Bula!

Bula! Or hello in Fijian (used in the same manner as the Hawaiian Aloha).  It is an infectious word that aptly describes the friendly people we encountered during our 2 day stay on the main island of Fiji. After a uneventful flight on the Fijian airline through the night, we arrived on the island at 5:30 in the morning.  This was along with another flight, so we had to jump in line to get through customs with about 500 of our closest traveling friends and neighbors. Riley really did fabulously on our flight, largely because we flew through the night and we had the bassinet for her to sleep in.  The flight was almost 11 hours and she slept for the first 8 of those.  She woke up happy as a clam and enjoyed her captive audience for the remainder of the flight.  All kids should be so lucky as to have their parents undivided attention for 3 hours a day.

Once we got into the customs line at the airport, I keenly noticed a sign that created a separate line for senior citizens and families with infants.  Score!  Our 20-30 minute stay in line was reduced to a 5 minute one.  That turned out to be one major benefits to traveling with an infant. There are not many to the traveling aspect, but we found out that they get you through lines and in some cases allows you to completely avoid them.  Of course, on our way back through the airport to board our flight to Sydney, it was only after enduring 20 minutes of waiting in line with a screaming, hungary infant that we were jumped to the head of the line.  That right there is the downside to traveling with an infant.  But yeah Riley for getting us through the line, I will take all the perks I can get!  

After we got together all of our luggage, I went to exchange our money while Josh got us a taxi cab.  At the western union in the airport, I went to exchange $300 US for the Fijian currency. The attendant told me that I was going to receive $430 Fijian for my money and proceeded to count it out to me.  As an afterthought, I asked for a receipt and as I walked off, I glanced at the slip of paper.  The paper said I was to receive $440.  Immediately, I went back to the attendant and pointed this out.  He suggested to me that I might have pocketed the extra $10 myself. After a quick heated exchange, I was able to get my $10 and go on my way.  

We arrived at our hotel and were settled and ready to go to the beach by 8:30 in the morning. Arriving at 5:30 in the morning is not so bad when you are able to be beach ready by 8:30! We took some time to nap a bit and then headed down to the beach, a short 10 minute walk from our hotel.  We were staying on the mainland in the city of Nadi.  As we were walking to the beach, a cab driver stopped to offer us a ride.  His car was not marked so we did not immediately know that he was a cab driver.  We were skeptical to take it but it was hot and he was nice so we got in.  It turned out that the beach we were close to was not a nice beach but was in very dirty with trash everywhere...not really meant for recreation. Immediately, the cabby offered to take us to a nicer area on the other side of town and then come back and pick us up at an arranged time, all for the 'bargain' of $20.  We ended up taking his offer as we wanted to soak up the sun for the day and recover from our jet lag. We landed at a hotel resort beach where we crashed their beach and pool and lounged for the afternoon. 

Riley's first dip into the ocean was a bit shocking for her.  She reacted to the crashing waves with fearful screams and to her father's chagrin, enticed us to spend the rest of the afternoon at enjoying the calmer waters offered by the pool. Needless to say, the ocean and Riley are not yet friends.  But she did make friend with everyone else on the island and had no problems doing that pool side.  It was so interesting because woman and children alike really took a liking to Riley.  Women would just come up and take her out of our arms and walk around with her. "Hellllooo Rillleeey" they would say with their cute Fijian accents as she smiled and cooed back. At dinner one evening, a young boy of about 10 came up and took her from Josh to bring over and show his mother and younger sister.  Another woman at the hotel pool wanted to take several pictures of her, not us and her, just her.  As proud parents, we of course think that all should be enamored by her, and in Fiji, they were.  It was at first alarming when people would take her from our arms but it quickly became obvious that this was a normal custom in Fiji and she seemed to enjoy all of her new friends.

On our second day, our cabby friend took us on a tour of the city.  Following a downpour of rain all night, we were greeted with continued rain showers in the morning .  It was quite warm so the rain was rather refreshing but not conducive for beach lounging.  Our first stop was to visit the botanical gardens, the ultimate highlight of our trip.  The gardens-interestingly they were founded by actor Raymond Burr-had an amazing orchid collection. They included acres of rainforest with all kinds of beautiful flowers, truly an amazing sight.   After the gardens, we were treated to a guided tour through a typical Fijian village.  This was a bit awkward, like paying to few someone's house while they are still in it, but it offered an interesting glimpse into Fijian culture.  The village was actually the one that the President of the country came from. The island is made up of approximately 50% native Fijians and 50% Indians. Prior to our visit, I had know idea they had such a large Indian population. Most people there speak English, Fijian and Indian, at least in some capacity.  

The end of our tour included a trip to the local market and a visit to a Hare Krishna temple.   I found the temple to be beautiful and sweet and unfortunately only offered a small taste of the Hare Krishna faith. It is clear that there is a nice blend of several religions and philosophies on the Fijian islands with the people blending them in their own special harmony.  

Our afternoon was spent swimming in the rain at our hotel pool.  The pool had the most amazing slide that was so fast it was slightly scary.  After one shot down, it was more enjoyable to watch others shoot down and see there reactions as they came up for air.  Especially entertaining was two young teenagers who kept going down the slide but who could barely swim.  They would try to slow down their ascent by starting half way down the slide. It was very amusing.

Our cabby friend picked us up and took us to the airport early in the morning.  Again with these early mornings! He greeted us with the news that the reason for all the rain was a fast approaching cyclone heading for the island and set to hit later that afternoon.  To the best of our knowledge, it did not cause any major damage but as I type this entry,  news on the T.V. reports that Nadi was hit today by a hurricane.  We were obviously quite lucky to experience the island and miss the terrible storms.  So Vinaka (thank you) for checking in and Bula!