18/01/2023 Fiji
What to expect
Yasawa Islands
Go island hopping
The islands are calling
After an amazing first full day yesterday at Malamala Beach Club, it’s time for a more local experience today. We are going island hopping for the next five days, where we are going to stay on a different island each day.
Stay in a Fijian homestay
It’s been a dream of mine to go to Fiji and to get to know the Fijian people more in order to learn about their culture. This is why we decided to stay in a Fijian homestay for the first night. The homestay is located on Wayasewa Island and it’s a two-hour-boat ride away from the Denarau port near Nadi.
Very authentic
A Fijian man and three little boys picked us up from our ferry in a much smaller boat. It seemed like the most normal thing that the eight-year-old was stiring the boat.
Once we arrived on the island, another little girl showed us the way to our homestay. There we were welcomed by a very friendly Fijian mama who told us a lot about the island and its 100 inhabitants.
Back to basics
kitchen 
toilet and shower 
living room
Our room was basic and only fit the bed in – we hadn’t expected anything else.
They eat and cook everything they plant on the island or fish in the water. This is why we had a potato-pumpkin curry with a whole fish and rice for lunch. During lunch we had a great chat with an English guy who also stayed in the same homestay.
Have I become a dog-person?
After lunch Blake and I explored the island, where we had two dogs constantly following us. It feels like that is a reoccurring theme since we used to have at least one dog following us on a hike in South America all the time.
All the locals we met on our little walk were friendly and greeted us with a warm “Bula”.
We settled down in two big hammocks right by the beach and dozed off to the sound of the waves with no other soul around us. In the end we had a dip in the water before we walked back to our homestay for dinner.
19/01/2023 Fiji
Change of plans
Normally this day would have started at 4 a.m. with a sunrise hike up the highest mountain on the island. But it had rained and stormed all night! Instead, we slept until 7 a.m. and had breakfast at 8 a.m. (Donuts with jam – a local thing? Who knows…). Afterwards we took a small boat to the ferry through high waves and strong winds. Let’s hope for better weather on the next island!
Octopus Resort
The next resort on the second island was only a 30-minute-boat ride away. Octopus Resort is located on Nalauwaki Island. Due to the storm and the high waves near the resort, we had to enter the resort from the back of the island and walk through the forest to the other side.
The resort looked incredible with a pool right next to the beach! We were welcomed with a fruit cocktail and a friendly Fijian woman who explained all the different activities to us.
Cyclone season
Since a cyclone no. 2 was just passing Fiji, the sea was still very rough. So all the water activities got canceled for today.
Do yoga at the beach
After a very tasty lunch I joined a yoga class in the afternoon, which was located right by the sea. In the end of the lesson all the participants even got a back and foot massage – all yoga classes should end like that 😉.
Take part in a kava ceremony
In the evening Blake and I took part in a kava ceremony on the floor, which was very interesting, but the kava tasted just as awful as in Nadi when we had first tried it.
Participating in a kava ceremony signifies great respect for the Chief, their people and their vanua (land). The group leaders make sure the visitors don’t come empty-handed and bring a bunch of dried kava roots as gifts to the community. […] Visitors then sit cross-legged on the ground opposite the tanoa (a large carved wooden bowl filled with the kava drink) with the village people facing them.”
theculturetrip.com
Outstanding dinner
For dinner we had a five-course-meal, where we could order the entrée, the main course and the dessert from an à la carte menu. Everything on this menu sounded incredible and all the dishes we chose tasted amazing! This was quite the upgrade after the food at the homestay from the previous night and also what we were usually used to as backpackers.
curry as the main course 
brownie for dessert
Join a crab race
After dinner we paid FJD$5 (which will be donated to the local school) and took part in a crab race. I chose crab #22 (my lucky number). But somehow my crab didn’t make it over the “finish line” in the sand first, so I missed out on the free massage.
