Fiji Palm Shadows
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| Palm Tree Shadow Gridiron |
Linked to Shadow Shot Sunday
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Today's Apocalypse Sign: Shadow Shot Sunday
One of the natural artistic looks of Beqa Island is the changing scenery based on shadows throughout the day. Here are some late afternoon loooong palm shadows.
Fiji Palm Shadows
Linked to Shadow Shot Sunday
Fiji Palm Shadows
Linked to Shadow Shot Sunday
Today's Apocalypse Sign: Lost Reference No. 1 "Hey Guys, Where Are We?"
Bonus points if you can tell me the Lost character that uttered those words.
Bula! Back for more? Okay...off we go
Saturday June 11th - The Arrival (or Welcome To The Jungle)
So far this trip has had the feel of The Amazing Race, next to come would be Survivor and Lost all rolled into one.
When we exited the big boat into a smaller motorboat we then finally reached shore, or close to it (really, we got out in ankle deep water). The staff of the resort were there playing a lilting melody we would hear throughout the week, singing and clapping. Greeting us with island leis and cheerful rounds of, "Bula!"
Walking across the sand to the walk-way to the main hall it was hard to take in the natural beauty and pure absence of most things civilized. At the end of the walk-way there was a large bucket of water to clean your sandy feet in before entering the dinner area. The pavilion was all open air and the breeze was quite cooling even though it was just high noon. The smells were as clean and fragrant as you could imagine.
The host (I believe he was the only non-native on the staff) whose name was Nigel was originally from New Zealand by way of Australia. He had been in charge of the place for about four months. His briefing included giving us the meal times (6AM, 1PM, 7PM), the approximate amount of time out in the sun before starting to burn (12 minutes), and a few other ground rules (do not give any alcohol to the staff was one). All this lasted about 15 minutes giving the staff time to get our bags to our bures (rooms).
A quick trip to our beachside bure to get a little freshened up and acclimated to the distance from bure to dining hall, and we settled down to a nice lasagna lunch. The afternoon was all ours to discover, set up dive partners, explore, hit the bar and pool, you name it.
My wife, being the leader of the dive group had to coordinate that activity so I was left on my own for a while. I hooked up with a couple guys in our group (father and son) who had a keen interest in rugby. This is THE national sport of Fiji. Dan brought a rugby ball from home with him (which he ended up gifting to the kids in the village) and after we received a guided hike from one of the staff we showed up at the nearest village in time to watch their Saturday afternoon game of rubgy. The competing village had to walk almost an hour to get to the field of play. The entire village surrounded the rugby field.
We arrived at the village and as you might imagine 3 white-skinned men attracted a lot of attention. I could not get over the two satellite dishes in the village. They seemed very out of place. The goal posts for the rugby field were made of bamboo. The flags the referees used were actually orange native plants that looked just like little pennants. The match last for an hour (longest I have sat on the ground in a while) and then we hiked back to the resort...amidst the sound of wild pigs snorting in the brush (never saw them) and the sounds of birds and lapping water on the shore. It was quite the first venture.
Back at the pool I ordered a couple beers (Fiji Gold Premium, very good) and my wife and I got complimentary foot and calf massages looking out over the ocean. Soon the sun would be setting (took some getting used to sunset at 5:45PM). The massage of coconut milk, honey, coconut meat, and a couple other things made me forget about the hike and sitting on the ground. It was greater than I can possibly describe. Good beer, a massage, ocean breeze, and unbelieveable view made for a good first day. The sunset shots were pretty good this night, some of the best there. A couple are below for your viewing pleasure.
We went back to the bure to change clothes and get ready for dinner. I got all the electrical equipment (computer, chargers, converters) all set up. Just a side note: those who brought their Mac laptops were screwed. First warning Nigel gave was do not plug in and turn on a Mac or you will have a useless piece of plastic to take home. Score one for PC's!
Dinner was served at 7 and we had ordered the curry chicken. After all of this whirlwind activity I finally realized I had pretty much been up for over 36 hours. Those couple of beers earlier were like liquid tranqualizers that were now starting to take effect. My wife was exhausted as was most of the group. While waiting for dinner I almost nodded off 3 or four times and came close to just getting up and heading for bed. When the food arrived we only ate the chicken and holding each other up, made our way to the bure for the night.
Some more pictures for your enjoyment...
I will be posting a page in a tab at the top of the blog with sunsets from the whole trip.
Vinaka once again and I'll see ya on the other side...
Bula! Back for more? Okay...off we go
Saturday June 11th - The Arrival (or Welcome To The Jungle)
So far this trip has had the feel of The Amazing Race, next to come would be Survivor and Lost all rolled into one.
When we exited the big boat into a smaller motorboat we then finally reached shore, or close to it (really, we got out in ankle deep water). The staff of the resort were there playing a lilting melody we would hear throughout the week, singing and clapping. Greeting us with island leis and cheerful rounds of, "Bula!"
