Kirsti Mathiasen

Today we arrived in Fiji! I was so tired despite a full 8 hour sleep that getting out of bed was a big struggle. But somehow I managed and Mom and I went out to go explore. We ended up at the Kila Eco Adventure Park to take a walk through the rain forest or jungle or whatever it is ;) It was pretty! Muddy, but very pretty. The park was about 30 minutes away from the shipyard and the walk itself took about an hour. Through the trees, past multiple different fruit trees, waterfalls, and clean clean water that Fiji is famous for. There were about 30 people in the group and maybe 4 guides walking at different paces talking to us. It was pretty nice and relaxing! Although I think that a few people found the climb a little bit intense. Especially because it was so slippery as the path was dirt and it had rained the other day. It's also getting hot and humid, 30 degrees. I'm used to it still but Mom in particular is not enjoying that haha. At least when we're on the boat there's a nice breeze while we're moving! She'll have 8 days pretty quick to enjoy that ;)

After the walk the locals performed a Kava ceremony for us. Kava is a peppery drink that they make from crushed pepper and mix with water. It's mixed in a big bowl with a long, braided rope tail that is extended straight out towards the chief. When the chief is ready to drink they coil the rope up and serve him and then the others in the party drink. I decided to try some because one of the guides brought me a little bowl of it and pretty well insisted. I think he was just looking for an excuse to talk to me. But, it was good! A very mild taste, but afterwards your tongue went a bit numb. It's non alcoholic but apparently if you drink more than one or two you start to feel as though you're drunk? That or they were messing with us, but I wouldn't know because I only had one little drink. After that little ceremony the locals played some music and one woman was dancing. Was good fun.

We decided not to explore Suva after the tour ended because it looked a little bit rough and Mom was quite exhausted. I do hope to get out and explore the city a bit, because it looks like the kind of place I would actually quite enjoy. Rough around the edges and not a super rich place. Kind of like Kathmandu or Hoi An but with a very different style architecturally. But apparently it's a very dangerous place to be alone so I won't be venturing out alone... Hopefully I can find someone to adventure out there with me later! We're stopped here overnight so it's possible that it could happen. In fact I'm talking to some of the staff right now who are planning to go out after their shifts end, maybe I'll have to tag along.. Will let you know what happens ;) Of course the staff at my favourite bar!

Anyway, after returning to the ship we had a late lunch and Mom went for a nap. I'm fighting sleep so that I don't wake up feeling too too groggy but in hindsight maybe I should have napped. Was hoping to catch one of the friends I made the other night, can't do that while sitting in the room.

Update: my friend, Joel, did come by and find me! And we connected on Facebook so now getting in touch should be no problem :) We chatted at the bar for a bit until Mom came by and her and I went for dinner. This is the same friend that joined us for dinner the other night, but instead of joining us today he was intent on going out to see the city in the evening. After a delicious dinner, where Mom and I had a private table (they're getting to know our preferences ;) ) I met up with Joel because Mom wanted to go to bed. There was a Rock Band playing at the ice rink converted to dance floor that we went to check out. There we ran into Mary and Sarah and a few others and chatted for a while. It was so loud though, and because neither of us really felt like dancing, we left to go to a quieter bar where you could actually hold a conversation. I suppose because we're docked in port overnight that the bars close early so at midnight we were unable to get drinks. Instead we went for another round of basketball. I really miss playing! And with good company. Seems like we've got a bit of a routine starting here, and being on the court together feels very natural. Seem to be able to read his mind the way I read my teammates minds back in the day... Funny how that works. It was easier to play tonight too because of the lack of wind but it was so humid! When we tired of that we went back to the helicopter landing pad and just watched the city for a while. It was a very different experience from last night, no wind, not many stars, activity and noise in the city below. But it was nice to just cool down after the intensity of the game! Tomorrow is an early start again so I called it an early night, and Joel being a gentleman walked me home. Suppose there wasn't really anything else to do at that time of night anyway ;)Read more