Fiji: Bounty, Seaspray, Beachcomber, Home!

We left Kuata for Bounty. Now, if Kuata is our basis for comparison, Bounty is the Ritz. When we walked in to our bure, Meredith literally said, "This is the Ritz." It was basically a cabin, much like the one we had on Manta Ray. There was a large bed with a really pretty duvet, a remote-controlled air conditioner, a mini-fridge, a free-standing closet rack, a private bathroom, and HOT WATER. We also had a hammock right outside our door. This island was nice.

Unfortunately, we did not spend much time on Bounty. We arrived right before dinner and left shortly after breakfast the next morning. We spent that day sailing the Mananuca Islands on the Seaspray. This was quite possibly the most luxurious thing that we did while in Fiji. We were picked up about 9:30 in the morning and greated with glasses of champange. All drinks - water, cokes, wine, beer, champange - we complimentary throughout the day. The three of us made our way to the front of the boat and immediately laid out in the sun. We had a good group at the front - two people we had met on a previous islands and another couple from Jersey (who had spent time in Valdosta, GA). Amy eventually left for awhile to go sing with the guys playing the guitar, and Meredith and I satyed and talked to the people up front.

The first stop we had on the boat was a traditional Fijian village visit. The women had to cover shoulders and legs, no one could wear hats, etc. Amy was one of the two spokespeople for the visitors. We were introduced into the village and went through the traditional kava ceremony. Among other things, it involves clapping once, booming "Bula!", drinking the bowl of kava, then clapping three times. After the ceremony we shopped around at the local market. Meredith got some coral bangles for friends back home, Amy got a star pendant, and I got a shell hook pendant. The hook is very symbolic in Maori culture, bringing the wearer good luck and safe passage over water, among other things.

Anyways, so we get back on the boat and are greated with an amazing lunch. Grilled chicken, fish, and sausage, lots of salad, bread, everything! It was so good. I think it is the best meal that we had in Fiji. However, we had barely finished when we reached our next stop. We were at the island where Castaway, with Tom Hanks, was filmed. We all got snorkeling gear and spent a while snorkeling around (after jumping off of the boat). We swam in towards shore and explored the island a bit, too. One of the Fiji guys was cutting up a coconut that he had found, so we got to have some fresh (really fresh!) coconut. The snorkeling wasn't as good here as it was on Kuata, but it was still pretty good. We swam back to the boat, jumped off the side a few more times, and then it was time to leave.

Rather than go back to Bounty, we had the boat drop us off at Beachcomber. Beachcomber is rumored to be the "party island" of Fiji, so the three of us wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We had heard that the dorms were no good at all because they were so good and people were coming in late being drunk, so when we noticed on our reservation that we had a dorm, we were worried. We tried for two days to switch to a bure to no avail. However, when we got there, we were in a four person dorm room, so everything worked out OK. We passed an 80-bed dorm on the way to ours, though. Whew! Anyways, we put our stuff down, showered, and went to dinner. Beachcomber definately has the best food of all the islands. I think it is because it is so close to the mainland, so they can get more variety. We went to go check out the bar area after that. The bar was really cool. There was an actual band (with electric guitars and all), and the building was two stories. This meant you could lounge upstairs in comfortable chairs and still hear the band. It was pretty cool, but we were pretty tired from our day of sailing and turned in fairly early. We stayed awake long enough to witness the dizzy-bat race, though! We spent most of the next day lounging on the beach. Beachcomber does have a really nice beach. After lunch I knew I needed to get out of the direct sun, so Amy and I went upstairs with our books. I went out on the deck and made myself a little lounge area out of the sun. I saw Meredith playing volleyball with some people that we had met the night before.

Anyways, our day draws to a close and we catch the boat that takes us back to Nadi. We stay in the Skylodge this time, not the Aquarius. It was another 4-person dorm, but it was pretty big. It had two bunk beds like the rest of the dorms, but it had a sitting area as well. The windows opened up onto the pool area. It was a pretty cozy room. The three of us spent most of the evening writing all of our postcards that we had collected on the islands. We were finally in a position to be able to mail them. We were all dead tired early on, so we decided to turn in early since we had a long day ahead of us.

A VERY long day. We were up at 5:20 AM to leave the hotel by 6 to get to the airport by 6:30 to check in for our 8:30 flight. We checked in, had breakfast, and wasted time in the shops. Amy picked up a few gifts and Meredith and I hit up the duty free store. One Sandra Bullock movie (Miss Congeniality II) and a 3 hour flight later, we are back in Wellington! On the plane, we heard the weather report from the pilot and just looked at each other. Our warm life was over! Getting home from the airport was a bit interesting. First, we weren't sure how customs was going to like our dried reed bracelets we had woven, or our shoes we had tramped around in, or our coconut bracelets we had carved, but none of it was a problem. Second, Meredith's mobile had been stolen while on one of the islands. This meant we couldn't text Jay (her boyfriend who was picking us up) and he couldn't text us. We kind of wandered around looking for him. No worries, we all met up, and we made it back alive around 1:30 PM on Friday, 9 days after leaving.

It was an amazing trip. I would do it again. Perhaps not the exact same trip (now that I have been there once, I know what I would want to do again and where I would never go again), but I would definately go back to Fiji. What am I saying, I have to go back to Fiji! I am going there sometime with a professional camera, or at least a digital of my own. Amy and Meredith were unbelievably awesome about taking pictures and letting me use their cameras, but I really feel like I need to go back sometime and experience it again. I guess that is the next trip that I am saving up for! That is, after Singaport, and Beijing, and Costa Rica when my brother graduates. Hm, anyone know a high-paying well-traveled job available? :)