It is safe to say that I will not come back home with a nice tan. ;-) In Costa Rica I had a lot of rain, but that was ok since I was focusing on animals and nature. In California it was, as always, sunshine but we were too busy doing everything except sunbathing so no tan there either. And now in Fiji I had 3 days of sunshine and the rest of my stay was just windy and rainy. Well, that is how it is sometimes and the only thing that would make it worse is if I would get in a bad mood because of the weather. So I refused to do that and enjoyed a lot of relaxing time reading, playing computer games and writing - charging my batteries for the 2 upcoming weeks of hiking in New Zeeland. J
I made a mistake in my Fiji planning – I thought I would sail in Fiji, but it was an island hopping program. Ah well – that is what happens when you have to book a lot of things at the same time, you don’t have the time to really study everything in detail. The biggest disappointment from that part is that I travelled on my own, not in a group. But I have met quite a lot of nice people on each island, so it was still ok. The other disadvantage is one that I have experienced so many times before – you can’t do some activities because you are travelling alone. They require at least 2-4 people. So I missed the snorkeling with sharks just because of that. Luckily I have seen sharks while snorkeling before, so it is not the end of the world to miss it.
To travel on my own has both disadvantages and advantages. When I’m travelling with others I often end up being responsible for a lot of things on the trip. That can sometimes stress me a bit, since I need to make sure that a lot of different needs are met. When I’m travelling on my own I only need to care for my own needs and that is easier. But on the other hand – the only time I truly feel alone is when I experience something really beautiful or nice and there is no one there to share it with (I don’t mean a loved one, I mean friends and family also).
The Fiji part of the trip might have been difficult to handle for some people that I know. The accommodation has been really simple (see below), the food is not too good and definitely not healthy (lots of carbs, sugar and fat) and the weather has been bad. On top of that a lot of things are quite expensive. Compared with South East Asia, it is a steal. For the same amount in Asia you would have get great accommodation, a lot better food and good service.
What did I experience then in Fiji?? Well let’s see, I have:
· Listened to a lot of traditional music and seen a lot of dancing. All 4 islands that I visited greeted us with a song when we arrived and continued with song and dance each evening.
· Had good snorkeling. The one time that I got to snorkel I did it on the place where they shot the movie Blue Lagoon (with Brooke Shields). It was really good snorkeling with lots of fishes and nice corals.
· One sunburn. J Of course I managed to burn myself on one of the 3 days I had sun, even though I used spf 25.
· Met a lot of nice people. I have had nice chats with Steve, a cute Brazilian guy from Campinas (where I used to live in 1999), lots of UK students, couples from Germany, New Zeeland, Italy, Richard and Mandy from Australia and Caroline from Gothenburg.
· had some of the worst accommodation I have ever had. At least no one can say that I travel with a lot of lux, even if I do fly in business class. ;-)
· Had one GREAT Pina Colada. I haven’t had such a good one since Barbados in 1991. ;-) Good I’m getting old and pathetic – talking about drink that I had 20 years ago. J
So all in all Fiji was quite ok. Not as I expected it to be, but you can’t win them all. I had great stays in Costa Rica and California, so it is ok to have some minor setbacks. I’m really looking forward to my New Zeeland stop and the hiking. I hope it will be a nice group that I’m joining.
The sight of the toilet makes one sick. There is no need for excessive amounts of Pina Coladsa to end up in front of it.
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