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Fiji Vacation

Sandy and I like beach vacations. We've been to many tropical places all over the world, from the Carribean to Hawaii to Southeast Asia, but my favorite is definitely the South Pacific. We have been to the Cook Islands once and to French Polynesia several times. Nothing matches the natural beauty of the lush green mountains, beautiful beaches and crystal clear water combined with the unique cultures of the island peoples. An overwater bungalow or a beachfront bure on an island in the South Pacific is my idea of a tropical paradise.

Tourism is the largest industry on Fiji, but because of covid it closed its borders for almost two years. It finally reopened in December of 2021. They offered some good deals on trips to encourage travelers to return. It caught our attention and we booked a trip for this March. We had looked at Fiji in previous years but it was farther to go and more expensive than French Polynesia, so we had never been there.

Sort of. Technically, I was there in 1981. On one of my first ever international trips, I spent a few weeks in New Zealand. The flights between New Zealand and the US stopped to refuel on the way, either in Fiji or Tahiti or Hawaii. Taking advantage of this, I had planned to stay in Fiji for a few days on my way home. Unfortunately Fiji was hit by a cyclone the week before which caused major damage to the hotels there. So when the plane landed to refuel, they didn't even let us off. They counted how many open seats there were on the plane and put a stranded tourist in every one to ship home. I don't think spending an hour in an airplane sitting on the runway in Nadi counts as visiting Fiji.

Although we were glad to be traveling again, covid does create a lot of complications for international travel. Just like for our Bonaire trip in December, I had to spend a lot of time before our trip figuring out the testing requirements for Fiji and how we would satisfy them. Fiji required travelers to have PCR tests within 48 hours of departure. Since the turnaround time for PCR tests is usually at least 72 hours, finding a solution wasn't easy. At first I booked tests at a special clinic located within LAX that catered to international travelers and provided very fast results. It was expensive but at least it would work. We had plenty of time because we had a long layover in LA on our way to Fiji - over twelve hours. Of course the risk was that a positive result would strand us in Los Angeles. Then I found a lab that offered expedited tests in Boise that we could get the day before we left. We switched to that option and it worked well. We took the tests and our negative results came back before we left home. The downside was that they were expensive. The tests cost $300 for each of us. Whoa!

Travel to Fiji isn't exactly convenient either. It's a long way from home. Our flight on Fiji Airways left from LAX. The only direct flight there from Boise is early in the morning. That meant that we arrived at 9:30 am. Unfortunately, the flight to Fiji left at 10:45 pm. That meant our layover was over thirteen hours. To make it worse, check in for our Fiji flight didn't open till four hours before departure time, so we couldn't go through security. There is not much in the international terminal in LAX before security. We actually checked to see if we could get a hotel room near the airport so we could at least spend the time somewhere we didn't need to wear a mask. We got on the shuttle and rode to the airport Hilton, but they didn't have any rooms. We ended up waiting for hours in the Bradley terminal. It was fairly crowded and not very comfortable. There was only one food place open, an Earl of Sandwhich shop, where we grabbed lunch. There was even some weird homeless guy wandering around the terminal all day. I'm not sure why. It didn't seem like an obvious place to hang out. As soon as the first person linee up for check in, we jumped up and were second in line.

After check in we headed through security. Then it was a LONG walk to our gate. They have built a whole new second terminal for international flights. It was quite a hike to get there but it was very nice and not very crowded. They even had a doggie restroom there. Talk about deluxe. At least waiting there till our flight left was comfortable.

The flight to Fiji was long, ten and a half hours, but uneventful. I think I managed to sleep for a half hour. When we arrived in Fiji it was 5:30 am. They announced that we had to wait before deplaning because another flight was currently in immigration. That didn't sound good. After that long on the plane we were anxious to get off and it sounded like the whole process would be very slow. But after ten minutes they announced that we could go. After that we were impressed. Immigration and customs was very fast and efficient. We were through in no time. We were met by a Fiji Holidays rep who took us to our driver and we were on our way, only half an hour after landing. The drive to the resort took an hour and a half, but it was interesting seeing the island along the way.

