Long Beach Backpackers was our next stop. This was more like Kuata; basic, laid-back and geared towards backpackers unlike Barefoot. We had a dorm room for three people but apart from our second night we did not have anyone else in it with us.
Long Beach, named after the seemingly endless white strip of sand snaking along the coast line, was beautiful. We went for a stroll down the beach right to the last visible point from the hostel, where the emerald green vegetation finishes in the photo below.
There were many gorgeous sights along the way as usual in picturesque Fiji. The aqua blue water was beautifully clear and extremely shallow as it was low tide. Walking along the beach in the sunshine was extremely hot and sticky so we took a rest in the shade at the other end of the beach with just the dog that had joined us for company. It was lovely just listening to the sound of the sea and letting the breeze cool us down.
Once we made it back to the hostel we spent the afternoon on the beach only leaving when we were ousted by the tide creeping it's way up the beach to the tree line.
Our evening was extremely enjoyable. It started with attempting to play volleyball with the locals and other guests as the sun went down and ended, after dinner, drinking kava and talking to everyone. Chris and Rueben, our hosts, were friendly and extremely curious about where we come from and our lives back home. Trying to describe the population of London, over 6million, to people from island villages and a country with a population of 800,000 was difficult and to them it was a mind blowing number of people. Whilst many visitors to Fiji describe it as paradise and a place they never want to leave, myself included, many younger Fijians feel stuck there wanting to experience other parts of the world. Once again it hammered home just how lucky and privileged we are to be in a position to travel. Eventually the kava's numbing effect began working, lulling us closer and closer to sleep and so we called it a night.
On Thursday after a breakfast of many different types of cake we joined the snorkelling trip bound for the nearby Blue Lagoon. The pristine waters were incredible and there were many different types of beautiful fish in this divine underwater world. We took pieces of bread into the water and swarms of fish gathered round us, eager for a bite to eat right out of our hands. Once we had enough of swimming around, which was quite a while later, we wallowed in the water just off the beautiful white sandy beach.
The afternoon was spent lazing on the beach and I participated in another weaving lesson, actually weaving my own bracelet this time. We watched another gorgeous sunset before dinner and after retired to our hut to read and have an early night.
I decided to take part in the village trip on Friday morning and it was interesting to see the village life but unfortunately we could not visit the school as it was closed for Good Friday. It was a half hour walk through the muggy forest of palm trees and thick grass. Needless to say it was pretty hot and sweaty work.
The village is nestled on a green hillside overlooking the sparkling blue sea. We wandered through it smiling and waving at locals who all wanted to invite us in for a drink. We stopped at the church before making our way back. It was on the way back that myself and the other two guests from Switzerland were trying to explain snow to Chris, yet another thing we take for granted.
As usual the rest of the day was spent on the beach sun worshipping before watching the evening show provided by the setting sun and candy floss clouds. We chilled with the locals and other guests after dinner before heading back to our bure and attempting to take photographs of the beautiful full moon and it's reflection on the ocean. Most of the ones on my camera are a squiggly mess as I couldn't stay still for long enough!
We were up at 5:30 on Saturday morning, pretty much the crack of dawn, to watch what promised to be another spectacular sunrise. After nudging Chris awake we all set off to an island opposite ours which took about 3 minutes to reach by boat. From there we walked up an extremely steep hill through dense vegetation, firstly grass taller then us and secondly a small forest, to reach an outcrop of rock near the summit to watch the day dawn. We did this all barefoot which was definitely an accomplishment and I only fell over on the way down once, being clumsy as usual.
It was magical watching the sun peek out from behind one of the nearby islands from our high perch amongst the grass and trees. The islands and the ocean looked beautiful in the early morning light. It was crazy being so close to the date line knowing we were ushering in a brand new day whilst elsewhere in the world others hadn't even lived yesterday. When you sit and stop to think about what other people elsewhere are doing at that moment, it reminds you how many people are in the world and that you are such a small piece in this ever changing place. It is remarkably humbling.
Once the sun had risen we navigated our way down the steep hillside, coming across a dead goat along the way which was a not so nice surprise. Chris allowed me to drive the boat for a bit whilst crossing back to Long Beach. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't very good at it and it was a pretty jerky and bumpy ride back due to my inability to control the speed that well. It was good fun though. We left Long Beach that day and headed onwards to Nabua, our last island stop.
Until next time.
A x
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