Fiji - A Post of Photos!!

(We had not seen the Air New Zealand plan with Smaug on it and finally on
the way to Fiji we saw him rolling out and getting ready to fly!)

For the Fiji post we are just going to do lots of photos!

There was sun, relaxation, SCUBA diving, learning about the Fijian culture, delicious food, wonderful people, and plenty of time together.

Photos tell more anyway right?

(Our driver pulled over to get some straight up sugar cane for us to eat.  I failed at mine but Sarah excelled)

(The first place we stayed with a fantastic view.  We kept getting wonderful sunsets and spectacular weather)

(I told you.  We sat out a few times and just watched the sun go down)

(Sarah modeling off one of the paths at our place.  Very pretty place with a very pretty lady)

(We went to a coconut demonstration and it was super informative.  Here he is grating some coconut for us to try)

(He had chosen a few coconuts to show us the different maturity stages and when they should be eaten.  Some are better for drinking the juice and some are better for eating the coconut.  And some ready to fall from the tree so watch out!) 

(And then we got to sample the juice to make sure it was good.  So much fun and Sarah obviously love it)

(They brought out this young man to demonstrate how climbing the tree works.  It can be a dangerous activity resulting in various injuries at times.  But his guy made it look easy) 

(Shimmy shimmy shimmy - he was up fast and agile)

(Success!!)

(Selfie as we watch the sunset)

(We passed right by the place where they get the FIJI water.  Up that road there is some sort of natural well of water we all enjoy because it gets shipped around the world)

(Ready for some dinner)

(Sometimes we just love to peer into the water at the wildlife - Sarah could sit there all day long)

(These guys were great and played every single meal.  They would break and call out "CAVA time!"  The bowl on the table was filled with Cava which is a Fijian drink made from a root.  It is historically really important and has been known to stop wars.  Before people fight they will sometimes first have cava together and during that time relax, as cava has relaxing agents in it, and then decide fighting was a silly idea.  We drank it as a way to connect with Fiji.  It was weird but when we learned more about where it came from it somehow tasted better)

(Sarah showing off one of a lei of flowers that were made for us by some local women.  We went on a tour to see a local town with some dancing, celebration, craft making, and singing)

(The dancing)

(Singing and Dancing) 

(With our leis we stopped to take a shot on the water. I think it was this island in the background they said was owned by a guy who only comes once every ten years or so.  Pretty crazy stuff)

(Sarah took this amazing shot of some local girls hanging out after school.  There is something about it to me that somehow seemed to capture the Fiji culture in a way)

(On our tour they took us past the grave of Udre Udre who was apparently the last cannibal Fijian chief.  As the story goes we were told, all of the Fijian chiefs were proselytized as Christians except for Udre Udre who refused and continued to eat his enemies.  The number of rocks around his tombstone are supposed to represent the 200+ people he ate during his lifetime.  It was kind of creepy feeling as though we were somehow stopping to pay our respects to this guy.  I just chalked it up to a history stop instead of a paying of respects sort of deal.  Tough guy apparently)

(Trying to capture real Fiji)

(Sugar cane is the main export.  It was pretty amazing how much sugar cane they can get on each truck)

(Another look at the trucks)

(Sarah having Cava Time)

(Cava Time!!  And here you can see the remaining cava in the bowl)

(Just a little nod to the tastes of Fiji)

(Dance night the last night we were there!)

(The males were more military in their dancing - pretty amazing)

(The first place we went to was on the mainland.  The second was on an island called Beachcomber - here it is as we approached it the first time) 

(The view from our room and the hammock we kept trying to monopolize.  It was a hot commodity)

(More dancing!!)

(This time there was a fire involved!!)

(There were some sea turtles at this place we could go and visit.  We were a little concerned with the setup and wondering how it all works out for the turtles, but we were selfishly not worried enough not to take advantage of their situation.  It was really cool to hold them and touch them)

(And finally we leave Fiji behind on the way to the airport.  What a great trip!  Such a beautiful place with some of the prettiest water we have ever seen)