Fiji is an independent country that consists of 330 different islands of which 110 are inhabited. We were staying on the main island of Viti Levu, on the southern side known as the Coral Coast. Our resort was the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort. We were there by 7:30 am and got checked in quickly. Not surprisingly, our rooms weren't ready that early, so we left our bags and set out to explore the resort.

The grounds were quite extensive. There were four motel-style buildings, each four stories high with eleven rooms per floor (I counted). They were built into a hillside and set back about 250 yards from the water so they didn't really stand out the way high rise buildings along the beach usually do. The entrance on the landward side was on the top floor, and from the lobby we immediatly had an impressive view overlooking the resort with the ocean beyond. The resort grounds were very green because it rains a lot in Fiji. The buildings were traditional style bures with thatched roofs so they blended into the landscape. A stream wound through the grounds, artificial but still pretty, completing the appearance of a lush tropical garden. When we did get into our room later that morning, it was on the third floor and had a patio with a nice view looking out over the resort grounds to the ocean.

Fiji has some pretty strict rules to help contain covid. Even though all foreigners are tested just before they travel to Fiji, they are required to self-quarantine at their hotel for the first two days. Then they have to be tested again. If they pass, they are free to travel anywhere. So we were grounded for a couple of days, confined to the resort. That didn't matter. Just about anything we needed was available at the resort and there wasn't much nearby in walking distance anyway. We also didn't want to bother with renting a car. So even when we tested negative, we pretty much just stayed on the resort.

Because tourism is the largest industry in Fiji they were hit really hard when the country had to close for almost two years. It's understandable that they would put comprehensive rules in place to try to avoid another major outbreak. 85% of the population is fully vaccinated. Many businesses, from hotels to restaurants to shops to taxi cabs would have a "100% vaccinated" sticker to indicate that all employees were vaccinated. All employees wore masks. At the hotel, some meals were still buffet style, but there was no self service. There was always an employee there, wearing a mask and gloves, to serve you. There was even a "covid information desk" in the hotel lobby that was staffed every day. The person there helped arrange covid testing, which was good because we needed a test on our second day to meet Fiji requirements, and another test before we left to meet US reentry requirements. The tests were done right at the hotel. I have to admit that they were really organized and it was easy and convenient. As long as you tested negative, that is. There was always a moment of tension just before you got the result. Fortunately we were ok. But just in case, Fiji required that every traveler have insurance that would cover additional hotel costs if they did test positive. They had certainly thought things through.

There were four different restaurants at the resort, ranging from informal lunch by the pool to fancy dinners. Breakfast was in the largest restaurant, with an extensive buffet. There was cooked breakfast. Not my favorite but Sandy had an omelet a couple of days. They had lots of fresh fruit which is what I usually had. Fiji is a major papaya producer so the papaya was excellent. That made Sandy happy since it's her favorite fruit. There was also an extensive selection of pastries and other baked goods. There was always at least one fresh-made item, either waffles or fried doughnuts or my favorite, babakau. It's a fried bread and is unique to Fiji. I thought it was really good with honey. I don't care much for breakfast but Sandy's loves it. Since Fiji is several hours behind Boise (well, actually it's ahead because of the dateline, but it doesn't feel that way) we were always up very early and at the restaurant as soon as they opened for breakfast.

We usually had lunch by one of the swimming pools. The main pool had a restaurant but other than eating we didn't spend much time there. There were quite a few families with young children. The resort seemed to appeal to families by having a kids club and even offered private nannies. That meant the big pool had a lot of what we refer to as "screechers". But there was also a smaller adults only pool, complete with a swim up bar. We could order food there and it was brought right to us. So some days we went to the restaurant for luncht and some days we just stayed at the Big Person Pool.

There were several choices in the evening, including a dinner menu at the pool restaurant and a gourmet restaurant that was a bit too fancy for our tastes. Our favorite was the appropriately named Sunset Grill. It was right on the beach with a beautiful view of sunset over the ocean. The food was fantastic too. I rarely order steak when I am traveling internationally because in my experience, in most places the beef isn't as good as in the US. That wasn't true here. I tried the Tasmanian fillet and it was terrific. While I like steak I only eat it occasionally. Not on this trip. I had it four out of seven dinners. It was that good.

