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Beauty and the Beast

Our outing to the resort was a success. A cool, clean pool, lunch on the deck and major rainshower to cool us off and pick us up. On the way to the resort, about 45 minutes south of us, we passed the international date line. Attached is a pic, Elle and Liam are in today and Sonia in yesterday. For purposes you can imagine, the dateline was moved to the East so the entire island can remain in the same day. However, this is where the true line falls.

We've had some incredible rainshowers, and last night some impressive thunder and lightning. The rain mixed with sun has given us some beautiful rainbows. One appeared yesterday as I lay under the bure getting a massage. Magical!

Last night, however, nearly pushed me over the edge. As I was putting our food in the compost trash bin below the sink, a rat lept out of the bin towards me, ran over my food and out the door. Ok, it was probably a mouse, but rat/mouse, it makes no difference to me. I shrieked loudly (Sanger family, think the bar in Rome shriek-like), and the caretakers came to see what was the matter. They laughed at me and left. I stuck my foot in the shower to clean it off, but still this morning I can feel the awful fur against my foot. I'm not sure I can throw food in that bin anymore without tremendous trepidation. I heard critters scurrying all night long. Surely most of them were the harmless geckos that are everywhere, but still...

Today, the sun is shining and the beauty of Fiji is speaking to us again!

Our guard

Adventure Thwarted

So today we were supposed to make a day of seeing the white sand beaches of the Lavena Coastal Walk and go swimming in the spectacular Bouma Falls.

At 10AM we were all slathered up with 70+SPF, had liters of Fiji water and a loaf of banana bread packed, cameras and videocameras protected in plastic baggies, and had the ubiquitous Sonia in tow. We went outside to wait (and sweat) for the taxi. He showed up 30 minutes late, which is just on time or even early in Fiji. Finally, after preparing all morning, we headed out.

It was only now that I decided to ask, how far is it? Over an hour. UGH! In 90 degree heat, blazing sun, rickety old van, no seatbelts- let alone a car seat, and PLASTIC seat liners. The fun really started when the paved road changed to dirt. Actually, it was a rock road. A really, really bumpy rock road, with some dust for good measure. We were able to go maybe 20 miles an hour so the breeze we could get was limited. We passed by a few "villages". The villagers bathed themselves, the women did their laundry and the children played naked in the fresh Fiji river waters we passed. (this, the taxi driver said, is where Fiji water comes from-- up the mountain, presumably from a fresher source) These towns were so remote and so poor, it makes the area we are staying seem like the big-city. Again, despite the poverty like conditions the Fijians were happy, waving hello and chatting with us. In fact, the strangest thing we saw was a Western guy, alone, dressed like a Chicago frat boy chatting on cell phone in the middle of the jungle. He could've been saying "can you hear me now" for all we know.

Suddenly, we came to an impasse. The road ahead of us was washed out. The rain from the mountains was cascading down so heavily that it flowed right over the road. The current was moving very fast and it was very wide. We contemplated crossing for just a moment, but even the taxi driver said No. He says, "even if we are lucky and get across, we may not make it back across tonight". The rain in the mountains was still falling. The last thing we wanted was to be stuck overnight in one of these villages. So, 3o minutes into our trip, we turned around. Adventured foiled.

But, we are all safe. Being swept away in a raging Fijian river is not on the agenda.

Last night Justin and I had dinner at "the best restaurant" on the island. The food was quite good. We had called ahead in the afternoon to place our orders, many restaurants here work that way. When we arrived, we could tell that we were to be the only guests that night. The hosts were a german couple, he served us barefoot and was a man of very few words. It was a quiet night, romantic even. The garden we ate in was lush with flowers and had a beautiful view of the ocean. Once we got over the oddities, it was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Today, we are off to a resort for some pool swimming. Elle needs a day away from the beach so that her bites can clear up, and we need to go into town to visit the ONE ATM on the island. Sure hope it's working.

(Elle told me last night-- "Mom, know where I want to have my birthday party? -- FIJI!")

Pearl Diving

For those of you who don't know, Justin has been walking around for months talking about how Liam wants to be a pearl diver when he grows up. I don't know why, but for those of you who do know Justin well, you know that he's just like that:)

Well wouldn't you know, right in front of our Fijian house, there is a pearl farm. So today, Justin and I went pearl diving! We didn't figure Liam was quite ready for his first dive yet, but we thought we'd check the profession out for him.

We were the only tourists on this tour. ( In fact, I think there are fewer than 30 tourists on this whole island, and that may be an overstatement. We are quite frequently the only people in a restaurant, and at most only 2 other tables are full.) We went on a small boat out to a house built on stilts over water. There they cultivate and farm the pearls. It's pretty labor intense and to get one pearl takes nearly 2 years. Even then, only about 30% of the oysters generate a pearl good enough to sell. It's a family enterprise here, we met the father first and then his son, Soli, took us out to the farm. They are one of only 5 pearl farms in Fiji.

Soli took us snorkeling around the beds and to see the reef nearby. It was beautiful, my favorite was the bright blue starfish. Before we jumped in, I asked about sharks and he said "nah, maybe a small reef shark here and there". On the ride home though, he confessed that he just had a 15 foot tiger shark encounter. "But," he said," if I told you that you'd never get in the water."

He also told us a scary tale of riding out a cyclone in the house (hut) on stilts. Not something I'd want to try. He stays there most nights to guard the pearl beds, robbers and thiefs are not unknown. Justin, of course, wanted to eat the oyster, and he did. He said it was good, but when offered more, he declined.

All in all, it made for a good adventure, if not a future career.

House from the sea

Drawing the flowers

Reef from air, Vanua Levu