Honestly, it could have gone very bad, but obviously i escaped alive and am perfectly fine. There really weren't any horribly concerning moments, but I definitely got myself into some interesting situations. But then again we all know i do this on a regular basis regardless of location. Hence the blog and nickname.
Day 1: I was picked up at the airport in Nadi and driven 2+ hours south down to the coral coast of Fiji, and several kilometers off the only local main road, to a quiet little family run resort housing about 30 private huts and access to a private beach. I was greeted with a smile and a welcome shell lai. Not too shabby... Well, the Internet description had also mentioned a welcome tropical drink but much to my disappointment that seemed no where insight. Seganaleqa, Marau (no worries, be happy).
I eat breakfast, throw a swim suit on an head to the beach. With a warm sun, comfy chair and absolutely no cell service, i passed out without a care in the world. An hour or so later i find myself bored... All the couples around are obvious honeymooners and I figure i'll pass on the chit chat for now. They are in their own worlds anyway. Moving on, I find a kayak, throw it in the water and jump in. An Aussie lad wanders over to me and asks if i know what i'm doing - as if i don't, come on now. He tells me to head up stream against the current. Says it gets a little rough, so stay close and don't go out to where the water is breaking. Right; those 10 inch waves look mighty dangerous. I decide to run back and grab my (new) camera since the water looks calm and the views are breathtaking. Not even 5 minutes later i'm cursing the water and finding it incredibly difficult to paddle through. Ozzy boy was certainly not kidding about the damn current. I reach a cove and turn in to take a break. I look back at a tall rock jetting out of the water that i just passed and i see a face staring back at me from the shapes the cliff edges form - must be some sort of sacred rock. I pick up my camera to snap a picture but i get nothing - camera is dead. Water logged. Are you kidding me? I only made it through 7 pictures and i'm on day 1. Go genius self. I turn back and find myself sitting 2 feet from a Fijian man standing dead in front of my kayak in the sallow water. Holy crap. Where the hell did he come from?? No crazy tattoo's or piercings on this island native, but he is covered with fish bodies hanging from string.
"Bula"
Bula. I know that one. That means hello. One down. I nod, reply back, insert paddle into water and push forward. Stroke, Stroke, Stroke... exhale. Right... Time to head back.
I get to the beach and realize i'm burned to a crisp. I go searching for sun screen in the main hut but only find a small bottle of SPF 15. $27?? Come again?? That's almost 15 American dollars! But also my only option. Mind you, the closest village is, um, no idea, but damn far. I buy the lotion, lather up and throw a shirt on. Scratch the beach... time to explore OUT of the sun.I wander down a small path that takes me past the last of the private huts and into the surrounding greenery. A couple minutes later i find myself in the middle of about 20 stone beds all facing the same direction. The sun is over head, but looks to set in that same direction. It suddenly dawns on me that i'm on a grave site - yikes. Move forward. Not even a second later, I'm somehow dead in front of 6 cages, all housing giant pigs. 2 seem to be asleep and 3 seem to be too fat to handle movement, but 1 is not too happy that I am his new company. The cage doesn't look all to secure either - or maybe all Fijian animal cages are made of scrap wood nailed together with large gaps and breakage points. All i know is i'm getting FAR away from here ASAP.
I jet toward the water and walk along the beach for a while until i see another trail. My driver had mentioned a waterfall close by so maybe this will lead me to it...? I venture in and i'm soon immersed in rain forest jungle. I keep moving forward hoping to reach some sort of rewarding destination eventually and i walk for about a half hour. It starts to get pretty thick, and i'm definitely climbing upward in elevation but any dangers seemed small since I had read Fiji was home to only non-poisonous insects and reptiles. Another 15 minutes in the trail seems almost invisible, so i back track thinking i missed something. I get back to an open space that could be where i went wrong and i start to realize that i have no idea which direction i came from nor which direction i had just been going. Crap. Hansel and Gretel style, i set up arrows of sticks for trial and error efforts to find my way back the direction i had come from. 4 arrows later i'm pretty confident i'm back-tracking correctly that, but 10 minutes after that I'm back to square one. Another open space without trail markings coming to memory. Everything looks the same. Bugs are biting me, i'm covered in sweat and i am in the beginning of a panic. Now my head is screwing with me and i'm hearing things. Not to mention i have absolutely no idea where i am in retro spec to my resort or the ocean. The sun is setting. No bueno.... I build more arrows. Ok, seemingly ok again - back on trail. I make it through another 20 minutes in reverse of what i am hoping is the direction I came in. I kick it in to a bit of a run and SCORE - water ahead. I'm out of the jungle but not where i entered the trail. I'm on a beach though which is much better than thick tree's and vines. I'm bound to stumble upon the resort soon. I walk a bit and turn back to look at where i came from and see a Fijian woman and 2 children not far behind me. Where did they come from?? Keep walking.... I see a cruise ship way off in the distance and what looks like a small village across this small bay that i am walking the perimeter of. It's getting pretty dark and i've got to cross a bunch of rocks along the shore break. Minutes pass, scenery starts to look familiar and i make it safely back to the resort. Sigh.
As i climb the steps up the hill, i hear drums and remember the lady who greeted me had told me about the dinner ceremony. They were cooking lovu for dinner - fish and chicken wrapped in leaves and cooked over hot rocks in the ground. If it's anything like Kahlua pork, i'm down. I see some of the couples from earlier heading towards the bar - time for my tropical drink. I stop for a second, realizing i'm covered in dirt and sweat, so i deviate, deciding to make a quick stop off in my room and clean up.
No lights... odd. Ok... water works though. I jump in the shower but am shocked by the cold water. Right... no power means no hot water. Lovely... my burning skin takes to the cool water though and i jump out refreshed and throw some clothes on. Anxious for a deserving cocktail, i find my way down to the bar and introduce myself to a couple i had said a brief hello to before on the beach. They turn out to be from Pittsburgh and have been in Fiji for a couple days on honeymoon. Other couples are from Oz and NZ - i guess Fiji is to them as Bahamas are to the US. We all end up eating together, buffet style, and are entertained by the resort staff who engage in local music and dance for a while. Several cocktails in, they have the majority of us joining in-line, snake style, and weaving our way in and out of the resort property, hands on the hips of each person in front of us. A big native woman leads us around and around until we all decide to adjourn the scene and hit out beds.
Early rising for me as i have hired a driver to take me around the land tomorrow and see what Fiji holds....
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