From Nantucket to Levuka

Fiji . the Ocean

Have you ever dreamed of beautiful sand beaches and palm fringes like the ones above? Well we did… so in the Summer of 2003 we decided to go to the opposite side of the planet to see all this beauty with our eyes. No organized tours, as usual, they only serve to be packed with people you don’t choose as your travel companions, have schedules (come on, i’ve had enough at work!) and sometimes even pay more for less.

Anyway, we jumped on a 24 hours flight from Turin to Paris, Los Angeles and finally Nadi, the Fiji Capital. In the meantime we lost a day in the clouds (having departed august the 23 and arrived the 25, i happen to have lost my birthday in the middle of the Pacific, that’s because the International Date Line passes right through Fiji).

We can resume all of our Fiji experiences in one sentence that an old man from Aussieland who had lived in Fiji for 30 years has told me while we were cruising from one island to another. Having asked him how he perceived the laid back atmosphere that reigns in Fiji, and the reason for the ever smiling attitudes of its inhabitants, he looked at me and said: “You know, this is just happy people…”

And it’s easy to know why: 20 degrees at night and 30 at daytime throughout all the year, 12 hours daytime and 12 nighttime, white sands beaches with fruits and vegs everywhere, plenty of fish in the sea… etc.

In fact it’s not always like this, there are contrast between the two principal ethnic group , the Natives and the Indians (which where brought here from India during the English colonial period), some of the islands are out of electricity (is it really a problem?) but if you meet a Fijan he would probably turn to you smiling saying “Bula!” (which means at the same time : Hello, Welcome, Goodbye, Cheers, Thank you)

We definitely are thinking that this could be one of the places we would like to stay when we get old…

See for yourself our:

Map and itinerary

Pictures of Fiji