around the world in 180 days

            These travel days are rough. I mean, sure, we don’t have to work and we don’t have them every day, but travel days always start at an ungodly hour and involve trying tto get around in an unfamiliar place, a task that isn’t a cakewalk even when you’re not exhausted.

            We got on the plane in LA last night at 7 pm Fiji time or 11 pm LA time. Anna and I had a row to ourselves, the middle four seats in a 747, and so we actually managed to get some sleep. Still, the airline started breakfast service around 2:30 am Fiji time, and we’ve both been up since then.

            We didn’t know where we were going when we got here, despite picking up a copy of the lonely planet guide for Fiji. We had an idea though, and when we’d cleared customs we were ushered into the office of a travel agent who took those ideas and shipped us off to Mana, a small island not far from the main island.

            It’s the first day and we’re wiped out, so I guess the jury is still out on Fiji. It seems like a nice place and the people seem friendly, but I feel like we’re paying a fortune for a crappy room, decent food and a great beach. Whatever, I guess. We’re here until next Saturday and then it’s on to NZ. There are plenty of worse things to do than sit on a beach and  get a little bit fatter.

            We drank some Kava today. Kava is a traditional Fijian drink made from the root of some plant that only grows here. It takes six years, but then the dig up the root, grind into a consistency like fine sand. This “sand” is mixed with water and viola! Kava. It’s supposed to be a mild narcotic, but I quite honestly am just feeling exhausted.

Goodnight!

            Our last day in San Lucas has ended. We both wish we’d planned to stay here longer. We’re just starting to get our head around Spanish, just starting to get to know the town, just starting to get to know the people and we’re leaving. Oh well. There were reasons why we didn’t plan longer here, and those reasons are still valid. New Zealand awaits.

            Anna and I went up to the clinica today on the suggestion of two of the longer term volunteers at the mission. They said that Anna might have amoebas and that she should go up there and get tested for free. The price was right, so we went and found out that Anna did have amoebas (which won’t go away on their own) and also a bacterial infection (which the Cipro would have taken care of). The two volunteers, Josiah and Kathryn, also recommended a specific ameoba medicine, which we spent half the afternoon tracking down. Anna seems to be mostly back to normal at this point, not in much pain and using the bathroom at a normal frequency. Thank goodness this seems to have passed quickly. I hope that holds true.

            As for the rest of the day, we mostly hung out at Bartola’s again, playing with the kids and starting our goodbyes. Bartola’s husband and the kids’ father ran off to the US and lives in LA now (I think I mighta mentined that before) and when we told the family we were flying to LA next, the look in their eyes was heartbreaking. We should have thought more about it ahead of time and said we were going to Santa Monica or Beverly Hills or something like that, but we didn’t. It’s hard to grow up without a father (so I hear, anyway), no matter where you live. On one hand, I hope tha someday he comes back, but on the other hand, he’s abandoned them for this long. Coming back might only allow him to break their hearts again.

            And so tomorrow we begin another leg of our journey, first to Antigua. then to LA, then to Fiji. This leg will also begin in the middle of the night, as we leave Antigua at 4 am. So it goes.

Anyway, enough for now. I’ve a fair trade coffee rant that I feel brewing (i’m sorry), so stay tuned.

Goodnight!!

Yeah, so we didn´t climb the volcano today, even though we both wanted to. Anna is sick. She was up all night going to the bathroom and, even though she felt fine otherwise, we decided that it´d be pretty stupid ... [Continue reading this entry]