Thanks to Julia and Maya for writing this blog post!
Hello everyone! This weekend we went on an excursion to recharge and relax during the midway point of our trip. On Saturday morning we woke up at 5:15 AM to catch the 6:00 bus. After some of us got tea and coffee with Master Leone, we sat at the bottom of the hill with our bags, watching the sun rise, waiting for our 6:00 bus to Naqara. Because of Fiji time—as we call it—we ended up waiting until 6:40. Luckily we have all learned to accept this. The ride was long but also adventurous. All the seats were packed with locals, the road was bumpy, and the view was absolutely amazing. We were able to see the ocean to our left and the lush, green mountains to our right. At around 8:10 we arrived at our first stop in Naqara (a village where we got our sulus last week). Most of us walked around for a while and got some breakfast at Jessy’s Cafe and/or the supermarket. After a short wait for the 9:00 bus, it arrived and on we hopped. This bus ride was far shorter and it dropped us off at our lodging for the night, which was the same resort we stayed at our first night of the trip. During the ride, we danced and sang along to the famous Fijian reggae mixes. Once we put our bags down, everybody logged onto the WiFi and called home.
After some pineapple and passion fruit smoothies we piled into the van and drove to the village of Levana for a coastal hike. We had a quick packed lunch of rice, veggies, and chicken, and then we began our hike. The majority of the walk was along the ocean. At one point we had to a cross a wide river with only a rope to help us walk through the current. Around midway through the hike, we stopped at a shed to rest and dip our toes in the stream water. Shortly after, we got to the end of the trail. It stopped in front of a little cove with a pond. Here we swam to the waterfall and jumped off the rocks. The current from the waterfall let us relax and just float. Once we were done, we swam back to shore and hiked for about 20 minutes to the shed, where a boat picked us up and brought us back to Levana. The boat sliced through the ocean waves, which made it pretty bumpy (very fun!), and the salty water splashed over the sides. We got back into the van and drove back to the resort. We all settled into our hotel rooms, and everyone had a nice dinner as we listened to the Fijian reggae mixes of popular songs from the U.S.
Sunday morning we woke up at 7:15 and had breakfast at the resort. We ate sunny-side up eggs, toast, and lots of tropical fruit. Then we took an hour and a half van ride to another resort, where we spent the day snorkeling around the Rainbow Reef, swimming in the pool, reading, and relaxing. Here we had hamburgers and pizza for lunch (AMERICAN FOOD!!). Afterwards we had our second round of one-on-one meetings with our leaders, Jolene and Andrew, during which we discussed our upcoming week and individual projects in the village. Some students will be weaving with the voivoi plant, fishing in the ocean, teaching dance, learning more about kava rituals, and taking photographs. We had dinner at the resort and then took the van back to our village. Next week we will begin pursuing our much anticipated independent projects!! Be on the lookout for some more blog posts!
All of us send our love to family back home!
— Julia & Maya
