Here is the rewrite of what I wrote - We boarded the plane in LAX at 9:30pm knowing it would be a long haul, 11 hours before landing in Nandi, Fiji. At least it is over night and with the help of some pretty pink pills (AKA Gravol, yes it's legal), we were all going to sleep for as long as possible. The boys were pretty excited about getting to take a huge bus out to the tarmack to board our 'double decker' plane which they had never been on before. We certainly were not sitting upstairs but just seeing the stairs seemed to be cool, along with the plane having two aisles. To the back of the bus we went in our 4 seats across the middle and near the bathrooms. The plane was very full so moving to create more comfortable sleeping was not an option. Up, up and away we went on time and still so grateful.
Then it got better! We were served a lovely hot meal (and got a choice too) without paying for it. Don't remember the last time that happened. That also created time to watch a movie before the pills kicked in for some shut eye. We were to land in Nandi, Fiji at 5:30am on Saturday, having not ever existed on Friday, December 9th, 2011. That seems early enough for me, no need to get up earlier. Except Air Pacific had a very different plan. All the lights were turned on at 3am in order to start serving us a hot breakfast! I'm not so hungry at that time of day and just got to sleep 4 hours before! Anyway, it was a very good meal and the customs forms need to be filled out 4 times for each person so that took an extra 30 minutes as well. What to do at 4am when all the lights are on and we can't get back to sleep and have been traveling for 16 hours already? When we did land it was still dark but we got a great view of the plane we had been on. Huge!
You can imagine how much luggage fits in there, let me tell you. We got through the first part of security fairly quickly and then waited an hour for our luggage, which thankfully all arrived. Then waited in another line up with one security guard to hand in the rest of our customs forms and rescan our luggage before getting outside. Two hours in total from landing.
Stepping out into the heat and humidity was quite a shock but a pleasant one. Our transport was waiting and really friendly who took us to the marina by 8am for our boat that left at 9am. The pier is nicely done with shops that open at 8am so we waited by window shopping - they even have a Senior Frogs Restaurant here.
Just after 9am we boarded our dual outboard boat for another hour ride to Castaway Island Resort. We stepped off the boat on arrival to mid-calf deep, crystal clear water on white sand that must have been 90 degrees, like a bath! Our island bure is a cute little hut with a king bed, two singles and big bathroom. The pool here is at least 85 degrees and lots of depths so great for kids, along with a huge awning adding some shade for most of the day. There are a few restaurants and the meals today have been great. The staff are really friendly and the beaches are just like out of the pictures.
We went kayaking this morning only within 100m from shore to the shallow reef and without putting my head in the water there were fish of all shapes and colors, coral, deep indigo star fish and even a small reef shark at the water's edge. There is a larger reef about 20 minutes out but I am not sure why we would bother with all this right off shore. After lunch we did some snorkeling on the other side of the island and saw many more varieties of fish. The boys are getting really great and confident for longer times and ask to go even deeper now. That little shark kept coming to check us out within a few inches from shore. Not to worry, he's only about 3ft long and not a threat.
Despite the forecast for thunder showers and rain all week, it was warm and sunny today with the exception of 5 minutes of rain (highs of 28, feels like 35-40) and a great afternoon breeze. The dark thunder clouds were making noises for an hour way over toward the main island but never came near us.
Fiji is like Mexico so far but without the over commercialization and no one trying to sell me anything, anywhere. It is so quiet here. This resort is smaller but in general there are no mass condo/hotels. Very pleasant and unobtrusive. The official language here is English but most residents speak Fijian and Hindi. The two words you must know are "Bula!" which is hello, hi, how are you and "Vanaka" which is thank you. Most mass marketing and T-shirts say Bula Fiji or Bula Vanaka Fijia. Well, we have all been up for 17 hours with only 4-5 hours sleep before that and had a very full and fantastic first day with no melt downs or major accidents. Time for some sleep and on to day 2 :)
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