Walking across the sand to the walk-way to the main hall it was hard to take in the natural beauty and pure absence of most things civilized. At the end of the walk-way there was a large bucket of water to clean your sandy feet in before entering the dinner area. The pavilion was all open air and the breeze was quite cooling even though it was just high noon. The smells were as clean and fragrant as you could imagine.
The host (I believe he was the only non-native on the staff) whose name was Nigel was originally from New Zealand by way of Australia. He had been in charge of the place for about four months. His briefing included giving us the meal times (6AM, 1PM, 7PM), the approximate amount of time out in the sun before starting to burn (12 minutes), and a few other ground rules (do not give any alcohol to the staff was one). All this lasted about 15 minutes giving the staff time to get our bags to our bures (rooms).
A quick trip to our beachside bure to get a little freshened up and acclimated to the distance from bure to dining hall, and we settled down to a nice lasagna lunch. The afternoon was all ours to discover, set up dive partners, explore, hit the bar and pool, you name it.
My wife, being the leader of the dive group had to coordinate that activity so I was left on my own for a while. I hooked up with a couple guys in our group (father and son) who had a keen interest in rugby. This is THE national sport of Fiji. Dan brought a rugby ball from home with him (which he ended up gifting to the kids in the village) and after we received a guided hike from one of the staff we showed up at the nearest village in time to watch their Saturday afternoon game of rubgy. The competing village had to walk almost an hour to get to the field of play. The entire village surrounded the rugby field.
We arrived at the village and as you might imagine 3 white-skinned men attracted a lot of attention. I could not get over the two satellite dishes in the village. They seemed very out of place. The goal posts for the rugby field were made of bamboo. The flags the referees used were actually orange native plants that looked just like little pennants. The match last for an hour (longest I have sat on the ground in a while) and then we hiked back to the resort...amidst the sound of wild pigs snorting in the brush (never saw them) and the sounds of birds and lapping water on the shore. It was quite the first venture.
Back at the pool I ordered a couple beers (Fiji Gold Premium, very good) and my wife and I got complimentary foot and calf massages looking out over the ocean. Soon the sun would be setting (took some getting used to sunset at 5:45PM). The massage of coconut milk, honey, coconut meat, and a couple other things made me forget about the hike and sitting on the ground. It was greater than I can possibly describe. Good beer, a massage, ocean breeze, and unbelieveable view made for a good first day. The sunset shots were pretty good this night, some of the best there. A couple are below for your viewing pleasure.
We went back to the bure to change clothes and get ready for dinner. I got all the electrical equipment (computer, chargers, converters) all set up. Just a side note: those who brought their Mac laptops were screwed. First warning Nigel gave was do not plug in and turn on a Mac or you will have a useless piece of plastic to take home. Score one for PC's!
Dinner was served at 7 and we had ordered the curry chicken. After all of this whirlwind activity I finally realized I had pretty much been up for over 36 hours. Those couple of beers earlier were like liquid tranqualizers that were now starting to take effect. My wife was exhausted as was most of the group. While waiting for dinner I almost nodded off 3 or four times and came close to just getting up and heading for bed. When the food arrived we only ate the chicken and holding each other up, made our way to the bure for the night.
Some more pictures for your enjoyment...
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| One of two boats that brought us to the smaller motor boats for our beach landing |
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| Nigel giving us the instructions de jour. And the Bula Bar! |
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| Lilly pad ponds were in front of many of the garden bures |
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| The rugby match between the blue team and the red team...I think red was home team. The village school in the two-story building in the distance. All grades. |
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| An in-bounds play! |
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| What rugby scene would be complete without a good old fashioned scrum! |
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| Some of the scenery in the clearings walking from the village |
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| Sunset one |
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| Sunset two...one of my favorites |
Vinaka once again and I'll see ya on the other side...
Friday, June 24, 2011
Today's Apocalypse Sign: Weekend Reflections
Lighting
This is the pool outside the dining area at Beqa Lagoon Resort. This was really difficult to take since I left my tripod in the room and it was extremely dark out. But I think it is a very cool picture of the ambience of the place. (minus the wifi dish) :)
I am linking this to Weekend Reflections.
This is the pool outside the dining area at Beqa Lagoon Resort. This was really difficult to take since I left my tripod in the room and it was extremely dark out. But I think it is a very cool picture of the ambience of the place. (minus the wifi dish) :)
I am linking this to Weekend Reflections.
Today's Apocalypse Sign: Weekend In Black And White
Tribal Farewell
From my last night in Fiji. A traditional tribal farewell celebration.
I am linking to Weekend In Black And White.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Fiji Reveal Begins
First the geography lesson.
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| The big picture. The pink circle above the tropic of Capricorn is the Fiji island group |
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| Here is the big island of Viti Levu. Nadi airport on the west side of the island and we bussed along the southern coast to Pacific Harbor to catch a boat. |
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| Finally the island of Beqa and the Beqa Lagoon Resort. |
Now that you're oriented
Bula! From the returning world-weary traveler.
