My Last Morning

After getting off the boat Emma, Liz, and I started talking and I learned Elisabeth's flight left at 2 and mine 3. We came up with a plan to have one last fun morning and boy was it amazing! 

We started by going to the garden of the giant. 

It was a garden with tons of orchids. I've never seen orchids growing and it was beautiful!

What a fun walk we had!

Then it was off to the mud pools! We arrived and started by smearing mud all over our bodies. 

Then we were supposed to get into the murky water to rinse off. I was okay with that until I realized the bottom was covered in sea grass and a foot of mud. NO THANK YOU!

After our rinse we got to sit in the hot spring. Our bodies felt so smooth! Amazing how mud made us the cleanest we have been while in Fiji.

Then our guide man schedules is massages. What a way to leave! Covered in coconut oil and relaxed!

Finally we headed to a bakery and got cream buns!

Best ever! And of course I got a kit kat. 

read more "My Last Morning"

Aquarius: Night Six

This morning I went on a trip to the caves. It. Was. Spectacular. The boat ride out there was pretty bad and rough but so worth it. When we arrived we saw these steps:

Which led to this:

And then down to this:

And then we jumped in. The water was a little dark and freaky at first but it was so pretty! Such a beautiful thing to see!

After a quick swim we were told to come to the side. we were going to swim underneath through a tunnel and pop up into another cave behind the wall. Not going to lie I was scared.

You couldn't see the opening and I knew the caves inside were going to be pitch black. I also knew I had to do it. Everyone else went in and then it was me. He counted to three and under I went. Luckily the guide swam with me and pushed me down the whole time until the other guide pulled me up on the other side.

There were seven of us and one torch. Aka flashlight. To my surprise and enjoyment it was not just one cave back there but a whole series of caves and tunnels. I wish you could have been there. I can't describe it's pure awe.

As we swam through them they made the scariest noises that echoed and bounced off the walls. It was like being in a creepy movie scene.

I wish I could take you all there so you could experience it with me. That's the only part I don't like about traveling solo. Yes, I met a ton of people and they got to be there but they don't come home with me and it's different than experiencing it with someone you know well. Nonetheless it was divine. One more thing off my bucket list. 

read more "Aquarius: Night Six"

Coral View: Night 5

This morning I set an alarm, made sure to get up in time for breakfast and be ready for my 8am cave trip. This cave trip is the reason I came to this island. I made sure to call ahead and email to guarantee a spot Tuesday morning. Well I noticed no one else was really awake therefore I headed to reception to inquire. My response: there is no cave on Tuesday. What do you mean there is no cave? You wrote my name down right infront of me yesterday. Oh. My. Gosh. Stupid ppl I tell you. I was pissed and reason why is I had booked a shark dive for Wednesday morning bc the caves were Tuesday. When I tried to switch it bc of their screw up the shark dive was sold out this morning. So I completely missed it and can't go tomorrow bc I have the caves. So unhappy this morning. Whatever. So we all hung out on the beach and read books which was nice. After lunch we went to the Blue Lagoon where the movie was filmed for some snorkeling.

It was incredible! So many fish and we saw and octopus.

The water was crystal clear and so colorful.

Then when we got back it started to POUR! If my caves get canceled tomorrow... So help me... 

read more "Coral View: Night 5"

Coral View: Night 4

This morning I woke up and braved the freezing cold shower. Then headed to breakfast with Taylor. After we had to check out and pack up. On a good note the dogs, only two, at this resort are actually pets and are treated so nicely! Made me so happy! And there are no animals on the island I am on which is awesome too. Okay so the boat came and I got on to head to my next stop which was the furthest island North. It was about two hours on the boat and the sea was pretty rough.

We got on a little boat and rode to our island where we were greeted by the welcome song. On our last resort they sang us the farewell song. Everyone is just so nice and all the workers knew my name and called me Jess haha. Okay focus. So we arrived had a briefing and then lunch. I got to talking with the girls who were on the boat. Two from the states and two from England. After we checked in I made sure to book my cave trip, blue lagoon snorkel- I need to see that movie and wait... A shark dive! So Wednesday morning I may get to do it as long as two more ppl sign up.

After this we went on a tour around the island by boat. It was beautiful. 

Then we hung out during tea time and watched some rugby.

Oh and it's cold.

