I walk off the plane and
recieve a blast of hot humidity. My face is invaded by a
perma-grin. There is a band playing
fijian music as I walk through the doors into the terminal. I am in Fiji! I can't believe it! After clearing customs there is a large, very feminine, man waiting there to give me any information I may need. He is hoping that I will allow him to book my entire stay. "Not bloody likely".
I make my way to the "Downtown
Nadi Backpacker" hostel, when I arrive, the man behind the desk assures me that it would be a waste of time to stay in
Nadi that night. So by 7:30 am I have 3 nights booked at a hostel on
Mana, a small island off the west coast of
Viti Levu.
I get picked up at 9am, so I have a few hours to burn before I leave
Nadi. I spent the time walking downtown
Nadi looking in shops.
When the van finally arrives, (we are on '
fiji time'), the driver, a man from Holland, and I go to the beach where the boat is waiting. When we get there, the boat is not. "
That's OK, we on
fiji time". We end up at another Hostel called 'Smugglers Cove', where I girl I met on the plane happened to be staying. I spent the morning sitting on lawn chairs in the sun, talking with my new friend,
Steph. At 1pm or so, the boat arrived and we motored for 40 minutes to
Mana.
Mana is a beautiful Island with 3 different
accommodation options. I am staying at the cheapest which was 150 Fijian for 3 nights
accommodation and all 3 meals, each day. It's a very homey place where our hosts know everyone by; Paul from
Canadia, Lloyd from
England, Martin from Holland, etc.
Time is spent snorkeling, (very nice reef just off the shore), beach volleyball, and lazing around.
Not so bad.
