As I figure it, it took about 33 hours to get home, all told. Here's a breakdown of the travel home:
-9 AM - 3 PM - Boat ride back to Nadi (6 hours)
-3 PM - 3:30 PM - bus ride back to Raffles hotel (1/2 hour)
-3:30 PM - 5:30 PM - Shower/Pool time (2 hours)
-5:30 PM - 6:30 PM - Dinner (1 hour)
-6:30 PM - bus to airport (1/2 hour)
-7 PM - Arrival at Nadi Airport (3 hours)
-10 PM - Flight back to LA (11 hours)
-4:30 PM - Flight to NYC (6 hours)
-12:30 AM - Arrival in NYC
-12:30 AM - 1:30 AM - bag claim/meet the parents (1 hour)
-1:30 AM - 2:15 AM - train to my car (45 minutes)
-2:15 AM - 4:15 AM - Drive back down to South Jersey (2 hours)
Essentially coming home, I took a boat, bus, plane, train, and car for about a day and a half. Needless to say, the jetlag was pretty brutal, and it took me about 3 or 4 days to catch back up onto a normal schedule (well as normal as a Sea Isle schedule can be).
All in all, though, it was well worth it! Speaking personally, this trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I think it was the same for the 32 students we had with us. The memories we made will last a lifetime, and the lessons learned will certainly never be forgotten.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Day 16-18: Travel Home
After waking up bright and early, we packed all our luggage back on the boat, and reluctantly said goodbye to our island paradise...
We jumped back on our sailboat to begin our trip back to the US with a 6 hour boat ride back to the main land, where we'd be catching our flight back to LA.
Before leaving the boat, our crew said goodbye with a traditional Fijian song.
We jumped back on our sailboat to begin our trip back to the US with a 6 hour boat ride back to the main land, where we'd be catching our flight back to LA.
Before leaving the boat, our crew said goodbye with a traditional Fijian song.
Day 15: Drawaqa, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
After enjoying a gorgeous view of the sunrise from outside our huts...
We took a short boat ride to the other side of our island, which is much more rocky. We hiked up about 250 feet to get an awesome view of the Yasawa chain of islands and cliffs beneath us...
After our hike, they told us we were going to play Scrabble. What they didn't tell us was this game of Scrabble would have a bit of a Fijian twist. One of our delegation managers took a trash bag full of ping pong balls that had been labeled, kayaked out into the ocean, and dumped the balls. Each team had to create their own board with whatever letters they could collect from the water. (My team also won the Scrabble game!)
After lunch we got back on the big sailboat for about an hour long trip to the next island over. When we arrived, we walked up to a tiny village, where we were greeted with another kava ceremony.
People in the village lived largely in huts, without electricity and without very much contact with the outside world. Most of them didn't speak English, and only had contact with other people through cruise companies that occasionally visit for a true cultural experience.
A few of the natives insisted I try shaving a coconut...
After a short tour of the village we gathered back in the main bure of the village for some music and dancing. I made friends with a few of the young natives...
After an absolutely amazing cultural experience we boarded our schooner and headed back to our private island just in time for another beautiful Fijian sunset...
And our delegation managers had a final dinner and dance party for us before our big day of travel the following day...
We took a short boat ride to the other side of our island, which is much more rocky. We hiked up about 250 feet to get an awesome view of the Yasawa chain of islands and cliffs beneath us...
After our hike, they told us we were going to play Scrabble. What they didn't tell us was this game of Scrabble would have a bit of a Fijian twist. One of our delegation managers took a trash bag full of ping pong balls that had been labeled, kayaked out into the ocean, and dumped the balls. Each team had to create their own board with whatever letters they could collect from the water. (My team also won the Scrabble game!)
After lunch we got back on the big sailboat for about an hour long trip to the next island over. When we arrived, we walked up to a tiny village, where we were greeted with another kava ceremony.
People in the village lived largely in huts, without electricity and without very much contact with the outside world. Most of them didn't speak English, and only had contact with other people through cruise companies that occasionally visit for a true cultural experience.
A few of the natives insisted I try shaving a coconut...
After a short tour of the village we gathered back in the main bure of the village for some music and dancing. I made friends with a few of the young natives...
After an absolutely amazing cultural experience we boarded our schooner and headed back to our private island just in time for another beautiful Fijian sunset...
And our delegation managers had a final dinner and dance party for us before our big day of travel the following day...
Day 14: Drawaqa, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Today we took about a 20 minute bus ride down to the marina to board our 6 hour boat ride to Barefoot Island, also known as Drawaqa, in the Yasawa chain of islands. We spent 6 hours on a 110 foot scooner...
And got some amazing views of the Fijian islands!
After our long boat ride, we arrived at Barefoot Island, where we would be the only people on the island for 2 nights and 3 days! We were staying huts, called "bures," with no electricity and very little running water on the island. Standing in the center of the island, there are beaches on either side of you, appropriately called sunrise and sunset beach, depending on the side of the island.
This was the view from the inside of my hut...
After we got settled in, we began our first "Survivor" game. Our teams were each given some bamboo and rope, and we had to figure out how to make rafts out of the bamboo and race our boats. (My team's raft won!)
