Tuesday, May 15, 2007

a week in Fiji











1. the beautiful tapa cloth and the materials old and new for printing it0 originally stencils were cut from pandanus and now it is used xrays
2. some of the young ladies from our family dancing for us on our final evening
3. Eddy [our hotel manager] waving us good bye as we head off across the bay- our place is just behind him amongst the cocnut palms
4. sunsets spectacular just out front
May 13, 5.55am

Just spent a week in Paradise.
Can’t wait to return, such a relaxed and luscious lifestyle.
The culture of Fiji is very warm and welcoming and runs at a very easy pace. We were welcomed first day with a kava ceremony, our group was seen as a new tribe [ I was to be chief!] and so we needed to ask permission to visit, then the local people responded by welcoming us into the family. Great fun, we were then part of the family that is Daku Resort.

Our family looked after us so well all week, from yummy meals, to fresh flowers in our rooms each day and wonderful smiles and laughter all the time.
Fiji is warm and humid, the weather is pretty predicable- it is either blue sky and sunshine or out of no where a cloud burst arriving to bring a refreshing break, but still warm.
Being right by Savusavu Bay [ you can hear the waves gently lapping in the night] means there is often a breath of fresh air to keep you comfortable- our lovely big communal bure [open house structure] was a great place to gather and stitch and chat our week away.

Our days drifted by mostly working in the morning, a few adventures in the afternoon, such as tapa making, visiting a black pearl farm- oh boy!, boating across the bay or the highlight of the week visiting a nearby village for a meke [festival kind of thing] . First the welcoming ceremony and kava, then the villagers singing- what voices and the younger people dancing- fantastic.
Although that meke was a highlight, the most delightful thing of our visit was the meke at our resort performed by the children of our family. Our last evening by the poolside was especially for us, such talent and vivacity displayed by the young ladies as they danced to lively local music- really special
Bula is the greeting used in Fiji, you hear it everywhere and use it all the time- it means ‘life’- what a wonderful way to acknowledge how special this life is – every single day.

Venaka [thank you] to all I was lucky enough to meet and share this experience with

Bula to all- Fiona.

Adding this a bit later…At departure time, first kava ceremony, then it was a real tear jerker- the staff- our new family all sang a farewell song to us- so beautiful…. then we danced and laughed a bit, Kenny who was our liason person, he had been trying to tempt us all week finally convinced everyone to join him in a bit of dance aerobics and boy did he smile when he finally got us up and then we left in time for our 8.20am flight, what a morning

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