Had to pull out and wear my airplane outfit since I gave away all the rest of my clothing. Now it's off to dinner.

read more "Coral View: Night 4"

Mantaray Night 3

The reason I came to this island was for the manataray snorkel. This was my big thing and I made sure to call ahead and figure out how it works. Problem is the way it works is they see the manataray and then ring a bell and then you run to the boat. So I asked around a lot to find out more. They hadn't seen them for six days but they did the morning we got there around 7am. So I set an alarm to make sure I was awake and of course had a hard time sleeping all night bc I was worried I would not hear the bell. Well at 7:50 we heard drums but they have the same drums for breakfast and breakfast is at 8. So everyone is asking around is it Mantaray or breakfast. I put on my bathing suit as fast as I could and got to the dive shop ASAP. It was both. So we got snorkel gear and got on a little boat and away we went. We get out there and see all these ppl swimming hard following one man so we jump in. And we all start swimming hard... It was not calm water. Then we see two of them! 

They were probably 8-12 ft across. Then we swam for while and kept looking. Next time we saw them they were deep and swimming up with their mouths wide open but of course I don't have my camera but it was incredible.

We got in the boat and then we saw them again and everyone jumped off but this time I stayed in the boat with two others and the resort man. Lucky me! He found one and I got to jump in and wait for it to come to me... Just me and the Mantaray! 

I also got to see schools of fish, the coral,   And an eel. 

Back in the boat and the four of us found two more and traveled by them on the boat.

The mantarays were amazing. We spent the rest of the day on the beach, weaving bracelets, sanding coconut bracelets, and watching the sunset.

Oh and we did some more kayaks 

Then we got into some card games and some intense spoons. I also enjoyed watching volleyball. There was some beautiful people to look at. ;) and even better we had dinner with those beautiful people and made even more friends. Al from Ireland, Michael, Paul, and Ido not remember the rest. 

We played some interesting games with them all night. Oh and then we had crab races. I was too freaked to touch my crab so Al handled him.

There they are, our crabs. So Solo asks us to all sit in a circle around the Arena and he has all the crabs in a bucket with a plate on top. He flips it over and tells us to count down from 3. Then he pulls up the bucket and I see something move fast and it's huge. Everyone starts screaming and coming rights at me is this huge crab with long creepy legs. It results in me flying up onto the couch ontop of a couple all whole screaming and holding my camera which happens to be on video mode. Hahahaha. It wasn't funny though. It was a mean joke. 

Fun day though! 

read more "Mantaray Night 3"

Mantaray: Solo Night 2

Okay so I think I talked about the teacher from the Netherlands. Well when she got off the boat I had about another two hous. Then my disembarkment announcement came. I got on the boat and something spurred conversation with the girls infront and bam a group was formed. Taylor from Chicago, Annie and Laura from England, aga from Poland, George from Europe, Lea from Germany and dan, the blonde one George, and Alex from Canada. 

Upon arrival we hS orientation and then went to our dorm. Which has no screens but nets on the bed. Then lunch. Wow. Talk about amazing lunch. Best food I've had in months. Which makes sense for 89 a day . But they have big menu that you get to choose from and it's presented beautifully. It reminds me of being on a cruise. After lunch we went to a fish feeding and coconut demonstration. 

For fish feeding you grab a piece a bread and hold it to the edge of the water and tons of fish come and start eating it. They make the funniest noise. Then solo took us to a coconut tree and he climbed to the top. Once up there he knocked down a bunch of coconuts and then we learned how to shuck them and open them. 

Fun stuff! We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach enjoying life. That night I got a dizzy spell and had to lay down. Spent the nigh talking with the Canadian men who were having a drinking party on the top deck. 

read more "Mantaray: Solo Night 2"

Aquarius: Solo Night 1

Okay so obviously I survived the bus. Although there were two close calls. 1. We tried to pass between three cars. A bus was coming at us full speed. There was no room for us but we had to move over. Needless to say the person next to is did not enjoy the fact that we were sharing their lane. Two lane road. Three  cars wide. Yikes. 

2. Cow. Yup, a cow decided to cross the highway. 

Let's continue. The bus stops and leaves me. Not sure why. Everyone else stayed on but whatever. As I stood there on the side of the road alone I started to freak. Why did I travel on my own? Why did I not stay in the comfort of the little yellow house with the girls? But in life we gave our challenge and sometimes we have to be uncomfortable. Okay so I finally found a taxi and got to Aquarius. 

Cute place. Right on the beach. Checked in to a six person dorm that was full but no one was there. Now what? Walk on the beach. 

Great idea. I walked up and down the beach gazing at the hundreds of shells that littered the beach. 

