Paradise!

Trip Start Jul 20, 2009

102

Trip End Jul 20, 2010

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Where I stayed

Octopus Resort Waya Island

(Waya Island hotels)

Flag of Fiji Waya Lailai, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Well we left Nadi bay early on the ferry to the islands! We passed lots of tiny islands where passengers got on and off and we were happy to hear some of them weren't ours after what we heard from people as they boarded the boat! After about 3 hours we arrived at our first island, Waya island part of the Yasawa island group. Here we were staying at octopus resort, one of the finest in this island group so we've heard. As we approached the resort on the tiny dinghy we had boarded from the ferry, we heard the sweet fijian music getting clearer. As we got closer we saw the group of fijian men and women singing their hearts out,welcoming us to the island! When we reached the shore I think Mark and I knew straight away this was a great choice. We sat at the bar with our welcome drinks as one of the staff explained the run of the resort, gave us meal times and listed the activities that are on daily at the resort. It all sounded fantasic. We were escorted to our bure, a typically traditionally fijian beach hut,which was a little over budget but I don't think either of us cared too much about it!
When we reached our bure we were already blown away by the hospitality and of course the relaxed atmosphere was a breadth of fresh air. We could see the waves crashing from our window and our shower was open air so you could see the sky as you washed! Awesome! We headed straight for the pool ready for tanning up! As part of our package here we paid for all of our food. We were definately surprised to see lunch was a la carte and that dinner was a 3 course meal! I was in heaven!
After a lazy day at the pool we went to get ready for our welcome ceremony! When we arrived back to the bar after showering under the starlit sky we sat on a woven mat with a group of fijian men. They were playing guitar and singing while one of the them prepared the cava. Cava is the traditional drink in Fiji. People say it's an hallucinogenic so I was a little apprehensive to taste but the guy reassured me it wasn't the strong stuff! It's made from the root of the pepper tree, it's ground down to a fine powder and then mixed with water. It's then sieved and stirred for about an hour until it's ready for consumtion!
We sat crossed legged as our guide explained the tradition and then we waited to taste. As I held the bowl in front of me I saw the dark muddy look of the water and had a sniff to prepare myself. As the 2nd Irish lassy in the group I couldn't back out now so I knocked it back! It tasted like muddy water, not pleasant! With little or no effect felt I decided a 2nd cup couldn't hurt. This one tasted as bad but made my tongue numb! Didn't go for cup no 3 after that, decided I'd leave that to the locals! Our dinner that night was an Indian buffet, as there is an indo-fijian culture here too.
Over the next few days we had had some great entertainment. We won the table quiz and the prize was a champagne breakfast on the beach, which was a surreal experience! We did some sulu dancing, a little like something I did in a Ceili a few years back in the Gaeltacht. We did some snorkeling and even watched a movie on the big screen on the beach under the stars. This place was heaven! We met some really cool people too and enjoyed a few drinks with them on more than one occasion! We did a hike here too to work off some of the delicious food that we were indulging in. It was up the main peak of the island and gave us great views of the surrounding islands and the reef below.We visited the village kindergarten too and I fell in love with the little children. They were so happy to see us and all of them wanted photographs with us. They sang some songs in English and some poetry too! Some of them only 3 years of age would put some of our native English speakers to shame! It was a really cool experience!

Tuesday 1st we left Octopus a little sad and definately a little aprehensive to move to the next island as we heard we'd come to the best first! I thought to myself, it can't be that bad, we're in Fiji after all!