We went to Fiji to snorkel and to see the sights.

We stayed for a few days at a hotel just on the edge of the beach.

There was a short hike to the bright blue sea over a grassy turf. We were then able to then walk into the warm blue ocean. The beach was very flat and the depth of the water changed little as we walked into it. The floor of the ocean was rocky and uneven, so bring some water shoes if you intend to snorkel.

After a hundred yards or so, we finally reached an area where the sea was deep enough to swim. The horizon was endless as it met the sky. The palm trees along the beach reminded us of a post card like photo that someone might have taken here.

The history of the South Sea Islanders is an interesting one and worth reading about. They had great skills of navigation and understanding ocean currents. They were beyond brave in their adventures out into the unknown as they traveled and populated the islands of the Pacific.

Our room had a large skylight in the ceiling, or should I say the ceiling was a large skylight.

In the middle of the night, flashes of lightening woke us. They lit up the room and quickly took us out of our deep sleep and left us startled as if someone had come into the room and was flipping the light switch, on and off. There was hardly any thunder. Then the rain started.

I have never seen or heard it rain so hard in all of my life. Eventually we fell back to sleep and in the morning it seemed as if it had all been a dream. The sky was clear and the only sign of rain were the wet streets. It was like this most every night.

We went to lunch one day and ended up talking at some length to our waiter.  He was a very interesting young fellow. He was very pleasant and we asked him about taking some tours in the town. After some talking back and forth, he agreed to be our tour guide. His work at the restaurant was a little on the slow side, so he took some time off and became our guide for the day.

I was still working, so this was a short trip of one week and I didn’t take as many notes as I do now.  That may be a good thing.

When you’re self employed and go on vacation, you lose the income from work, you have to pay for the trip and we  paid our employees who sat idle. It can be difficult to to arrange all of this without good planning. My lovely wife takes care of all that, of course. 

Jonathan, or new friend and guide  took us down to the market, where everyone knew him. Then to the museum where he gave us a fine tour. We then walked down to the nearby sea to where there was an old deserted, English Hotel. Part of it had been damaged by a fire.

He was a very nice fellow and very knowledgeable. Perhaps because the community is so small there, everyone knows everybody else, or so it seems. In the Polynesian culture a boy with feminine qualities is a gift.

There are some interesting social and political things going on there, but I will let you find out about that yourself, if you are interested. I don’t need to share my opinion here. It is worth exactly what you have paid for it.

This is not a place to come if you are restless and in need of being entertained with nightlife and saloons. I suppose that can be found here if you looked, but it is a quiet place and the pace of live is slow here. The people are friendly and helpful when needed. That’s why we loved it so much.

It’s a place to come and relax and unwind.