Paul reassures me that the newly freed crabs are indeed alive and that no, I did not lead them to a certain death. I can't seem to get the thought out of my head. It takes me a good 20 minutes to become convinced that they are bustling along the beach somewhere in their shelled glory. I manage to relax enough fall back asleep and wake up a few hours later, dreaming of their cute little faces and what shell they'll pick next.
Front table overlooking the beach again for breakfast – score! We look out on our amazing view, the water three shades of blue, the fine white sand and the tall coconut trees as the locals call them, framing a slightly overcast sky. While most would consider this less than ideal weather, I could not be more relieved. The first two days were same as today, but yesterday the sky was the stage and the sun was (literally) the star. At first I was delighted by the clear, bright skies, as it added to the beauty of this picturesque island. Then the reality set in that neither Paul nor I have the complexion to handle the tropical rays. After all, I got sunburn sitting in the shade. When we return home the next week, Paul’ s coworker reminds me that I have just spent a week in Fiji and wants to know where my “tan” is. I use this moment to kindly explain to him that anything slightly darker than a piece of white copy paper is a success in my book.
Paul and I skipping down the beach like....
Paul opts for the omelet based on my recommendation. He is not disappointed. We begin to wonder what the cooking method is for this egg, bacon and tomato soufflé. It is so fluffy and delicious! I interrupt our thought as I recall that I’ve made breakfast for us three times in the last six months, so yeah, doesn’t really matter how they do it unless we take the chef home with us. We finish up and head back to the room to get ready for our visit to the Naceva village, located on an adjacent island 15-minutes by boat away. By get ready I mean take Dramamine in preparation for would could be an unsteady ride in. We get the call and head down to the jetty and meet Misi, our captain and tour guide for the visit. Paul, Misi and I hop aboard a small boat and the ride is as smooth as my left leg*.
*My left leg is smoother than my right, as I used an epilator on that one and not the other. It was initially an experiment and my right leg was the control. My study concluded that, yes it does work! However, I bitched out trying to do the right leg because, ouch, that shit hurt. Next stop, laser hair removal.
We arrive at the “dock”, a few rocks that mimick stairs. There are hard shell crabs running amuck and these “stairs” are quite slippery. We climb up and over and lay eyes on a tiny, quaint village. The tide is low and the kindergarten class is testing out the boats they’ve made from coconuts. A young girl in bright yellow shirt runs over with a “bula” and shows me here creation, clearly proud of her work. Children here are taught English in school so the older kids are more fluent, while the younger ones cannot as easily communicate with us via words, but their facial expressions say it all. A few more kids come running over along with the my bright ray of sunshine’s mom who takes a picture of us together.
The kids head back to their classroom and we make our way through the village, stopping to say hello to all that we pass. Misi tells us that not all of the structures have electricity and when we spot a satellite dish, he tells us that there are a handful of people on the island who have televisions. He takes full advantage of the dish to watch rugby games on. We also spot the island “wildlife” a few chickens and dogs running about. Our first stop is the school. We meet with headmaster who takes about 25 mins to explain the history of not only the school but also himself. He talks of how great of an emphasis that they put on singing, dancing and other arts within the school to promote the children’s self-esteem. He talks of encouraging them to go to the main island and not come back in order to live a “better” life. His passion for his life’s work shines through as he tells us of his sacrifice of living away from his family during the week in order to run the school. It’s clear all of these kids are lucky to have him here.
Next, we are led to two chairs where about 40 kids are patiently waiting to put on a performance for Paul and I. The next 20 minutes are nothing short of magical! They take turns singing and dancing, including renditions of “You are My Sunshine” and “Old McDonald had a Farm.” You can tell they enjoy performing and we are told how much they look forward to the two days a week when tourists come by. They invite us to dance with them and before we know it Paul and I are surrounded! We tour their classrooms and then meet back up with Misi for the next stop on the tour, the peak hike.