Found a few treasures including that spikey thing. Well at this point I was feeling a bit awkward. I decided to sit in the hammock and watch the sunset. Seems easy enough right? Wrong. I notice the hammock is all tied together by strings but I'm going to get in it by golly. Well I go to sit and seriously this hammock is so tight. I realize the problem right away and try to frantically keep myself from spilling out which results into me flipping into this hammock like a fish out of water. It was so awkward. But I made it. Then I hear good job I totally thought you were going to eat it. I have no idea who is talking to me and am to freaked of falling out of the thing by trying to turn around and see. I respond to my stranger and we have a quick conversation. Later the stranger walks by and says oh I'm glad you are back I thought you were going to miss it. 

Referring to the sunset. 

Anyway then he says something about being American and we get to talking. His name is luke and of course the first thing that comes out of my mouth is oh that's my dogs name. Not sure that was the best way to greet this stranger. Oh wells. Turns out he spends his summers in LA and teaches biology in Jersey. He is here on a volunteer thing and just arrived in the morning. Anyway he takes me to meet his group. There are three Germans, a teacher from England, a volunteer from Australia and us. It was so fun! We shared our travel adventures then went to dinner together and watched island dancers and fire dancers.

Then we ended up on he edge of the pool learning a dance ourselves and a cat decided to try my dinner. What an adventure. Turns out James was my bunk mate. He slept above me and def asked me if it was okay that his chonies were all over the bed rails. Lol. 

So night one = success!

This morning I woke up and got on the big bus to the port that houses the yasawa flyer ship. Anyway it was me and one other lady. We got to talking and she is from the Netherlands and teaches first grade. She was on the boat with me but only had a thirty minute journey whereas mine is three hours. So now I am here. On the boat. 

Once again nervous to be alone but excited for what is in store. 

read more "Aquarius: Solo Night 1"

The Dreaded Mini Bus

Since my arrival in Suva I have heard about the dreaded mini bus. The girls talk about the horrid experiences they have had on them: being felt up, 19 people squished in a 12 person van, loud music, rough rides, speeding, and on and on. So the very first time I got on one at 3:45am to go to Nadi I was a bit hesitant. However we each ended up with our own row of seats and a really nice driver. We were able to sleep and relax the whole way there and it cut off an hour of it's trip. My subsequent mini bus experiences have been equally pleasant, faster, and quite enjoyable even when most seats were taken. Until now...

Let's talk about now shal we?

It's my last day with HELP and I spent the morning debating how I was going to solo travel to Nadi. Option 1: take the big bus. This option has set scheduled times, your luggage goes under the bus and you are guaranteed a seat. It takes about 4 hours. It stops only at the bus station. Option 2: the mini bus. These go whenever they are full throughout the day. Your luggage goes in the back and they only take 3 hours. I might be able to stop at my hotel.

Back and forth back and forth. Taxi driver take me to the minibus station... These could end up being my last words.

Regret.

Regret is all I feel now. Well actually let's look at it from the positive. I finally have had a real Fijian minibus experience. Ok it's only been 5 minutes but by the end of this, if I survive I will be able up say I rode like a Fijian in a mini bus.

So let's talk about my curent situation shall we?

I arrive to the stop and ask to go to Nadi and tell them where my hotel is. They don't know where that is. We finally figure out the name of the area and they say they will drop me at the top of the hill. Okay fine. I'll figure out what that means when I get there.

How much?

$18 

Okay great. $2 less that what I was planning to spend.

Set my stuff down. That seat is taken. Okay sir where would you like me to sit? He points. I sit. No problem. Were doing okay now. Not that bad. 

They close the back.y luggage is still outside. Oh great. Man climbs on roof. Oh double great. My luggage goes on roof. I really hope they know how to tie things down bc if I loose my one carry on things could get interesting. I'll be okay without it all but if they lose my bag and my drum goes missing. All hell is going to break lose. 

So now I'm in the van. My bag is on top. Secured? Hmm. Not sure. 

Still not that bad. 

Until he comes back and tells me I need to move to the front. 

Okay maybe the front won't be too bad.

WRONG.

OMG. 

Shall we discuss my current situation? Yes ,we should. 

A man got to take my seat. Go figure the driver would rather have me squished in the front instead of three Fijian men. So I currently sit. Front seat of a bench row. One Fijian driver to my right. One Fijian civilian to my left. One squished American in the middle. The dashboard is about 6 inches from me. My legs are squished to my chest and shins shoved against the controls. Right where I had those bruises and now a healing scar. The sticks gift is right up against my thigh which is awkward everytime he needs to shift. The music system is under my knees which is even more awkward everytime he needs to adjust the music. My purse and backpack are ontop of me. My head is touching the roof. Both windows are down and my growing out bangs are going the crazy dance all over my face. At least I have the best view right? Wrong. My head is so high that I stare direct into the rear view mirror and the ceiling. I've got a great view of the car light and visors though, every single questionable stain looking right at me. Now the van rocks back and forth and makes sharp turns. When we turn I use every ounce of abs and leg muscles to hold myself in this position as to not fall completely onto one of the afore mentioned Fijian men. Oh and there is def not a middle seat belt. One accident and I'm going right through the front window. Then again I'm sitting so high in this car that I would probay busy out the roof. 