If by now you think that all we did on this vacation was eat, you would be pretty much right. Meals were included in our package. We received a set of vouchers that we could use in any of the restaurants, three vouchers for each of us for each of the seven days/nights we were staying at the resort. Since we arrived early on our first day and left late on the last day, we did some maneuvering and shared some dishes to stretch our vouchers for two extra meals. That wasn't too hard though since the vouchers were good for a main and an entree. Most days for lunch we ordered the fish and chips (which was also very good) with a fruit plate side. One person's order was plenty of food for both of us. That way we had some extra vouchers to use on the first day we arrived and our last day before leaving.

Besides food, drinks were included as well, at least house beer and wine. We were ok with that. The house wine was australian and pretty good. Beer was a local brew, either Fiji Gold (lager) or Fiji Bitter. One day while I was looking at Fiji beer tshirts, the clerk came up to me and asked if I had tried Fiji Gold. I told him that I prefer lager so yes, I had been drinking Fiji Gold. He leaned over and said quietly "You know, we always say that Fiji Gold is a girlie beer." Ouch! I put down the Fiji Gold tshirt and bought the Fiji Bitter tshirt. There. I showed him! After that I did try the Fiji Bitter and have to admit that it was pretty good too.

Since we were obviously indulging on this vacation, Sandy took advantage of the spa associated with the resort. One day she booked a massage and another day a pedicure. The spa was at the top of the hill, above the hotel. Sandy said that every room was open on one side, looking out to the ocean. I didn't go up there myself but her pictures looked impressive.

The first day Sandy was at the spa, I took advantage of the time to explore the beach. The resort had frontage on the ocean, although not a lot, just enough for the restaurant and seven bures. I would bet that you have to book quite a ways ahead of time to get one of those. About a quarter of a mile offshore was a barrier reef and there were waves breaking and crashing over it constantly. Inside the reef was a shallow lagoon. There was quite a bit of seaweed in the lagoon although it wasn't overgrown with it. I didn't see any coral. There was a sandy beach that was about fifty feet wide, more at low tide. It extended off in both directions out of sight. There was a stream that emptied into the ocean just east of the resort. Rather than wade through the outlet, I set off in the other direction.

In front of the resort the beach was clean and smooth. Later in the week I found out that in the morning they have a tractor pull a weighted board to smooth out the sand. Past the resort there was a lot of debris on the beach, most of which had washed up from the ocean: driftwood, shells, coral, seaweed. There were also some rocky stretches, including one where I had to follow a short trail away from the water to bypass the rocks. Away from the resort it was hard work walking on the beach, not just a pleasant stroll. What was amazing though was that no one was there. I walked about two thirds of a mile down the beach and only saw three or four people, all locals. It's not often that you have that long a stretch of beach on a tropical island all to yourself. For some reason though, almost no one at the resort spent any time on the beach. Everyone seemed to prefer to stay at one of the pools.

A short distance from the beach, a road came down and ran along the ocean just slightly above the beach. On the way back I opted to walk on the road and it was really nice. A few feet higher than the beach, it gave a nice view over the lagoon to the reef beyond and the surf breaking over it. And it was much easier walking. We ended up walking that road every single day of the trip. Finding that walk was a productive use of the time Sandy was at the spa.

The next day I used the time she was at the spa productively as well. I went to the laundramat that was on the resort. I just sang quietly to myself while I did our laundry.

Most days started with getting up early and taking a walk on the road along the ocean. By the time we were back the restaurant was open and we would go to breakfast. After that, we spent most of the day at the adult pool. There was a covered area with comfortable lounge chairs and that was usually where we hung out. We were out of the bright sun and even the rain when there was a rain shower, which does happen quite often in the tropics. There was a bar at the pool so we could get drinks, and even order lunch to be brought from the restaurant. While we were there we got in a lot of reading. I thought I did pretty well for a week-long trip by reading eight books. The long flights and layovers while traveling helped. Sandy did way better than me by reading eleven books.