20/01/2023 Fiji
Start your day right
This morning at 7 a.m. Blake joined me for the morning yoga. Unfortunately, the weather changed throughout the yoga session. Therefore, we had to cancel the yoga after half an hour, as the wind was turning the rain sideways, which then even came onto the yoga deck underneath the roof.
Off to a new island
Since we were only staying at each resort for one night, it was time to explore the next resort: Barefoot Manta on Drawaqa Island.
The 20-minute-boat ride went fine. However, passengers that have been coming from the main port with the same boat didn’t look as fine. We found out over lunch at Barefoot Manta Resort that the boat ride had been very bumpy with lots of people throwing up (thank God, this wasn’t us).
Jungle vibes
The new resort had a very jungly vibe and every guest was treated like a family member. It was located at the narrow end of the island, so within three minutes you could walk from one side of the island to the other.
Chill in a hammock
For the rest of the afternoon Blake and I relaxed either in a hammock, went for a swim in the ocean or relaxed on wooden chairs on the sand.
Somehow the island life has made us very lazy. So when it was time for volleyball according to the activity board, we just had enough energy to turn around in our hammock and continued reading. It really is a tough life on the islands…
21/01/2023 Fiji
A lot of great singing
The local Fijians are so so friendly! Whenever we leave an island, all the staff gets together and sings a farewell song to the guests leaving the resort. They do the same when you’re arriving at a new resort on the small boat, which is such a nice gesture! Since we visited a new island every single day, we heard quite a lot of Fijian songs.
The last resort
When it was time for us to board the boat after the farewell song and a lot of hugging, we went to our last resort on this trip: Blue Lagoon Beach Resort on Nacula Island, which was 1.5 hours north by ferry.
Blue Lagoon Beach Resort
Again, this resort was outstanding! It had a pool, an open restaurant by the beach and a very beautiful setting right along the ocean.
Go snorkeling
Blake and I rented snorkeling gear and checked out the underwater world (in 29°C warm water). Unfortunately, we waited until it started raining, so the visibility under water wasn’t the best. Afterwards we hopped into the pool, until the rain got a bit too heavy and we fled to a drier spot: the pool bar.
Learn how to make Fijian cocktails
We got there just in time for the next activity: a cocktail class. How sneaky of them to do the lesson during happy hour. After learning about the cocktails we rewarded ourselves with a cocktail of our choice, which was a “Bula Mama” for me (lots of coconut liquor) and an oreo-smoothie with baileys for Blake.
Another amazing meal
Dinner was a four-course-meal and again everything tasted amazing! Apparently, it was the same chef as in the Octopus Resort (our first resort). We sat at a table with six other backpackers that had arrived today with us and we all exchanged lots of funny travel stories.
22/01/2023 Fiji
Go scuba diving
It is our last day on the islands and I didn’t want to leave Fiji without going scuba diving here. Luckily, the weather was great and together with an American couple and a very nice Australian woman we went to the dive site “the zoo”.
A great dive
Unlike the poor visibility on my last dive in Hawaii, the visibility was great this time. We saw so many colourful fish, huge corals and reef sharks as well as whitetip sharks.
Furthermore, there was no current (not like during the rather stressful dive in the Galapagos Islands). Overall, it was an easy dive with a great underwater world.
One last Fijian farewell song
Back at the resort, Blake and I soaked up the beauty of the island one last time. Then it was time for the farewell song, which unfortunately, would be the last Fiji song for a long time (hopefully not for the last time ever).
Since Blue Lagoon Beach Resort was located on one of the islands furthest up north, it took us 4.5 hours to get back to the main island.
True love
Not that I’m blaming Blake (okay, maybe a little), but we did have to leave the islands early, because Blake had to watch one of those “very important” American football playoff games. And to make sure he would definitely be able to watch the game with strong internet, we had to go back to the main island. I guess that’s true love (I’m talking about Blake’s love for sports of course 😉).
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