Fiji Arrival and Day 1

The visa clock has expired again. This time we're off to Fiji for the first time.

The resort is a 40-minute ride from the airport. We arrive in darkness. It would be much better to come for your first time in the summer. On arrival one of the bellmen pounds sticks against a wooden fixture and everyone yells, "Bula" (hello in Fijian.)

This is a 'twilight holiday'. In the twilight of your life, you're allowed to splurge on occasion. An overwater bungalow or bura is a splurge. Less than five minutes in our "room" and CJ realizes he has not booked nearly enough nights.

We awake to paradise on earth. Wow! This view of the lagoon and resort from the veranda of our bura is magnificent. A resort facing bura is much better than an ocean facing bura since you can't see the ocean from the ocean facing one.

The bura has an interesting feature. On both sides, there is a window looking down on the water.

The veranda has stairs to the water.

The breakfast buffet is very typical for this part of the world. There is the usual omelet station and pastries. There is a pancake and French toast station with more fixings than normal.

The fruit station has exotic items such as papaya, kiwi, and passionfruit. In addition to orange, there are carrot, watermelon, pineapple, and some green juice. There is dim sum station. We feasted on the shumai selection every morning. CJ had tom yum soup most mornings and on a few mornings he enjoyed and Indian vegetable curry or a dahl.

The views of the lagoon and the general physical plan of the restaurant are marvelous. There are fish to watch in the waters below off the restaurant.

We order a buggy (six-person golf cart) to take us to the Fish Bar restaurant for lunch. It is located on a point with views of a large bay, the Pacific Ocean, and the barrier reef. There is an adult only infinity pool adjacent. The food is very good, the cocktails even better. The mango daiquiri off the charts delicious.

Here are random views from around the resort. The tide is rising. At its highest point the railing is underwater and there is only two inches of that vertical post showing.

We return to the Fish Bar for dinner. There is an entertaining piano player and fire lighting ceremony and a very good dinner menu. The mango daiquiris keep coming.

How do we know we're in paradise? The remainder of the day we do nothing but sit on our veranda and watch the world pass by, listen to the sounds of the lagoon, enjoy the many times the Fijians burst into song, and enjoy the tiny crabs on our water stairs and the fish swimming in the clear water.