Vagabonding Field Report: Fiji

Cost/day: $30
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
I guess I could say that the wild plants and animals are “strange,” but a better word might be interesting, or beautiful. A friend showed us some plants that recoil if you touch them (“sensitive plants”), and from what it looks like you could drop a seed just about anywhere in Fiji and it will grow and thrive. Just about everything you could need grows there, even a plant that you can squeeze and get “shampoo” out of.
Describe a typical day:
We moved around a lot in Fiji. Buses, ferries, some light hiking. Some afternoons involved a hammock and a book. We drank Kava with the locals, swam in lagoons, took photos of the beautiful flora and fauna, and tried to fight nausea on the buses around the island.
Describe an interesting conversation you had with a local:
Just about everyone in Fiji was friendly. People would come up to us and ask where we were from and what we were doing there, and insisted that if we came back we could stay with them. On our first day we met Junior and some of his friends, who invited us to hang out and gave us fresh coconut milk, fish we watched him clean and cook, and they taught us the Kava song. Junior told us that he loved living simply and meeting people from around the world, and that one day wants to be involved in the Workaway program so that people can stay with him and learn about Fijian life.
What do you like about where you are? Dislike?
I love the laid back pace of Fiji. To say that people are friendly would be an understatement. People smile and say “bula!” when they pass each other. I like that the food is fresh and tropical. I love the lack of stress and worries. I disliked getting motion-sick on the long bus rides.
Describe a challenge you faced:
My friend and I that were traveling didn’t plan much out, but one night we knew we were staying at Bobo’s Farm on Ovalau. We had to figure out the bus and ferry schedule, which were a little lax at times. Then once we got to Ovalau, we had no idea how we would find Bobo or his farm. When our bus and ferry landed at Ovalau, it appeared that some people would stay on the bus and keep going into the city, and some would get off then. We had no idea what we should do, so we tried to ask a worker if he knew where Bobo’s Farm was. He shrugged and unloaded our bags. Then he suddenly had a flash of recognition, and said “oh, Bobo there,” and there was Bobo, waiting in his truck to pick us up down the road. No idea how he even knew we would be on that ferry, and at the time we thought it was hilarious!
What new lesson did you learn?
This was the very first stop on our round the world trip, so the big lesson we learned from Fiji was that selling everything and traveling for a year was the best decision we’d ever made!
Where next?
Next I’m headed back to Europe for a few months, but after posting this I kind of want to be in Fiji again…more travels here!

Posted by | Comments (1)  | September 18, 2013
Category: Vagabonding Field Reports


One Response to “Vagabonding Field Report: Fiji”

  1. nicole hoffman Says:

    awww … now i wanna go back too! i wanna sit with junior and those guys, drink kava, and talk about life!