Parting shots from Fiji

Fortunately, there are very few hazards in Fiji other than the occasional falling coconut.

We ended up doing a whole lot of nothing while we were in Fiji, which was the main objective.  There was however nightly entertainment including crab racing night. 

Hermit crabs from the beach were rounded up and had numbers painted on their backs.  Each person picked a crab and had their name and number written down in a ledger.   The crabs were all gathered in a martini shaker and plopped down at the starting point.  The first crab to make its way outside a hand-drawn circle on the floor won that leg of the race.

The Fijians running the show had a smooth system of tracking the crabs and the races were done in heats leading up to the semi-finals and finals.  My crab, little #7, was promising in the first heats but proved to be no match against formidable crab #9.

Another night was Fijian feast night with a traditional lovo pit prepared to slowly roast the entire dinner underground.  A pit is dug out then filled with embers then fish, beef, chicken, pork ,cassavas, taro, potatoes, squash and veggies are placed on top, covered with leaves, tarps and dirt.

The whole mound is left to cook for several hours then unearthed just in time for dinner.  It was quite tasty!

And the entire staff at Oarsmans Bay performed traditional Fijian songs and dances.

It was an interactive experience as all of us guests were pulled from our seats to dance along with them.  Couldn't get any photos of that because I was dancing and having too much fun.

For the second half of our vacation, we moved to another island and another resort.  Nanuya Island Resort is at the Blue Lagoon, as in THE Blue Lagoon of the movie fame.

It was considerably more luxurious and we felt like we were living the good life in our treetop bure.

Not a bad view from the deck either.

Michael's birthday was a special romantic celebration at a private table by the beach.   We dined and had cake and champagne by lantern and tiki torchlight while listening to the waves gently lapping the sand only feet away from our table.

 

We had fun with the wildlife.  I was trying to observe this lizard on the ground without scaring it away when it came over to my foot and ran up my leg.  It seemed to like riding around on my back and shoulders.

I handed the little guy off to Michael and it nearly became camouflaged in his bula shirt. 

Yes, we are complete geeks but how cool is it to have wireless and drinks by the beach?  I mean, there's only so much reading and napping you can do in the hammock.  And when it got too hot, we were cooling off in the refreshing blue water.

The combination of the two different places we stayed at gave us a wonderful experience in Fiji. We soaked up some culture and made some friends at the first place and got some first class pampering at the other place.  Both were completely relaxing, warm, friendly and exactly what we were looking for.  Antarctica seems so long ago now that we are tan and well-rested. 

We're back in Christchurch now renting an apartment for a few days to relax some more before heading back to the states on Dec 2. The Christmas decorations have come out around the businesses downtown here and I have to remind myself that the holiday is coming up even though it's shorts and sandals weather here.  And I'm happy to know that I'm coming home for Christmas this year...just a few more days and I'm home for good.