Round 2: Camera Troubles

Now, in case you didn't know, photography is very important to me. I love taking pictures, I love framing pictures, and I love sharing my pictures. My camera is basically permanently attached to my hand.

You can imagine my distress when I realize 45 minutes before leaving for the airport to go to Fiji that my camera is missing. It is not in my purse. I backtrack through the previous night, going to the restaurant (where I know I had my camera) and Bodega Bar (where I am pretty sure it went missing). I wasn't a silly tourist and left my bag sitting alone in the bar; someone from our group was always near our stuff. My camera was still stolen, though. Another girl, Amy, also had $20 lifted from her wallet, and her things were right next to mine.

To say I was distressed and devastated is a gross understatement. I have not been this upset since getting to Wellington. In fact, that morning was the first time since arriving in Wellington that I called home. Thank goodness I had gotten a phone card a few days prior! I believe I scared my parents when I called home panicked. I called everyone I thought could help with advice. I called my mom, my dad, and Meredith, who also contacted the guys who had been with us the night before. Oh man, it was some of the worst 45 minutes of my life.

We had made arrangements for Meredith's host mom, Judy, to pick us up and drive us to the airport. Because of my address, I was the first person picked up. Thank goodness for that. Judy was amazing. She somehow turned the bad situation into a good one. She calmed me down, made me see reason, and helped me to not be distressed at the beginning of what was sure to be an awesome holiday. This woman is nothing short of amazing.

So, I was in Fiji with no digital camera of my own. Thankfully, Meredith and Amy were incredibly understanding and offered the use of their digital cameras whenever I needed one. Since we all traveled together, they were also there to take pictures for me. I was basically going through withdrawal! Fiji has some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, and I didn't have a camera of my own to take the pictures. The girls were really amazing about it all. I also had a waterproof camera, so I could take pictures when we were snorkeling.

I am OK with the situation now. I have good insurance, and I believe I am covered in this sort of situation. We ran into some friends from Wellington, on one of the islands (or perhaps on the boat), and they said that they knew someone who had been in the same situation, and it all worked out in the end. They got a reimbursement and it was all OK. I have already emailed a contact about filing an insurance claim, so I will be working on that over the next couple of weeks.

This all means that you will get pictures of Fiji when I get pictures of Fiji. I am going over to Stafford on Sunday to make CD copies of all of the pictures, so perhaps you will even get your Sunday Picture Update. Just be thinking of me and my camera-less self in Wellington! Man, I need to get this taken care of soon.

Just as a preview, the next set of posts will be about our trip in Fiji. I am not sure when this weekend I am going to write it all up. I am calling on Meredith and Amy to make sure I don't forget the important things! The posts will be long because it was such an experience, so I will probably type them in sections. Look forward to them!