BULA!! That means hello/cheers/welcome is Fijian.. and you say it to everyone you pass.
Had an amzing ten days in Fiji, I could have stayed there forever, it was like paradise, and all the fijians were so friendly and happy, always smiling and wanting to chat.
Arrived at the Beachouse, after a really crazy taxi ride there, or should I say rollercoaster ride. The dorms were really big, new and bright and we were sharing with some really lovely boys from Harrogate!! The whole resort was just amazing, pool, beach, hammocks, restaurant (and for those of u who watched celebrity love island, it was where the second one has just been filmed). Whilst here we went horse riding up the mountain, with tony, who even took us to his family home and introduced us to his whole family, galloped along the beach (i was a little petrified as never had done before and thought i might land a splattered mess and ruin the beautiful beach, but i didnt).
The best part was visitng the fijian village. An extremely bumpy ride in the back of a 4WD, (if i can call it that, more like a battered truck)took us to the village,We went through rivers and up steep hills (that looked like landslides) and everytime we managed to,with some luck,pass these trecharous obstacles, the driver would hoot and give a thumbs up. It worried us a little, but we made it back, despite getitng stuck in a river and having to remove a few stones to get moving again. ARGH!! My bum was so sore after horseriding and the bouncy truck ride didnt make it any better.
But we finally arrived, they all greeted us, flowers in our hair, and had a Kava cermony. Kava is the local traditional Fijian drink, made from a root plant, dried, crushed and mixed with water. It tastes delicious (like muddy water), and you all clap, shout bula and down your coconut full of kava...so it goes on...until the cup is passed to you again....again and...again!! and you cant say no as it is disrespectful. We ate a wonderful lunch, which looked a little unappealing but was actually delicious. Then the chief showed us round the village, we visited the school, and i have never seen such cheeky children (we all wondered where the teachers were).... laughing jumping about, dancing, pulling faces. Finally we arrived back at the main hall, there were guitars and everyone was singing, to our horror they all pulled us up and made us dance (fiji style) to the music, was embarrassing at first with the whole village watching but it was really fun, and of course the most gorgeous one, picked me to dance with. He smelt and little bad,dont worry im not going to run off with a fijian now, mum and dad.
After a aweosme time at the beach house, making a good group of freinds, with some irish girls, we decided it was time to move on... and see some of the islands. As we were a little strap for cash we decided to just visit one. Bounty Island. Which was small, green vegetation, clear turquoise waters, huts on the beach... you can see why everyone goes there for their honeymoon. We went there with the boys from Harrogate and had an unforgettable time, snorkling was amazing, despite a few jellyfish, and we managed to canoe around the whole island (really built up my biceps). We had drinks on the beach at night, looked at the stars and were sung to by a fijian guitarist, who couldnt sing, but was romantic all the same.
I was very sad to leave fiji, as it really was beautiful and i would definitely go back there...perhaps with a boyfriend..or for my honeymoon... as it is to unspoilt and too beautiful for words.
I am in Chile at the moment, and despite an intial hicup of daisys bag taking its own personal adventure, we have settled in well, practicing spanish and trying to speak spansish...and making signs...and speaking in english. No we really are trying! Cant wait for inca trail. Heading down south to a town called Pucon tonight as there is not much in Santiagao!
Hope everyone is well, miss you all and by the way i am still living "Fiji time", which is just about as chilled out as anyone can get, so dont expect any updates too soon.
LOVE SOPHIE, chow,
