Aaron's Fijian Birthday!! Finally...no more cradle robbing for me! Day 2 in Fiji was spectacular. You can just know that everyday we woke up and the birds were chirping, sun shining, ocean lapping, puffy clouds, happy people singing buuuulaaah, fun activities...I mean EVERY day. It truly was paradise for us.
We woke up to a fine breakfast. Every meal at Koro Sun started with tropical fruit. We ate our weight in fresh picked pineapple, papaya, and watermelon. YUMMY! Then we'd have eggs or french toast, tea, and juice. It's easy to get use to that. Now I'm home, "what do you mean cereal?".
Today we went on a Town Tour. Town is SavuSavu located about 15 mins from Koro Sun. It has a population of about 5,000 people. About half are Fijian and an Indo-Fijian. A fact we didn't know was that the Indians were indentured in Fiji about 150 years ago and most remain. The work seems to be split with services like taxi driving and accountant being done by Indos and tourism and farming by the Fijians.
Back to SavuSavu, Aaron said it reminded him of towns in Mexico. It was a short, very walkable, strip of shops and governments offices. Everything is brightly colored. We went into the market where they sell fruits, veggies, and kava. We went to little stands with a few handmade good. The Fijians didn't have a lot in the way of local crafts. A few things made with palm frowns and a few other wacky-tackies, but really much more than that. Still, we liked saying hi to folks and taking it all in. All the people were really nice.
LOVE/MEKE NIGHT - Put on your dancing shoes!
That evening Koro Sun was having a "lovo". A lovo is like a luau. Fish, pork and chicken (I think) were all packaged in palms and then cooked in an earth oven. The great thing about where we stayed was that there was no pretense. You just walk out to the earth oven and talk to the guys stoking the fire. There's no "please stand behind the line" sort of stuff. It's served buffet style with local greens, a fish soup that was really good, and there was breadfruit. I know when I was in the Marshalls everyone gets really excited about breadfruit. I just don't get it. It's just plain startchiness. ??? Doesn't matter, we had some.
Along with the lovo they had a meke (pronounced: "me-kay"). It's a traditional song and dance. The cool thing about Koro Sun is that it's not staged in anyway. It's not a "performance" per se. Some local villagers come in and just sing and do some traditional dances. Shelly said that they normally pick up the villagers but this week they wanted to get themselves to the performance so she was feeling a little nervous when they were a bit late. I can understand, but I found that to be authentic. Island time.
They obviously are rehearsed and know what they're doing but it's not polished like a Broadway performance. It wasn't cheezy in anyway. It's just real. Right there in the dining room with the tables pulled to the side of the room they did some soulful and impressive song and dance. The villagers were all ages including the cutest little kids every! There were young and old alike. We were mesmerized.
One little boy was tiny - four or five was a TOTAL HAM! He is quite the dancer! He got in the front of the crowd and did a solo dance totally hamming it up. We all cheered. He looked back at the choir and told them to sing and clap again. They did. He danced. We cheered. He turned around and told them to sing again.... this went on a for a while until someone told him his time was done. We loved him!
There was another little toddler who is probably too little to sing and dance but he was squeezed in between the adults. Just adorable.
There was a song where they invited guests out to dance. I was happy to join in. Aaron was happy to sit and watch the spectacle. I figure I might not ever walk that way again so might as well dance if someone gives me the chance! It was SUPER fun.
Then they all shook our hands. They said Buuulaaah and we said "venaka" (thank you).
Then the Koro Sun crew pulled the tables back, out came the lovo banquet and it was dinner time. Aaron and I sat with another newly wed couple. We had a great dinner and then at the end two waiters I think it was Shirley (a guy) and Hiram (the bartender) came out with guitars and a happy birthday cake for my Honey!!! It was fantastic. They sang the traditional Happy Birthday song but with the Fijian lyrics "Happy Long Life to you ....Happy Long Life to you..." They are my new favorite lyrics! Aaron seemed to be surprised. And can I just say: delicious chocolate cake. They use real butter. :)
Again, another fabulous day in the booked. We crawled into bed for another 10-12 hours of blissful slumber.
Fiji rocks!
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