Bula from Fiji!

Bula Bula Friends and Fam,

Leaving Cook Islands turned out to be a bit of a hassle as we got to the airport at nearly 4am and were the last ones of our flight because our ticket situation after our flights got changed midway through our trip to Fiji. Instead of a direct flight we had a day layover in Auckland which we were not thrilled about. Let me start off by saying New Zealand air kicks ass because they put us up in a nice hotel with free meals and boy did we spoil ourselves! It was so nice to be in our own rooms with AC and a flat screen TV which we hadn't seen in a long time. Also, I was in a pissy mood getting off the flight because somewhere I picked up some kind of ear infection and it took a full day for my ear to pop finally. Oh and I just got medicine for my ear problem I've been dealing with for almost a week now because I have been trapped on an island with no pharmacy, internet, or phones of any kind, but I'll get to that in a bit. Tom came and visited us one last time at our hotel before we took off the next day which was cool because chances are we'll probably never cross paths again for a long time if we ever do.

Getting into Fiji we had no idea how to get to the island we were staying on but luckily for us they had a travel agency in the airport which got everything sorted out for us, going with the wind works again somehow! After about an hour ferry ride we arrived at Beachcomber Island which you can walk around in under 8 minutes, I was board and timed it one day. It's world renown as having been a party island for quite a few years, in fact I met a guy on the bus today that had worked there back in the 70's and he said it was raging then! That's why we decided to make our home there for the next four days that would take us into the new year and prove to be an insane night of partying. The first day we just mellowed out and played some volleyball and made friends with some Aussies. We were stoked that we got to play for awhile because the next two days were so hot that you couldn't play on the sand or you'd literally burn your feet!
The next day we new years day and we made friends with a bunch of Kiwi guys that we'd cruise with for the rest of the trip. We all bought our own alcohol at the duty free store at the airport so we all went down the beach to start off our new years eve a little early. While we sat down some Tassie girls walking by with glow sticks on decided to join us and by now we had about 15 of us chilling and talking story with some drinks on the sand. We made our way to the only bar on the island with roughly a couple hundred other kids and danced the night away. Jay thought it'd be a good idea to each buy a bottle of champaign. After that, counting down from 10 and drinking to the New Year and hanging out with one of the Tassie chicks for a little bit I woke up in my bed! What a good night, and after hanging out and sharing stories the next morning I found out that not everyone was as lucky as I to wake up in their beds! One of the Kiwi boys woke up face first in the sand and Jay also was woke up by one of the girls we know guess how, face first in the sand!

New Years day we lounged around the beach and took the day off haha. It was good to talk with the Kiwi boys because they were really interested in our travels and pretty dumb founded that we'd been to Tibet! One of the boys had traveled before but the rest were pretty inquisitive so it was fun to try and stir the travel bug in their system and hopefully get them out there because I know they'd have a blast. That day Jay ad I book a diving trip with sharks on another island but ended up canceling the trip because my ear infection has still been bothering me and it was probably a good idea because we are nearly broke as well! The last day it started to rain pretty hard so we were confined to the bar which meant one thing, time to hop on the booze train! I taught the Kiwi boys a new game that they thought was a little intense and got a good laugh out of them. After we played another game we got the Kiwi boys proclaiming they were Aussies and Jay and I were doing ridiculous general calls and dancing, it got the troops rallied and made way for a great kick off to our last night. I ended up running into a girl from Seattle that I'd met real briefly earlier in the day and ended up hanging out with her the rest of the night and had a blast. Waking up in the hot muggy 100 person dorm we were staying in I said bye to the cutie from Seattle, to the Kiwi boys, and the Aussie girls we had hung with as well and took off on the ferry back to the main land. The ferry ride was a little aggravating as my head was pounding and the rains picked up and of course my pack was somewhere I wasn't on the boat and I was in my boardies and sandals! Getting off the ferry we got a bus ride to town where we had no idea where our hostel was and how to get there, pretty typical for us haha. We grabbed some grub to fill our stomachs and met a taxi cab driver named what else other than George. Jay got some money stolen on the ferry ride over so we went to the police station first and file a claim for our travel insurance to get reimbursed. We were in pretty crap moods so George brightened our spirits a bit and helped us find the way to get to our hostel, most of the time talking in third person and reminding us that he was the best taxi driver known to man, a true character! Getting to our hostel which was further away from town than expected we were greeted with emptiness as the massive hostel was virtually deserted except for an English couple and four English girls we hung out with for a bit.

Today, we woke up thinking it was 11 according to my watch which proved to be wrong and only 8 so we got some breaky and caught the bus back to town. Right before getting on the bus one of the Aussie girls we'd met briefly told us the bus was quite the adventure and of course we shrugged her comment off. I mean we'd been on buses along cliff sides thousands of feet up with the tire hanging over the edge, on buses where you virtually are standing wedged between person to person with just an air bubble to breath out of, on buses where you had to keep one eye on your bag and one eye on your pockets, on buses that have broken down more than once, so of course we thought nothing of her comment about the cheap two dollar bus. As we boarded the bus with our packs we were greeted by smiles and two empty seats, perfect so far. As we progressed up the pot infested roads we stopped about every five minutes to pick up more Fijians. By about a half hour into the trip we both had our bags on our laps and were scrunched together with more people than the 30 capacity occupancy the label above the door proclaimed. The drive was very humbling as people would stare for a bit but smile as soon as you caught them. I spent most the time starring out the window at the houses you would consider shacks back in the states but that people lived in with the brightest smiles ever as we passed them. Horses ran freely and the cows looked fairly famined amongst an incredibly lush hillside inhabited with tropical plants of all sorts. As I began to get lost in my music and looking out the window I was suddenly through forward into the front of my seat as apparently a passing car had cut infront of us right before the bridge and we slammed into the back of him. We were stopped on the middle of the bridge and after everyone caught their breath the bus driver inched across to the other side to get an inspection of the damage. Jay and I both looked back at each other we a puzzle expression as we had no idea what had happened and let out a sly chuckle as if to say "Can't say we didn't expect this!" The driver drove about another ten minutes before fumes started to arise and we pulled the 1950's bus with no windows off the side of the road. They sent another bus as one of the gentleman explained the situation to us so in the mean time Jay and I through out our fingers but had no luck. We got on the next bus reluctantly but still with a smile on our faces that we exchanged once again with the Fijians on the bus. We made friends with some old guys who were curious about California and America which proved to be in our luck because they showed us around town and found us a hostel once we finally reached town 2 hours later! A smile and casual conversation saved us the time of walking around aimlessly with our packs on our backs so we were stoked.

Downtown Nadi is pretty dirty and not the paradise that we left on the islands but we are adjusting accordingly. I don't have enough time on the internet as always and have to get going but I hope to hear from everyone when I get home on the 8th! Jay and I both concluded today that we are ready to come home and re adjust to the way things used to be about some 4 and a half months ago but for now I've got to go catch a bus!

Bula,
Grant