And Finally

So here's what we did in Fiji (besides just admire all that beauty in the landscapes and enjoy the happy, content souls that live there):

Of course, we ate:

One of Rhada's home cooked meals

A nice lunch on our first day

At the Yacht Club...Oo-la-la

Fish entree at the Costeau Resort

The Lovo meal on our last night

And of course, we drank:

Rum cocktails (in the house we  stayed in)

Fresh Coconut Juice!

Chris partaking in the Kava (it's a whole ceremony!)

Cocktails at the Costeau Resort (Jacques' son owns it)    

 

But we also visited temples:

Sunil took us to his temple

Love the colors! And the goddesses!

Snake Temple (see the rocks resemblance to a cobra?)

And went to a Village, where we were honored to join the villagers for their mass on Mother's Day and then have tea with the chief:

The receiving line after church services...seriously, The. Nicest. People. Ever.

The chief (in orange) and his family in the chief's home

Oh, and we climbed a waterfall (after a wild ride and small hike):

We spent time at the beach, and had  colorful and fantastic snorkeling experiences:

 

We made our way through sugar cane fields to a floating island...where one of us fell into a sinkhole, Coach purse and all (but "she" did managed to save her camera by holding it up in the air, despite falling into muddy water up to "her" chest... and believe me, "she" thought she was going under the entire island never to be seen again. Don't ask me how I know what she was thinking.)

Good thing we had a guide, right?

Yep, it was muddy. Slimy, muddy, icky.

And wet. Well, if you fell in.

And we spent some time (quite a bit actually) at the local markets

And we also watched a sunset or two...

And did I mention Chris and I slept in a bure on the water and got to see the very first sunrise of the day anywhere (Fiji is at the International dateline) over the ocean horizon from our bed...

 

But mostly....we relaxed:

And were very sad to say goodbye to Fiji. Bula Fiji!! Until we meet again...

The Happiest Animals

Like the people in Fiji, the animals there seem pretty darned content as well.

We passed him on our morning walk

Sunil's cat...conveniently named "Kitty"

A starfish is an animal, right? These were in the lagoon right in front of our house

guarding the fruit?

One of these dogs ate my sandal, but they're not talking. I forgive them.

Goat hill?

Our little visitor in Natewa Bay. His name was "Jacky"

Jacky brought a friend back for breakfast the next morning. I was an easy mark for them both.

Goats on a "balance beam"

We saw surprisingly few horseback riders.

The roots are almost as fascinating as the bird

Sand crab...he was released of course.

Breakfast visitor

Okay, this horse looks a little skinny...most of them did not.

 

 

But of course, we missed our own little animal.  This is what made it good to be home.

Fiji Continued...the scenery

Mostly, I think the landscape of Fiji speaks for itself (and it whispers seductively,  "gorgeous... peaceful.... tranquil.... stunning... lush..." and no, it didn't mean me on that last one...). So here it is...

Typical village house--love the colors!

From our balcony (note hammock on left--I know I did!)

The flora and fauna

Chris enjoying the fantastic pool and a cocktail at sunset

Sunset on our last evening

The home we stayed in (dusk)

The favorite snorkeling find--blue starfish (the photo doesn't do it justice)

More to come...snorkeling, waterfalls, markets, and of course...the last night lovo meal!