The problem with a trip of a lifetime is that you really want to share the experience with friends and family, co-workers, and anyone who will listen. The reality is, it is impossible to translate the emotional and maybe even spirtual intensity of the actual being there. Plus the added bonus of those who were not there ending up feeling like they are being in that vacation-torture-hell-Guantanamo experience of watching family home movies of YOUR vacation. Sure way to put people to sleep based on their tolerance level for such things, right?
Tough!
I had a stunningly fabulous time in Beqa (pronounced Benga). For that you will have to endure several posts of my trip. The nice thing about the internet and blogging in general, is that when you have had enough you can simply stop reading the words and looking at the pictures...for as long as you like and pick back up whenever you want. Hopefully I can excite you enough to want to vist one of the far reaches of the world and see a glimpse of unfettered paradise. Ready?
Here we go...
Thursday June 9th. Departure (or leaving behind all that is civilized).
If you have seen the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles this trip will bring that visual of travel fun to mind. This however was Plane, bigger Plane, Bus, Boat. Three hours from DFW to LAX, 5 hour layover, 10 1/2 hour flight to Nadi (pronounced Nandi), Fiji, (loss of one entire day Friday June 10th), 3-hour bus ride to Pacific Harbor boat launch, 45 minute boat ride to the resort on Beqa island. Minus the layover...a little over 17 hours of various travel methods. Arrive in Nadi Saturday June 11th...where the hell did Friday go. I lost a day of my life!!
To whit....(enlarge all you wish to)
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| The Big Board in LAX showing our Air Pacific flight 811 to Nadi (what was that flight number on Lost?) |
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| Plenty of time in LA to watch the Dallas Mavericks win game 5 of the NBA Finals |
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| Greatest plane in the world the 747-400 jumbo jet - top floor last row before the exit door. Sweet! |
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| Who thought you could even do this anymore post-911? A picture of one of our group in the cockpit. |
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| Amongst all the music and welcoming to the island...a somber warning of the Giant African Snail invasion. Never saw one...and I so wanted to be the first to report the advancing threat! |
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| Oh yeah, I love this plane! If you enlarge this, we sat in the last row of the top level before the break in the bulkhead...about 7 feet in front of the next row! Can you tell I have never been on one of these before...acting like a kid! |
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| Two hours after landing in Nadi, we board the Bus From Hell. My wife is the one in the middle holding it together. A three hour tour my ass! And it was numb most of the ride. |
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| The interior countryside from the coastal road is quite rugged and undeveloped...and hard to photo in a bus that is like an amusment ride...that. never. ends. |
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| My wife took a picture of yours truly on the left with another member of our group. Notice my stunning red flower and the pooka bead necklace. (Wait'll ya get a load of my skirt!) |
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| The bus ride has mercifully ended and now...the 45 minute boat ride where we have been warned to be prepared to exit into ankle-deep water! I changed from my tennis shoes to my flip-flops on the boat. Very smart. |
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| We are quickly approaching our home for the next 8 days (or is it 7? that international dateline has me confused for a week). Paradise |
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Beginning Of The End
Last day on the island. Tomorrow begins the long trek home to the States. Always wanted to say that. Any way here is a fitting sunset photo to cap off a great trip. (BTW, our 10th wedding anniversary celebration last night was spetacular.)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Today's Apocalypse Sign: I'm In Fiji AND On The Computer !!
Bula from Beqa, Fiji!
Just a short post while I digest my breakfast here by the Beqa Lagoon Resort pool. But I digress. I wanted to at least post some pictures of the trip so far. I think between my wife and I we have about a thousand shots equally divided between underwater and topside.
It has been an amazing time so far. Today my wife is diving and I am deep sea fishing this afternoon. When she gets in from diving a small group wil be going to a local village to distribute the school supplies we brought, to the kids. One of the guys who plays rugby in Dallas is going to participate in teaching rugby drills to the kids. This evening just before sunset a couple in our group is getting married. They are in Suva today getting their marriage license.
Anyway, more to come when I get back. For now a couple pictures to enjoy. Bula!
Just a short post while I digest my breakfast here by the Beqa Lagoon Resort pool. But I digress. I wanted to at least post some pictures of the trip so far. I think between my wife and I we have about a thousand shots equally divided between underwater and topside.
It has been an amazing time so far. Today my wife is diving and I am deep sea fishing this afternoon. When she gets in from diving a small group wil be going to a local village to distribute the school supplies we brought, to the kids. One of the guys who plays rugby in Dallas is going to participate in teaching rugby drills to the kids. This evening just before sunset a couple in our group is getting married. They are in Suva today getting their marriage license.
Anyway, more to come when I get back. For now a couple pictures to enjoy. Bula!
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| View of the backyard from our bure (room) |
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| FIshermen at sunset |
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