1st stop: Nadi, Fiji

Amazing Fiji landscape

Being that this little stop was an unexpected addition from a flight change the airline made, I was grateful for any amount of time I had here.

Not knowing much about Fiji and not having enough time to research, I had booked the hotel, Aquarius on the Beach, strictly based on price & location. I did not want to waste time traveling as we only had 24 hrs and most certainly wanted a place on the beach. Luckily the beach is only a 10 minute drive from the airport. We got a private dorm room for $40 CAD which included breakfast. Basic room but the hotel came well equipped with a beautiful open lounge area, rustic hammocks large enough for 2, a nice pool and of course, steps away from the sandy beach.

Tri-pod

 

We arrived in the pouring rain and our taxi driver said this had been the norm for the past 5 days and according to the forecast, had no intention of stopping any time soon. Our 1 day in picturesque Fiji and it was pouring – great! However, given the circumstance of our opportunity to even be in these fairy tale islands, or traveling all together, I made sure to love every moment of it, rain or shine.

Local fisherman

To my surprise, it didn’t take me long to adjust to ‘island time’. I have a disorder called ‘unable to keep still for even a minute’, however this magical island seemed to cure me instantly. We spent the morning strolling the beach in our rain coats, accompanied by our new friend, Tri-pod. Tri-pod, the name he inherited due to his 1 bum leg, was one of the many local stray beach dogs. After the most blissful nap to cure my jetlag, I feasted the yummiest roti I have ever tasted (a very large Indian population here) followed by some Fiji Gold, the local (& very tasty) beer. The afternoon was spent strolling through the village. As it happened to be Fiji day here, the locals were out celebrating. We caught a pick up rugby game (the national sport), some beach volleyball and a game of what seemed similar to tag. All along the way we were greeted by smiling faces yelling ‘Bula’ everywhere we went. The friendliness of the people was impossible to ignore and the smiles were contagious.

Almost knowing as if it was our last chance, the sun unveiled itself and entertained us with a gorgeous sunset. After taking it in, we wandered over to another hostel/resort, attracted by their $1.50 beers. Some Kiwi divers were deep into their Fiji day celebrations and invited us to join them. Shortly after, some locals who obviously had been celebrating their national day, joined us and like so many random nights when traveling, this evening turned into quite the fantastic night. We were entertained by the national anthems sung by each of the representatives, including ourselves. Not one of my proudest moments as I struggled to remember the words!! There was then a ‘Hakka’ stand off between the Kiwi’s and the Fijians. Hakka is the dance used prior to a rugby match meant to ‘pump up’ the players. You could just imagine how entertaining this was! As hard as it was, we said our goodbye’s and we’re greeted off by a touching farewell song from the locals. It got me teary eyed! So high on the night, we ended it off with a beach hammock cuddle under the stars (and large bats!) with yet another Fiji Gold in hand.

By chance, we logged online before climbing into our bunk beds only to find yet another change in our itinerary. We were now schedule to leave at 12:15 i/o 8:15. So as were woken by the bright, hot sun, we took advantage of our few gained hours with a morning swim and beach run.

Ahhh, Fiji – how you managed to tangle me in your blissful web of beauty in just under 26 hrs, I’ll never know. But I have a feeling you’ll be seeing me again.

For now though, it’s off to Brisbane, Australia!

Wandering

Beach in Palawan, PI

As you may have noticed, I have extended my blog title a little. Don't worry, it's only a temporary change. It will return back to cook. preach. love, but for now I thought a travel blog would be fitting as that is what I will be doing for the next month.
On Saturday I leave for a 1 month trip to Australia & the Philippines. Not a bad honeymoon eh? Not lucky, spoiled rotten is what I am. I realize this but you must know that the title 'honeymoon' is not really accurate for this trip as this is not it's original purpose. This is actually a business trip. Well, business for my husband - all pleasure for me;) Steve was asked by some mutual friends who are getting married if he would be their wedding photographer. In exchange, instead of paying him in $$, they would pay our (yes, mine included) flights to the exciting land down under to where the wedding is taking place!
Originally, our honeymoon (if there were to be one) was going to have to wait a while as the wedding cost a bit more than we planned. However, being given this absolute amazing opportunity, we knew we had to take advantage. That is where the Philippines comes in. A place we have always wanted to explore, and now with in feasible distance to do so. We will be splitting our month in half - 2 weeks in Australia and 2 weeks in the Philippines.
As we have been to Australia once before, along with visiting great friends, we plan to explore places we have not been before. Sipping Toohey's, drinking from goons and eating Tim Tam's with old friends, seeing the Sydney Opera House, camping along the coast and of course, visiting my mom's 'special place' are just some of the exciting things we have planned. As for the Philippine's, well every experience will be brand new. After arriving in Manila, we plan on traveling to the north to trek the 8th wonder of the world - the rice terraces. From there, maybe swimming with whale sharks in Donsol and then spending the rest of our days soaking up the sun, hammock swaying, and snorkeling off the beautiful beaches of Palawan. And a sudden addition thanks to the airline changing our flights, we have an over night stay in Fiji on our way in.
I was recently asked where I hide my horseshoe. I do realize how lucky of a person I am to be able to experience such an adventure. I most certainly am not taking this amazing opportunity for granted as I know this is a once in a life time deal. However, this 'horseshoe' I am supposedly carrying is a very new addition to my life. For many years, horseshoe's were very much non-existent. Life has not always been so kind to me. Maybe much to do with fate and my destined path, I was able to feel my way out of the dark. However, I would like to think that my strength and perseverance had much to do with finding the light in my life. Not giving up, no matter how bad life treated me, helped me find my supposed 'horseshoe'. Instead of focusing on all the loss and all that this life has taken from me, I chose to continue to believe that it still had much to give. I think that it is my continuous belief in the possibility of love and greatness in this life that life has in return rewarded me with exactly this.
So please share this journey with me. We may be on opposite sides of the globe, but one does not need to travel far when love and greatness surrounds us, where ever we may be.