Bula!

We made it! After a night of flying over the Pacific Ocean and crossing the International Date Line, we touched down to Nadi, Fiji at 5 am local time. The locals are some of the most gracious and wonderful people I've ever met. We took an hour long drive from the airport to our hotel on the Coral Coast, and got to see the "real" part of Fiji...no touristy shops, cafes or beaches. It felt like we were driving in the middle of a tropical rainforest, with a lush, bright green landscape all around us. The only thing that wasn't green were the many locals walking down the streets with very colorful umbrellas. (It's been pouring rain with gusts of winds since we've been here...hurricane season!) The driver, opposite side of the car and road, was the sweetest, although very aggressive on the road! He nonchalantly passed every car on the road, including a police truck while almost cutting him off the road. (Almost felt like we were in Los Angeles for a while there..just replace skyscrapers and people with palm trees and roaming cattle!) What looks like fields of corn, are actually fields of sugar cane that take up a lot of the hilly landscape. There was no sign of wealthy homes or places for tourists along the entire drive, which I actually enjoyed because we could see how the the majority of Fijians live...in very humble homes that resemble shacks. And yet, they are all so uplifting and inspiring with their joyful spirits. They also make AMAZING bula (welcome) drinks, with the plentiful fresh fruits they have in the area. Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny for our waterfall adventure/tour! So far, Fiji feels very different than any other tropical place I've been to...I can tell we are on the other side of the world, and it feels GOOD :)