We were anxious to take advantage of the swim up bar in the pool. Turns out we didn't get much chance. While there were a few Americans staying at the hotel, most of the guests were Australians. That is understandable since Fiji is a four hour flight from Sydney compared to over ten hours from Los Angeles. We found that we couldn't compete with the Australians. They would have their spots staked out before the bar even opened and wouldn't leave them until after we had left for dinner. Even when it rained they didn't give up their seats. One afternoon when there was a particularly hard rain shower, Sandy took a video of people sitting at the swim up bar. She posted it on Facebook with the heading "Crazy Australians!". The next day she got a nasty message from Facebook saying that her video had been taken down because of "hate speech". Gee, FB sure is sensitive. All of the Australians that I have known would have been proud to be called a Crazy Australian.

After hanging out at the pool in the afternoon we would head back to our room by five oclock. The maid service brought a free glass of champagne between five and six every day and we didn't want to miss that. After enjoying the champaigne on our patio, we would get cleaned up and head down for dinner. Sometimes after dinner we would sit out on our patio and look at the stars. We don't get to see the Southern Cross very often.

Except for our morning walks by the ocean, we stayed on the resort the whole time we were there except for one trip into the town of Sigatoka one morning. The hotel activities board advertised a "shopping excursion" which turned out to be a taxi ride into town, which was about five miles away. Sigatoka has a population over seventeen thousand and is the capital of the district. Amazingly, I read that the area was first settled in 1000 BCE. That makes the town a lot older than Boise!

Most of the resorts along the Coral Coast are self-contained so there wasn't much for visitors in Sigatoka. There were a couple of tourist shops: Jack's of Fiji, Tappoos and Proud's. The same three shops were in our hotel so we didn't gain that much by going to town, although the shops in town were larger. Sandy did find a fabric store and they had some amazing tropical prints. With the weather in Fiji, I doubt that quilts are a big thing. It seemed like the sewing was oriented around making your own clothes. But Sandy did buy some fabric and she is going to try to make a tropically themed quilt. I guess it will be a Bula quilt (see below).

We walked around town a little after shopping. Sigatoka is known as "Rugby Town". The national sport of Fiji is rugby. There were many championship teams from Sigatoka as well as many famous players. The sidewalks had stars to commemorate various teams and players, like the sidewalk stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Other than that, there wasn't much to see. We had two hours, but we were back at the pickup point in an hour and a half. Our taxi driver had just been waiting for us the whole time at a sidewalk cafe so he was happy to take us back to the hotel early.

No post about Fiji would be complete without talking about the people and their culture. I read many times that Fijians are the friendliest people on earth. I was sceptical, as I have been to many countries where the people are friendly. After spending a week in Fiji I was convinced. The traditional greeting is "Bula", a word which can mean just "hello" or it can mean "welcome". You hear it a LOT in Fiji. I consider myself a somewhat friendly person. When I pass people in the neighborhood while I am out walking the dog, I usually say hello. But having lived in the city all my life, there are lots of times you just pass by people without saying anything. There are just too many people. Not so in Fiji. Anytime, anywhere you pass someone, they greet you with a hearty "Bula!" The most extreme case happened one evening when I was hurrying to the restaurant for dinner. I had forgotten the vouchers and had to run back to get them while Sandy waited for me. I passed a group of young Fijians sitting beside the path. They were a choir, probably from the local high school, waiting to sing in the restaurant. There were probably thiryy of them sitting next to the path, and every single one of them greeted me with "Bula!" as I walked by. Try greeting thirty people individually in the space of fifty steps, especially when you are in a hurry.

We acculturated quickly though. By our second day we were saying bula to everyone that we passed. We got used to the word bula being everywhere as well. The stream running through the resort was referred to as the Bula River. A sign in the lobby referred to guests as "Bullanaires". The store had Bula Coffee. And the Fijian variation on the Aloha shirt from Hawaii is called a Bula Shirt. I liked the patterns and colors of the Bula shirts so I bought several, both in town and at the resort. I will be set for many tropical vacations in the future. And Sandy bought bula fabric when she was in town.

Besides being friendly, people in Fiji are really organized. From the airport to our transfers to the hotel itself. Everyone did a great job. Every request we made was taken care of, and people followed up on everything. That was a surprise. About the only place that I have been that is more organized is Switzerland.

Our vacation was great, but after a week we were ready to go home. We missed our dog. The trip back was long but we made it and Abby was happy to see us.