The itinerary said it was only a 30-minute hike so we pretty sure it was going to be easy peasey, lemon squeezey! Not quite. Straight up the mountain we go! This is a full on workout. I lead, trying to guess which way is next, taking direction from our trusty guide as needed. As we make our way to the top, we feel a few raindrops release from the clouds above. Talk about great timing. The small shower cools us down as we look over the other side of the peak, exposing the second village on the island. Yet another enchanting view.
As we make our way down, our guide points out the kava plant and Paul tries not to slide down the hillside wearing his ill equipped flip flops. I told him to pack sneakers but he insisted on trying to pack light. After descending, we head to the church, which Misi tells us is filled with worshippers for a sermon delivered in Fijian on Sunday mornings. He also points out the locals building a break wall along the shore to prevent flooding. After a quick stop to the souvenir shop filled with handmade goods, we wait while our guide grabs the boat which is anchored offshore. As he makes his way closer to us, he advises us that the tide is too low for pick up and that we must swim out to it. Out we go and head to the resort, ecstatic that we were able to experience some more of the local culture.
Meanwhile back at the resort, we rush to lunch and reflect on the amazing day we’ve had so far - and It’s only 1:15pm! We can’t keep the smiles off of our faces as we recap the heartfelt performances by the kids. Paul heads out with Jale (pronounced Charlie) for another dive. A couple that Paul met on the shark dive told him that they had been to some pretty amazing diving all over the world, but Fiji had simply been the best. Thus his need to go out and explore. Once back in the room, I feel so relaxed! I nap, I read and think about how lucky I am to be exactly where I am that moment. I also take this moment to recognize that Paul would love us to be the traveling couple, diving the depths of every ocean together, so I make a vow to do what it takes to get comfortable in the water and give it another go once I feel ready. Please note that you can now probably find me in the shallow end of the pool at the YMCA with the two year olds peeing in the water, learning how to kick and “dig” into the water on my kickboard. I’ll be the one with the swimcap, noseplug and about 25 years older than the rest of the class.
Once Paul arrives back, he shows me countless videos of his diving extravaganza, most notably was a color changing octopus and spear gun that he found on the ocean floor. I take a moment to share my plans with him of this underwater victory and proceed to pop some champagne in premature celebration.
As the sun sets, I take a moment to let Paul know how I lucky and appreciative to have someone by my side who not only pushes me to be a better person everyday, but also takes the time to understand and appreciate me in all of my weird, anxious glory. There’s no one else in this world who would wake up out of a deep sleep to kindly reassure me that the yes, a hermit crab’s instincts will take over and that no, they weren’t swept out to sea. Paul – thank you for being you and allowing me to be me. <3 With everything that has led up to this trip, it is wonderful to be in the moment and appreciate all that we have accomplished so far and all we still have to achieve. Cheers to this crazy ride of life that we get to be on together.
We head down to the restaurant for a “late” dinner at 830pm and easily have one of the best meals of our lives. The coconut tiger prawn starter is to die for and the when we let Josh know to send compliments to the chef, he brings out more! The beef is cooked to perfection and by the time the white chocolate mojito cheesecake is served for desert, I can hardly move! I scoff down a bite and then one more for good measure, and waddle over like the slow moving beast I am at this point to the kava ceremony circle.
The staff are playing their instruments and indulging in the minty, muddy treat that Misi brought back with him from the village this afternoon. We accept their offer and Paul yells “Tsunami!”, resulting in a full bowl for him.
Two bowls of kava later and we are speaking to the only other guest left, a travel agent from Barcelona staying there for research for the night. We hint to the idea of us living in Europe someday and he lets us know he will hook it up if we ever decide to move to Spain. We speak of our visit to the village and how amazing it is to see music and singing so ingrained their culture. These men and women sitting before us are merely older versions of the children who we saw earlier, singing, dancing and enjoying life. These lively, optimistic attitudes are so fixed in their culture and attached to them throughout their life . I think we could all learn a thing or two! I came home wanting to dance more and stress less.