Bula from Waya Island Fiji!

Today is day 5 in Fiji and as you would expect, we are in absolute paradise.  After a couple of months of grey and cold in New York, we have certainly found some sunshine...some VERY strong sunshine!  Sunscreen is a ritual several times a day. 

Arrival

We arrived on Waya Island after a 2 1/2 hour catamaran trip through quite rough seas.  Dramamine was our very good friend!  Since the seas were a bit turbulent, we were dropped off on the opposite side of the island from the resort.  What we didn’t know was that we were in for a walk through a Fijian graveyard and a cow pasture, a hand over foot climb up volcanic rock, and quite a hike uphill through a meadow.  It was all very worth it when we were able to look down over the resort and its beaches from above. 

Beachfront Bure

See pictures below....words won’t do it justice.

What we’re up to...

Meeting and chatting with amazing Fijian people!  Resort staff at locations we’ve visited during past vacations are accustomed to not intruding on patrons privacy and keeping to themselves.  Not here!  The Fijian way of life is extremely welcoming and familial.  The employees and others from the local village came to dinner last night to meet and greet and perform a small concert and dance.  The resort guests are even invited to their local Methodist church for Sunday worship. 

The snorkeling is wonderful. Steps from the front door of our room is an amazing coral reef and thousands of fish, including a reef shark or two.  We had a blast taking an introductory scuba course.

Other than that, there is lots of staring off into the Sunset, some reading, a few Fijian beers, and three meals a day of interesting Fijian cuisine.  We've made some friends from Canada, Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand.

We are off to Sydney, Australia in the morning and as we are sad to leave paradise, we are excited to get back to "city life" for a little while.

Vinaka!

View down the beach from our front door.

View of our bure.

Looking outside our front door.

Another beautiful view from our front door.

View inside our bure.