So this is how the next three hours will go. Will my luggage make it? Will I? 

Stay tuned. 

read more "The Dreaded Mini Bus"

For The Love of Animals

Preface: This is going to be long. 

Today a flame I always had burning in my heart turned into a wildfire. Everyone who knows me knows I am passionate about animals. If you are an animal person you know what I mean. If you are not I will never understand why but you may want to skip this post.

So in past posts you have read about my anger towards the animal abuse in Fiji and about the sadness I experience with animals on a daily basis. It is the one thing that brings tears to my eyes on a repeated basis. Now let's move on.

Today I was able to go I SPCA, which would be similar to an animal shelter. I was so confused about how or why they had an animal shelter and when I got there I was able to talk with Pricilla and learn so much. The fire began to grow.

I had so many questions about the ways the animals were treated and why and how is nothing being done! So let's talk about some of the things I learned. 

Pricilla first gave us some background information on why animals are the way they are here. Fiji has a very high cost of living but most of the people here live under the poverty line. They barely have enough food to feed themselves let alone animals. The government has no program for cats and dogs because they are not livestock and the government is focused on food. People get dogs to use as guard dogs especially in high theft areas. We then learned that people do not spay and neuter their animals because of two reasons. 1. They cannot afford to. But even when SPCA will do it for free or when they offer free clinics people still don't come. This leads to reason 2. People believe that spay and neuter removes the sexual organs and then the dogs cannot mate. Seeing as how many here do not believe in contraceptives they think that spaying and neutering is bad. 

So now we have a Bagillion dogs that have 3 litters of puppies a year and this exponential amount of dogs continues to grow and be an increasing problem. 

Let's go deeper. The government isonly concerned   with removing stray dogs in order to keep the streets and children safer. They use to round them up and shoot them or poison then but that is no longer allowed. They do not have the manpower nor money to collect them and euthanize them. So we have a never ending issue here.

Now let's talk about the animal cruelty that enrages me! People get a dog to have a guard dog. They tie these dogs up and keep them constrained to make them mad. It was even said that they will feed them chili pepper.

Some people believe that animals can feed themselves while living in their yards.   

She had a neighbor who believes this and the dogs starve. The females have puppies. The puppies all die and then the dogs eat the puppies to stay alive. 

People do not have money I care for the puppies and they don't want to drop them off anywhere because 1. SPCA is only in suva and Nadi and 2. They don't have transportation or money and they don't care. Last week someone put a litter of puppies in a pillow case and threw them onto the side of the road. The puppies were found and brought to SPCA with their umbilical cords still attached. 3 died of injuries from the toss. Puppies that are found are usually put to sleep because they cannot keep them alive and do not have food for the puppies. 

We learned that in the high theft areas three cases a day of dogs who are poisoned are brought in but they usually die because the poison has taken course. These are the guard dogs but when the thieves come they poison the dogs. 

One time a man called because his dog broke his leg on Friday. He called Sunday and asked to bring the dog in he next day. They offered to go get the dog right then to treat it and he denied. 

It's so messed up. It took every ounce of me I hold myself together as I was hearing all this. It makes me so angry. I get so frustrated. 

So then SPCA tried to help the few people who bring their animals in. But here is he problem. They have to have a vet present for things that require anesthesia and other things but there is no vet. The nurses know how to treat the animals but are not allowed to so he animals sits there or gets put to sleep. Sometimes they can get a livestock vet to come supervise. Another problem many cases are hit and run but with no x ray machine they can't fully help these animals. 

There are so many issues. How do you educate an entire nation? How do change the hearts of the people? How can you tackle an issue this intense? 

Well you start small. Pricilla is working on outreach clinics where she goes out and does free spay and neutering. She has volunteer vets who can come for three weeks but they have to teach the people about spay and neutering or capture the strays. But she is on the right path. She is impassioned and full of desire that radiates from her. 

So how can we help? It always comes back to money doesn't it but seriously. They need money to get these clinics going and I know we can help. If you could see this you would feel the passion. So Nikki and I are currently researching the best way to collect donations and get them here to Fiji so they can be used to begin a change. Everyone has to start somewhere no matter how small. 

read more "For The Love of Animals"