VILLAGE TOUR

Today was full of rest and relaxation other than a tour of a nearby village. It has been my experience these group tours are sometimes staged or in other words – they show the areas they want you to see. Our tour was private with a guide who was from another village that filled us in on the history and lifestyle of the village people. It was a true tour of the life they live.

They are very strict about protecting their culture and their way of life. The village has a Chief and Elders. There are no TV’s and maybe one computer. The kids that leave and go to college (which are very few) usually return to the village. When they have weddings and funerals, more than 1,000 people show up. 

We got to visit their pre-school and meet the teacher and the children which was the highlight of the tour. It turns out the resort that we are staying in helps support the village. 

Upon our return, the boat ran out of gas. Good news was they had extra gas on board the bad news was it wouldn’t start once refueled. So here we sit in the ocean 100 yards from the shore.

I looked at Jane and said, “It is time to swim”. I also made the comment that I wasn’t sure I could make it to the shoreline and her response was: “You could always just stand up”. As it turns out the water was only four foot deep. A funny moment. 

After fooling with the motor four twenty minutes – they called in another boat which took us back to the resort. The captain said it was the first time that ever had happened and he was a bit embarrassed. We thought it was funny.

It is now 8:00 pm and it is pouring down rain as we prepare to depart at early morning. You can hear the pitter patter of the rain on our grass roofed hut which amazingly doesn’t leak. We have mixed emotions about leaving. It has been quite a peaceful stay.

We will catch a boat shuttle at 4:45 am back to Nadi and catch a 3.5 hour flight to Brisbane, Australia, then connect to Cairns (a 2.5 hour flight) and then be shuttled to Port Douglas which is where the great Barrier Reef is. 

We have a full agenda in front of us.

Nice picture earlier in the trip below.