We Love Fiji

We love Fiji.  Indeed, we are staying at the Lomani Island Resort and “lomani” in Fijian means “love.”  All of the staff here are friendly and caring.  They know everyone’s first name and always want to help.  A smiling “Bula” comes from (and is extended by us to) every staffer here, from the manager to the grass-cutter.  This is even more amazing considering that there is no tipping in this culture.  You can make a donation to the staff “Christmas fund” upon leaving, but nothing is expected.  It is sad that we have to leave tomorrow on the 12:15 boat to catch a plane to Aukland, New Zealand.  We thought we would be bored after a few days and ready to leave, but the slow pace here is extremely relaxing and we could do with a few more days.  Besides, the internet happens to be very fast and I can keep up with what is going on in the office (to Irith’s dismay).

I went snorkeling yesterday afternoon and again today.  The boat (a dinghy with a good motor) takes us out to the reef and we snorkel around for about an hour and then come back.  Today we went to the back edge of the reef where it drops into the deepness.  When I first got in, I saw a white reef shark.  When I got back in again, he was gone.  You wouldn’t believe how fast I was able to move.  Anyway, there were every color and type of tropical fish.  I saw a clownfish that looked just like Nemo (except both fins seemed fine).  Some were small and swam in schools of hundreds, and some were larger and multicolored.

My digital camera doesn’t work underwater.  I found an underwater camera of Jonathan’s before we left and I brought it for just this occasion.  It s ancient, from another era, and – how many of you are old enough to remember this – actually used something we used to call “film.”  There was film loaded in the camera, but it must have been 15 years old.  When we got here, I remembered that I should replace that film, so I went to the little stores on the adjacent Plantation resort.  None of them stocked film except for one.  So I bought a roll of good 400 ASA film and opened the camera to change the film.  Is anybody here old enough to remember something called a “film cartridge”?  Yes, the camera required a cartridge, not a roll of film.  None of the stores on this little island had anything so retro.  So I put the old film back in and gave it a try (even though I exposed at least the first picture by opening the camera – and probably the next two as well.  I’ll have them developed when I get home and see if anything appears.

The restaurant here serves at little tables spread about their outdoor patio deck.  Tonga torches are lit and candles on each table for two and strings of light adorning the trees.  There are also three table spread out along the beach for a romantic dinner if you reserve them in advance.  We booked one of the tables tonight for a sunset romantic dinner on our last night in Fiji.  The picture below was taken last night from our table on the patio, across the lawn to the table on the beach with a pair of newlyweds, as a sailboat passed by.  They loved the picture and I emailed it to them.

Roger

Our Gourmet Restaurant

Romantic Dinner on the Beach