FIJI!

Well, hello everyone. This post is coming quite unexpected because I didin't think I was ever going to get internet, but the place we are staying at has free internet, which is pretty awesome. Might I add that we get free continental breakfast as well....oh, and we got our very own little chalet of a honeymoon suite for $18 a person! Pretty sick. We walked in around 7 PM to this place called the uprising for the backpacker dorm rate of $18 and were told that the dorm was completely booked. However, there was a "bure" open a day early than expected and (probably because they felt sorry for us) they gave us the entire thing for the same rate! God is so good...just when we were wondering where in the world we were going to stay for the night.

Anyways, Fiji has been amazing. Unlike Australia in its similarity to U.S. feel, Fiji is entirely a foreign experience. It is obvious that we are in another country; we are easily the minority.

And it has been incredible thus far. This is our third night here and our first on the mainland island of Viti Levu. Our first to days were spent on Mana Island, west of Nadi (which is pronounced "Nandi") where our flight came in from Brisbane. It was about a 45 minute boat ride out there and the water kept getting bluer and bluer...beautiful.

Mana was a pretty cool place. We stayed at a diving backpackers hostle called the Ratu Kini. The place was located in the midst of a village, which was really cool. We went for a hike to the tallest hills on the island, around the island (walked on the beach where Survivor Fiji was filmed), went kayaking over some sweet waves, went snorkelling through thousands of fish, and ...yes, we went scuba diving at this site called the Sand Bank which was one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life.

We also met a lot of people and had a few good conversations with others there. The Fijians were so friendly and created a good atmosphere for us. There is really too much to write about in this short time. Let's just say that there are a lot of good things going on with us and we are processing through a lot of different thoughts and feelings, which is really a good thing.

Today we returned to the mainland and checked out Nadi, the markets and such. Fiji has the feel of a third world country in the cities. the litter is ridiculous for the beauty of the place. There is trash everywhere and pollution is so high. It is hard to cope with the fact that such a beautiful place can also be covered in such an amount of garbage. But it is so beautiful here. I am really loving it.

Well...because I am getting carried away by mosquitoes, I need to go.

Farewell for now,
-b garrison