Bula!

Tuesday

The weather had turned unseasonably chilly and rainy this past weekend, and with Mark away at work, Sherry was left to peel Ronan off the walls of the apartment by herself. We were in need of a serious Spring Break! Our Air Pacific flight to Nadi today left from Auckland, so we were up early to make the drive to the airport. It would have been nice if Ro slept more on the way up, but he was still in good spirits after the long drive.

We were at the customs kiosk, and Ro pulled himself up on the counter so the agent could confirm his identity. The agent asked him how old he was, and Ro enthusiastically replied, "I'm five," then adds, "I farted...he, he, he!" We were mortified, but the agent kept a straight face and pretended not to hear him. Five seconds later the smell hit all of us and we exclaimed with pained expressions, "Yeah, you did!" at which point the reserved agent absolutely bust a gut laughing.

Sharing each other's rides to maximize their motion time

We had read on the internet that cocktails at the Fijian resorts were pricey, so we stopped by the Duty Free shop to pick up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire to make our own. While waiting for our flight, Mark and Ro sat by the terminal window, watching the planes while Sherry browsed the bookstore for a new James Patterson novel. The airport bar had something on TV Mark hadn't seen in quite a while: American football! Even though it was just a replay of Seahawks vs Colts, it was still a refreshing sight. Mark relaxed and watched the game while Ro played with his Hot Wheels, then found an Indian boy with some cool Lego Star Wars toys to hang out with.

Varooom!

Ro was excited to ride upstairs on the 747. The seatback entertainment systems weren't as fancy as the ones on Air New Zealand, and Ro quickly lost interest when Sherry wouldn't let him watch The Fast And The Furious. The movie selections weren't "on demand," and they all started at the same time, so you pretty much had to know what you wanted to watch ahead of time or you'd be lost. Sherry read her book, while Mark watched the latest Star Trek (again). Ro wasn't too enamored of the inflight meal, but Sherry had brought plenty of snacks in anticipation of that. We had noticed Ro scratching his bum as we boarded, and Sherry took him to the toilet to confirm what she suspected...serious skid marks. He went commando for the rest of the 3.5 hour flight.

After landing in Nadi, we soon became acutely aware of the concept of "Fiji time." From the time we landed, it took nearly an hour for our luggage to show up on the baggage carousel! Gave us plenty of time to pick up some Duty Free champagne, eh? As soon as we got in the taxi, Ro exclaimed, "there's no seat belts!" The cabbie's response, "we don't need them here." Grreeaat. As we were passing a scrap yard, Ro said, "that looks like a dump!" Then he thought for a second and made himself laugh, "That's what my daddy says when he has to poop!" Mortified once again.

Arriving in balmy Fiji

The city of Nadi on Viti Levu (the biggest island in Fiji) wasn't anything to look at. In fact, in many places it could have passed for a third-world country, but as soon as you cross the bridge to Denarau Island the scenery changes abruptly. Carefully manicured lawns, gardens, private villas, and sprawling resorts populate the planned island development. We were duly impressed when we pulled up to the Hilton, the newest resort on the island (parts of it are still under construction). And everyone greets you with a smile and a hearty "Bula!"

http://www.denarau.com/

"Rub my belly," pleads a tired Ro

Once we stepped into our room, Mark knew all those lonely nights he spent at various Hampton Inns while doing locum tenens work were worth it, racking up the Hilton HHonors points we were using to fund this little Spring Break of ours. Even though it was only a one bedroom unit, it was huge. It had a somewhat unorthodox layout, being roughly partitioned into three equal parts. At the back was the enormous bathroom with separate shower and tub, a washer/dryer, and a cleverly concealed clothesline that is technically outside but nearly unnoticeable from outside the building so as not to clutter the scenery. The door to our room opened directly into the bedroom, which was nice but nothing special. The living room/kitchen facing the ocean had a nearly full size fridge (already stocked with Fiji water and milk), a range, and a microwave, but it was the espresso maker that really impressed Sherry. Ro was more captivated by the two big flat-screen TVs (with Cartoon Network, which we don't get at home) and the beach right outside our patio door. We even had our own gas grill outside!

Checking out our hotel room

There was no rollaway as we had requested, but our bellboy Joseph called for it and had one promptly sent down. Although the beach looked tempting, it was already dark outside and we were all famished, so we walked down to Nuku, the main restaurant on the resort. We passed a bunch of kids watching the outdoor movie by the pool (it was a Scooby-Doo cartoon tonight), but we were too hungry to stop. The restaurant was very good, if overpriced. Mark had the lamb curry (which became a bad idea in hindsight around 2am), Sherry played it safe with a chicken Caesar salad (normally only available as room service), and Ro ate from the kids buffet. Ro was too excited to eat and mostly just picked at his food, so we took some rolls for later, knowing he would wake up hungry.

Ro was more interested in slicing up his food than eating it

After dinner, Ro waded and splashed around in one of the shallow pools that borders the restaurant while we watched from a large chaise lounge and finished our drinks. We let him play on the beach before bed as we watched the moon rise over the mountains. Some girls a few doors down from us were hunting frogs with a torch (i.e. flashlight), collecting them in a pen made from chair cushions with the intention of racing them. Ro was captivated by the sight of so many frogs, and we got to talking with the girls' parents, who were there with what looked like their whole extended family. They were from Marlborough (on NZ's South Island), well known for its wines, and from the looks of their empties it looked like they had brought all the wine with them.

Kicking back at last!

Hope those girls set the frogs free eventually

Ro was actually eager to take a bath for a change, mostly so he could play with his new pool toys in the tub. After reading books and winding down, Ro was hesitant to sleep on the rollaway in the living room, even though we were only a few feet away. We reluctantly let him fall asleep in our bed to keep the peace. We watched the replay of Monday Night Football (Yes!) as Brett Favre stuck it to his old team, but hit the hay at halftime knowing Ro would be up bright and early.

Scrub-a-dub-dub!