Beach time

We approached the Nadi airport just as the sun was making an appearance in the East. The few high clouds were glowing a faint pink, and the vague outline of islands were coming into view. The airport was a breeze and, after a very large cup of coffee, we grabbed our rental car. Driving on the opposite side of the road isn’t my favorite, and it took a few hours to stop turning on the wipers, when I meant to hit the blinkers. We drove down the coast directly to the beach. Natadola beach stretches along a the coast for quite a ways. Beautiful blue waters meet the white sands with small waves. We ran into the water and looked back to the beach. There were no other tourists and the beach was empty as far as you could see. I thought it was strange that there was no one on the beach and said as much to Kim. Slowly, it dawned on us that it was just 9am and most tourists were probably still having breakfast. Since we’d already been awake for about seven hours, we were thinking it was a bit later. We floated for quite a while, then Kim opted for a massage, while I laid out like a reptile, soaking up the warm South Pacific sun.

Our goal was to get to Suva by 3pm, but the traffic defeated my calculations but not by much. A bit late, we met Mary and her friend, Martha, at the Holiday Inn at Suva. The hotel has a beautiful outdoor cafe that overlooks the water. We enjoyed enthusiastic greetings over cold drinks. Martha has been kind enough to offer her extra bedroom to us, so we’ll be staying with her in Suva for a couple of days. Kim and I were able to finish dinner and spend some time socializing before we ran out of gas.Read more