thing about staying at a hostel is the diversity of the people you meet. For example, we ate breakfast with people from Switzerland, the Netherlands, England, and Japan. After swimming for a bit at Bluewater Lodge's pool, we joined our friends Jackie and Kaori for quick taxi ride into Nadi town center. We ate lunch at an Indian restaurant-- about 30% 
of Fiji's population is Indian-- and then we were off to stroll around town. The four of us met up and took a taxi back to the lodge so we could be ready for the day's main event: Mud Pools & Hot Springs. The owner of the hostel, Mike, drove five of us up to the mud pools. On the way there we saw beautiful mountains, lots of palm trees, and sug
ar cane fields. The trip there was also a chance for Mike to tell us how the Bluewater Lodge came to be. Mike is a true Brit, and he met his now wife Fiona (a Fijian) in England when they were working at an office together. They got sick of their daily commute into London, heard the lodge was up sale in Fiji, and decided to buy it and move to Fiji. They had only known each other for two years at that point, and they've been running the lodge for 5 years now!
to wash off the mud that had managed to stay pasted on our skin.Then we joined our friends for dinner just as we had the night before. More delicious food, laughter, and fun conversations. Great final night in Fiji.