We finished up just in time to enjoy a beautiful Fijian sunset. In the distance you can see our boat...
After dinner in the main bure, our night concluded with a kava ceremony, where everyone had to try a bowl of kava.
At night the Fijian men who were running our tour invited me to hang around the main bure and play guitar with them. I had about 10 or 15 bowls of kava with them, and started to feel like I was back on the boat! I found out once I got home that kava is actually a mild tranquilizer that has an effect not unlike marijuana. I guess that explains why I slept so well in Fiji with no air-conditioning and wild animals running around just outside my door and open windows!
While sleeping at night in the bure, I heard a rustling around in the bag of Doritos on my nightstand. I quickly grabbed my flashlight from under my mosquito net to find a lizard scurrying out of my Dorito bag and out through the bottom of my hut door!
And got some amazing views of the Fijian islands!
After our long boat ride, we arrived at Barefoot Island, where we would be the only people on the island for 2 nights and 3 days! We were staying huts, called "bures," with no electricity and very little running water on the island. Standing in the center of the island, there are beaches on either side of you, appropriately called sunrise and sunset beach, depending on the side of the island.
This was the view from the inside of my hut...
After we got settled in, we began our first "Survivor" game. Our teams were each given some bamboo and rope, and we had to figure out how to make rafts out of the bamboo and race our boats. (My team's raft won!)
We finished up just in time to enjoy a beautiful Fijian sunset. In the distance you can see our boat...
After dinner in the main bure, our night concluded with a kava ceremony, where everyone had to try a bowl of kava.
At night the Fijian men who were running our tour invited me to hang around the main bure and play guitar with them. I had about 10 or 15 bowls of kava with them, and started to feel like I was back on the boat! I found out once I got home that kava is actually a mild tranquilizer that has an effect not unlike marijuana. I guess that explains why I slept so well in Fiji with no air-conditioning and wild animals running around just outside my door and open windows!While sleeping at night in the bure, I heard a rustling around in the bag of Doritos on my nightstand. I quickly grabbed my flashlight from under my mosquito net to find a lizard scurrying out of my Dorito bag and out through the bottom of my hut door!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Day 13: Nadi, Fiji
Since we got in after dark the night before, it wasn't until the morning until we could really appreciate the beauty of Fiji. Our hotel, the Raffles Gateway, is a 5 star, incredible resort that is located directly across the street from the airport. We flew into Nadi (pronounced nan-dee), where the gates are actually all open-air. Nadi is the largest city in Fiji, even though Suva is actually the capital city, about a 3 hour drive to the other side of the main island, Viti Levu. I never really realized just how third-world Fiji is until now.
After breakfast, 4 vans arrived at our hotel to take us on another Amazing Race all over the main island of Fiji. Our first clue led us to a hidden Hindu temple, where we had to put dots on our heads and collect information about the Hindu faith.
Our second stop as a village in Nadi, where we had to wear Sarongs and learned to make a drink called "kava." Kava is made from a type of root that you crush into powder, put into a handkerchief, and work into water. Once our kava was made, we tried it out on a village elder.
Our next stop was the Saint Mary's School grounds, where students had to each kick a rugby ball through the uneven uprights, score a netball goal through a netball hoop that was crooked, and score a soccer goal on a dirt field with no nets. It was really eye-opening to see what amazing facilities we have in high schools for sports in American compared to what they have in Fiji.
The final stop on our Amazing Race was a beach, where we learned how to husk, crack, and milk a coconut. It's definitely much more difficult than it looks on TV. It took us almost an hour to get just 1 shotglass full of coconut milk!
And, of course, Jackson decided to try to get his own coconuts...
On our way back to the resort, we stopped in an open-air market and took a public transportation bus.
Our day ended back at the resort, where we had a little time to swim and enjoy the awesome waterslide!
After breakfast, 4 vans arrived at our hotel to take us on another Amazing Race all over the main island of Fiji. Our first clue led us to a hidden Hindu temple, where we had to put dots on our heads and collect information about the Hindu faith.
Our second stop as a village in Nadi, where we had to wear Sarongs and learned to make a drink called "kava." Kava is made from a type of root that you crush into powder, put into a handkerchief, and work into water. Once our kava was made, we tried it out on a village elder.
Our next stop was the Saint Mary's School grounds, where students had to each kick a rugby ball through the uneven uprights, score a netball goal through a netball hoop that was crooked, and score a soccer goal on a dirt field with no nets. It was really eye-opening to see what amazing facilities we have in high schools for sports in American compared to what they have in Fiji.
The final stop on our Amazing Race was a beach, where we learned how to husk, crack, and milk a coconut. It's definitely much more difficult than it looks on TV. It took us almost an hour to get just 1 shotglass full of coconut milk!
And, of course, Jackson decided to try to get his own coconuts...
On our way back to the resort, we stopped in an open-air market and took a public transportation bus.
Our day ended back at the resort, where we had a little time to swim and enjoy the awesome waterslide!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 12: Travel to Fiji
On our last day, we took the 3 hour bus ride back up to Sydney and flew from there to Fiji in time for dinner. We said our final goodbyes to our delegation manager, Rochelle...
And flew off for Nadi, Fiji:
And flew off for Nadi, Fiji:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
