Bula, Fiji. Welcome to Fiji Friday!

Fiji is about 685 miles west of our last stop in Samoa. It is an archipelago of over 330 islands. Out of this dizzying array, around 110 are permanently inhabited by 900,000 Fijians.

We docked in the bustling capital city of Suva, located on the island of Viti Levu.

Today, we ventured inland to Koromakawa Village on the scenic Navau River.

At the village, we boarded a longboat with four other passengers and a guide and headed upriver through a tropical rainforest filled with lush landscape.

The heart of the jungle was filled with bamboo plants. These weren’t your garden-variety bamboo stalks. These mammoth plants were bamboo on steroids. They stood towering and looked suspiciously like giant marijuana plants – as a friend of a friend once described, in hushed tones and with a wink!

Waterfalls were plentiful. The large one in the video was so powerful that it was hard to catch my breath as I tried to swim close to it.

Post our aquatic escapade, we were treated to a Fijian lunch back at the village. By treated I mean we were practically adopted.

Fijian culture places a strong emphasis on communal living. Residents of the small village were all on hand to treat us to a meke (traditional dance).

As we wave goodbye to Fiji, we head to our next destination. I will tell you that it involves three days at sea to get there, so it’s a long way.

The captain warned us of some “motion in the ocean” as we left port. We’re expecting 30-40 knot winds for the next 24 hours. Kris is not looking forward to that. 

Wish us luck!