Hi y’all,
This is Caroline^2 (Caroline and Cricket), coming to you from Lawaki Beach House, on Beqa Island in Fiji. We’ve done a lot in the last 12 days, so here are our top 12 activities from the last 12 days!
- We started our time in Nadi, Fiji off with a trip to Sabeto Mud Pool and Hot Spring, where we lathered ourselves in mud, and let it dry until we all looked like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. We then soaked the mud off through a series of four hot spring pools.
- While still in Nadi, we took part in our first kava ceremony. Kava is a root with slight mellowing effects that Fijians traditionally grind into a powder and mix with water as a type of drink. Kava circles take place often, especially when welcoming new people to a community. We’ve had a kava circle almost everywhere we’ve been so far! A fun fact is that in a traditional ceremony before you accept a bowl of kava (made out of a coconut shell), you yell “bula!” which means “life,” but Fijians also use it as a hello, a welcome, greetings, and more!
- Embarking for the Namosi highlands, where after a long, bumpy drive and a river crossing, we settled into our next location. We learned how to play rugby with our new Namosi friends. We now specialize in “slip and slide rugby” – rugby played entirely in mud, leaving no person untouched. Safe to say, we spent a lot of time cleaning off in the river.
- We pulled out our dance moves when the women of Namosi taught us a traditional Fijian dance. We thought we had the dance down until we learned we’d done one of four acts. Upon ~mastering~ the dance, we performed it for members of the local Namosi village called Navunikabi. There was a lot of laughing and smiling as we made our way through the moves. We ended up performing it three times as everyone cheered.
- The mountains in Namosi are lush and green, offering spectacular views. The ridgeline behind our lodging was no different. We took a quick, muddy, barefoot hike up to the top to see all of Namosi from a bird’s eye view. Our hiking trail was made specially for us by our guide, Meta, using a machete. We ended our hike with some fresh sugar cane and a river plunge.
- Our last day in Namosi, we trekked into the forest to learn how to make a bamboo raft from scratch. We cut down huge pieces of bamboo and then carried them in pairs back down to the river. We then lashed the eight stalks together using vines. After proving the raft’s stability, we were able to ride it up and down the river in a manner not so different from Venice’s gondolas and England’s punting.
- Departing from Namosi, we took a long truck ride to Fiji’s capital, Suva. We pulled out our cooking skills as we meal planned for the next three days and spent a lot of time in a supermarket. The food was spectacular! We navigated our apartment living through pancakes, movie nights, and Bananagrams.
- Our second day in Suva, we explored the city on our way to the market with the help of our guide, Vili. We picked up some banger fresh fruit, juice, and roti. Then, we headed to Vili’s parent’s house for a Fijian lunch feast (delicious!).
- That rainy night, we took a trip to the Fiji Museum, where we learned about Fiji’s history. We saw Duas: canoes/sailboats like the ones the first Fijians came to the islands in. We also learned about clan systems, fishing techniques, and the history of colonialism.
- We left mainland Fiji for the beautiful island of Beqa where we experienced our first Fijian sunset over the water. The sky turned beautiful shades of pink and purple as the sun set next to an island on the horizon.
- While in Lawaki, we’ve learned more about the importance of coral reefs and how their health is tracked both internationally and nationally through one of our partners, Helen, a marine biologist. We got the chance to conduct a reef survey on the protected Lawaki reef; we tracked both fish and coral population density and compared our results with those of past groups. It was a great introduction to marine biology and conservation.
- The skies here are so clear at night that we can see the entire Milky Way. We have taken advantage of this and star-gazed as a group. Some of us even saw our first shooting stars! Certainly, a night to remember.
We’ve had so much fun during our time in Fiji and can’t wait to see what the next two weeks will bring! Thanks for staying with us through this update!
Caroline^2 out.
