Everything went just fine as we embarked on our 30+ hour trip to Fiji - the ultimate honeymoon, as it turned out! Aaron applied a motion sickness patch to the back of his ear, put on his bracelets and popped a few ginger tablets. Nothing has really cured his motion sickness before but we were willing to try a new so-called-remedy. I was skeptical that it would work but had my fingers crossed anyway.
Our flight was direct LAX to Nadi, Fiji and took about 10 1/2 hours. Nadi (pronounced 'non-di') is on the island of Viti Levu - 'the main island'. On our flight we were in the 2nd to last row of the plane in what is called "couples seats". *Awe, isn't that cute? Couples Seats.* We flew in a big jumbo jet that had a bajillion seats across at it's fattest part and was double decker, but as you get into the tail of the airplane there's less room for seats and so in the back they have two seats together (instead of 4 or more) with a little bit of leg room on the window side. Added bonus: close to the bathroom and the little place for standing. It might as well have been first class as far as we were concerned. *Couples Seats* our new favorite way to fly.
We landed in Nadi at 4:30 in the morning - two days later. That dateline is tricky! We made our way through customs but not before having to toss out our pizza from home and then found our way to domestic flights. Our travel agent had worked hard to get us a quick connection that morning which would have been perfect... except for the mechanical problems our airplane was having. We were told by the Fiji Air guy to just sit down and he'd tell us when a charter was ready for us. He tossed out some time... just a random time. I don't think he had any idea. We were tuckered out from already being in transit for something like 18 hours as we were repeatedly told he'd tell us when it was time. Four flights took off for our island. Every time we asked if we could go and the answer was the same, "just a few minutes". The waiting was long. Luckily the Nadi airport has super comfy long leather couches!! We laid around, napping, reading, staring into space. About four hours later the charter was here.
Turns out the charter was about a 6 passenger plane! Aaron had never been in such a small plane. It's the type of plane where they weigh the passengers to distribute the weight evenly. Aaron and I were both super excited to be in the little plane but secretly I was pretty worried that it would be the worst flight ever for someone prone to motion sickness. He pulled out a baggy - just to be safe. Our pilot looked to be hung-over and right out of bed. The excitement built!!! This IS an adventure! For kicks they put a 10-year old in the co-pilot seat. He was thrilled. All the adults (all four of us) thought it was cute.
We took off for a beautiful flight. It was originally supposed to be about 45 minutes but because we were riding in a model airplane it took about twice that. When we landed Aaron didn't look green or anything!! He took pictures while we were flying and didn't flinch at the bumpy flight. It was all good! Thank you Patch!
When we landed in Labasa on the island of Vanua Levu (the second biggest island), Solo, the activities director from our resort, was the only person at the airport. It was easy to pick us out of the crowd because we were the only white people. And when I say, "airport" I do use that work liberally. It was more of a shelter... although the landing strip was at least paved... not all of the ones we went to were! More on that later.
Solo packed us into a minivan with no headrests, gave us cold water and (get this!) Pringles (our biggest vice on Fiji) and took off for the two hour drive around the island to the resort. We sipped and munched and took in the landscape. The ride involved missing many man-sized potholes, people, and the occasional animal in the road. There's a lot to say about the driving but anyone who's been to a less developed country knows exactly what it was like. Harrowing. I glanced over as Aaron munched on his chips. Check. Patch still seemingly working. Whew.
Two hours later we backed into a VERY nice looking resort. We were greeted with a giant BULA! by an older Fijian women in a floral top and long skirt. Before we were out of the van they had placed COLD fruity juicy drinks in our hands and quickly ushered us into a little cabana room with ceiling fans where two employees took off our shoes and washed our feet in cool water and gave us coconut foot massages. OHMIGOD! How did they know we needed that???!!! I had died and gone to heaven right there. They blathered on about when to get meals and what to expect...more or less the ground rules at the resort... but my eyes had already rolled into the back of my head and I was in my own Happy Place. Yeah, yeah...I'll figure out how to get a meal when these nice people are done massaging my footies. I'm in heaven...I'm in heaven... laa lalla laa......
