The Place Where People Say Bula!
Have you ever sat on an airplane and been the only person not watching the in-flight movie? You’re enjoying your book or just gazing out the window when, all of a sudden, the cabin erupts with laughter and you almost jump out of your seat. You look around and smile sheepishly and pretend you got the joke. It’s even worse when you’re the only one watching the movie and you laugh out loud and everyone looks at you like you’re insane. The harder you try to keep it inside, the harder it is not to laugh. It’s like when we were kids and our parents would tell us to stop laughing. My cousin, Kelly, and I used to say we’d been drinking giggle juice and couldn’t stop or our heads would explode.
So there we were on the 1:30AM red-eye from Honolulu to Fiji. I had drawn the short straw and was settling the kids down to sleep, which meant sitting in the middle with one head in my lap and the other kind of stuffed into my armpit for three and a half hours. Realizing that sleep would be impossible in this position, I decided to watch a bit of the in-flight movie, RV. Just as I was fumbling, trying to get the headset (pronounced “hidsit” in this part of the world) onto my ears without disturbing my slumbering angels, I heard a strange choking sound coming from across the aisle. I looked across and saw Claude turning red and shaking uncontrollably in his seat with tears streaming down his face. Just before my first aid instinct took over, I realized that he wasn’t choking, he was actually in paroxysms of laughter.
“Are you watching this?” he gasped between snorts, “’Cause it’s us!”
I’m not sure if it was the fatigue, Robin Williams’ comic genius (it’s not his best work) or just the nail hitting the hammer on the head, but we both sat on that plane and giggled like fools while the rest of the passengers gave us disapproving glances. Between the dishes flying out of the cupboards, the exploding septic and the skunk in the oven, we were done for. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been funny under any other circumstances, but, in our case, it was comedy at its best.
So anyway, we finally landed in Fiji bleary-eyed and hungry at 6AM. Somehow, we managed to find a driver, get some Fijian money and some groceries and make it to our bure (Fijian for hut) at Tubakula Beach Bungalows on the Coral Coast without incident. Along the way, we stopped to buy some fresh local fruit from roadside vendors and our driver made sure we didn’t get taken. It was raining when we checked in and we were happy to spend the day napping to recover from our overnight journey. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t want to stop and the foul weather continued off and on for most the week. The sun managed to peek through the clouds for a few hours each day, but we never really got to see Fiji at its best.
Despite the weather, we did manage to enjoy ourselves in Fiji. We had a cute little poolside A-frame cottage
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and the Tubakula (pronounced “toombakoola”) staff bent over backwards for us. There was even a local spiritual massage therapist who came each day to give massages to the guests ($15/30 minutes) while he prayed over them. The beach was very beautiful and we did get to see one spectacular sunset.
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We also visited the local market in Sigatoka, a typical little Fijian town. It was here that I finally came to the conclusion that we weren’t in North America anymore. All the signs are wooden and hand painted (often misspelled) and poverty was evident everywhere you looked. As usual, I had to find the local pharmacy and take a picture.
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Alexa remarked that everything was dirty and it was a real wake-up call when we had to use a public restroom for the first time. It was fun to shop the market, though, and there were lots of deals to be made. Claude took Simon and the two of them managed to get decent $5 haircuts at the local barbershop.
Midweek, we went on a fun day cruise with Capt Cook’s Cruises on a tall ship called the Ra Marama (say that 5 times fast) to uninhabited Tivua Island.
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The crew sang to us as we boarded and all the way back from the island. They caught fish on the way out to the island and cooked them for lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Simon.
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We also took the kids horseback riding on the beach (first time on a horse) and they were thrilled when they got to ride on their own. I don’t think the horses were capable of running but we won’t tell the kids.
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For Simon’s birthday, Claude made an elaborate treasure hunt, complete with treasure map and presents buried under an X on the beach. The kids were so excited and raced from clue to clue like their lives depended on it.
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Simon’s favourite gift was a shark tooth necklace ($5 at the Sigatoka market) that he has yet to take off.
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Alexa’s big treat of the week was to get her hair braided and she sat patiently for over two hours to get it done. I got so bored waiting for her that I ended up getting a few cornrows myself – it felt like they were being sewn onto my head! I wasn’t too sure if I liked mine, but Alexa’s looked adorable and it was great to not have to worry about hair for the next few weeks.
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We ended our week in Fiji with a visit to a local Fijian village where we participated in a kava ceremony and got to meet some of the local people and their children.
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They were very curious and friendly and loved it when Claude showed them pictures of Canada on our laptop. It was rather sobering to see how the Fijians live, but I have never met happier or friendlier people. Everywhere we went, whether on foot or by car, people would wave and cry ”Bula!” like we were their best friends. Simon still refers to Fiji as “the place where people say Bula!”
To see more of our photos from Fiji, visit our web album.
Tags: Fiji, Kava, South Pacific, Travel
tambour
WOW … I have been reading your blog faithfully from day 1 and wait with baited breath for the next addition. Tales of Hawaii brought back wonderful memories for me from my visit there in 1990. SO so long ago now. Fiji sounds wonderful. It makes (made me?) sit back and realize that it is the most simple things in life that matter most. Happy to hear you are well on your way and enjoying yourselves. I know our friendship was mostly composed of waves en route and dropping of Miss E to babysit but we do miss you !! Do take care.
K8
hello. enjoying your blogs as usual! i saw the rv movie and i did think of you guys! tammy and alexa look great with their cornrows! i love it.