This world trip is on its last leg. We're in LA/San Diego right now. And yes, I consider Southern California as a travel destination on trip.
Let's see now, the prior stop to here was Fiji. We spent 7 nights there - 5 of which were at either a normal hotel or nice resort and 2 of which were trying to get to know the "true" Fijian life as best as we could.
When one thinks of Fiji, I think they can be thrown into 1 of 2 categories. (1) aaahhhh and oooohhh, plush nice resorts and pina coladas people. (2) or the people that think.... uh-oh, bad economy (practically 3rd world) and recent attempted coup.
Let me tell you about our recent experience: after the transfers and boat rides, we get to this small island (Barry Bonds can probably hit a baseball over this island) where we are suppose to enjoy the "simple" life. We stay in a bure (which is probably like French for bungalow) just above the beach. There are about 10 residents on the island, their purpose was to take care of about 10 total guests. No TV's, no noise, just peace and quiet.
Sound like paradise? We thought so (and actually still do think so in a different way) until we figured out how simple it really was.... no ice = warm beer, no electricity = pitch dark bungalow, dark bungalow = can't tell what all those noises are in our room (let me tell you - there were scurrying noises on our floors as well as up on our thatched roof), peace and quiet = nothing to do most of the day. Uuhhhgggg, so simple there was not even a hammock to lay in!
But on the flip side of things: (1) we took this amazing hike up a mountain with spectacular views and ate some of the freshest/sweetest mangos ever straight off the trees.. (2) spent Sunday with the Fiji villagers in church and hanging out with some of them. The Fijians villagers were just so genuinely nice and pleasant. They were happy in their environment.
12/21/01 (me, lyn) Auckland to Fiji
It's been 2 weeks since my last entry. Since then, we have spent an awesome weekend with Pete and Co, prepping for our trip back and New Years eve with the gang. Although most of the night was one big blur, the credit card charges reflected a very merry night. We drank, we bet on horses...based on their name...our only winner? a horse with Jill in her name...in honour of Jilly. 12 hours of nonstop drinking and singing go by and we found ourselves having a french fry fight at Burger King...sigh, partying Kiwi style was right up our alley. The following week consisted of relaxing days exploring the city of Auckland and having family time with Marijke's parents, Fred and Reet, her aunt and uncle, and a few other reoccuring neighbors making cameos at the Timmers household. All were so kind, they took wonderful care of us, we will never forget their hospitality and ability to make two weary traveller's feel a little love and a slice of life, Kiwi style. The last day in Auckland was emotional for me, I actually got so emotional, and for the first time, shed some tears at the thought of leaving, luckily, Marijke's dad, Kees was there to offer an ice cream with Bailey's...what a great dad! It hit the spot and we were honestly so touched that they as well as Pete were there to send us off at the airport.
FIJI....Next stop was Fiji and as Tony said, we had the most interesting experience at our first stop, an Island called Kuata, we felt like we were all one big happy family, the meals were simple, we were lucky to have windows and the doors was useless...the bathroom.. was too scary to even discuss but we did enjoy ourselves as the kids and adults on this island were so geniunely happy to see us. The Fijians are proud folks, we were invited to the residents homes and they shared their photo albums with us, the villagers all knew us by name and at church, we were touched by the church parson who made a special annoucement to welcome us to their village and explain that the service this week was about Christmas and sharing time with family and friends...the best part was the hike down from the summit, the rain poured as we slide halfway down the mountain on our butts while eating the fresh mangoes we plucked off the trees.
the following days prior to our return to the states consisted of Tony and I relaxing in a posh resort and reflecting our the past 8 months that we consider was the time of our lives...we will cherish these days forever.
USA....Back in the States, our first touch back was into LAX, and how foreigners ever get out of LA without a tremendous sense of hate for the US is beyond me. It was a scary place even for us natives as we sat to watch people screaming at each other and heard the anti soliciting messages coming through the loud speaker. Jess was our first family sighting..after the squealing and hugs, our first stop was a really "New York-y" restaurant for some Rubens, Buffalo wings and Black and White cookies. The next couple days went by in a blur as Corey and Jess shuttled us back and forth between LA, Irvine and San Diego. We got into the Christmas spirit on Friday at Jess' making lovely intimate dinner and tree trimming with Jess' new love, Jeff, her boy. Saturday's highlight was going to Mexico..our 20th country..for some grilled lobster, mexicali style..an excellent choice on Corey's part! On our way back we stopped in to see a very Pregnant Rhea and played with Glenn for awhile. Our last stop was of course, the institution...In and Out for a double-double..cheese, no onions...what a way to end a trip!
We want to thank those of you for taking your time to browse through our website, we were always ecstactic to recieve emails from you to tell us that you are enjoying it, it always brightened up our days and made us feel like we were never that far away from home .. As for the friends we made on the road, cheers to you for touching our lives and letting us share in yours. You are the stars of the Lynora and Tony show.