Spa Day in Fiji

Although we started the day today with a fabulously sunny morning, by mid-morning we’d devolved into more rain. At this point I received an email from Air Pacific confirming my flight back home later that night. Bummer. We kept hoping those rumors were just that.

I did manage to ease some of my sadness with a fabulous one-hour massage at the Mandara Spa at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa. This spa is one of my favorites in Denarau (admittedly, the only one I’ve really experienced here, but I just love the atmosphere.)

Set up in a landscaped, protected courtyard, the spa sits in the middle of the resort overlooking the ocean, and yet is totally cut off from the property. The spa probably has some of the most beautiful sunset views in Denarau. I've posted a photo, and am cheating a bit, because this is a press photo from the hotel, and not one I actually took on this trip.

As Janie and I arrived for our treatments, a massage therapist remembered me from my last trip to the Sofitel. According to Ili, studies have been done on the remarkable abilities the Fijians have for remembering names and faces. This ability to remember guests as valued friends is such a large part of what makes the country so welcoming.

At Mandara, I enjoyed a blissfully traditional massage. Okay, I think I enjoyed it, but I sort of fell asleep somewhere in the middle.

After the massage we managed to gather enough energy to find our way to the Westin Denarau where we enjoyed lunch on the patio and another fabulous wood-fired pizza. At lunch Ili confirmed we were indeed being sent home that evening. Did I mention, bummer?

After lunch, Ili, Janie and I went back to the Radisson where I enjoyed one last ice coffee before returning to my room to pack.

Because the Sofitel was holding a “Fijian Night” performance that night, we decided to partake in that event before Ili drove us back to the airport. First we enjoyed a traditional Kava Ceremony, which is a welcome ceremony used throughout Fiji. Next, we enjoyed more traditional music, performed by a local group. (In the picture you see visiting children and local cannibals enjoying the performance.)

After the performance, we went into the buffet to enjoy a lovo (traditional feast.) Oh dear, I seriously overindulged here, and ate far too much of everything on the buffet. Kokoda, of course, but also fresh water muscles, grilled-to-order meats, and what was seriously my favorite thing in the word, a made-to-order Caesar Salad with enough garlic to make me cry.

All too soon, Ili was driving us to the airport, and it hardly seemed possible that our trip had already come to an end. We did enjoy a very lovely upgrade to Air Pacific’s Tabua (business) class which was a fabulous way to end the trip. If you’re an amenity collector to me, Air Pacific has a wonderful in-flight bag for its Business class users, including several Pure Fiji lotion products.

I more or less slept the entire 8 hour flight home, and landed in Los Angeles with no problems. Already, though, I’m checking my calendar to see when I can go back.

Visiting Nadi

Although we were scheduled to head up to the Pacific Harbor region of Viti Levu today, the inclement weather prohibited us from getting much further than downtown Nadi (and even that turned out to be a bit of an adventure drive.)

The ongoing weather situation has caused many hotel properties throughout the islands to be on limited or reduced resources. With more rain in the forecast, it is unclear what our schedule would be. At one point during the day we even heard rumors of us being sent home early, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can salvage parts of our trip.

In the morning, Janie and I enjoyed another leisurely breakfast watching the rain and gale-force winds go toe to toe with Pacific Ocean. After breakfast, I took up temporary residence in the bar to utilize their free WiFi. God Bless the Radisson. Cyclones, power outages, but not one single wireless interruption.

Although I was supposed to be working, I kind of ended up just hanging out. My computer became the business center annex, as many people in our group used it to check in with loved ones back home. Meanwhile I spent my time getting to know the bartenders (Jutta, Kevin, and a number of others) and sucking down more ice coffees with vanilla ice cream. I can think of a lot worse ways to spend the day.

In the afternoon, Ili needed to drive to her office to pick up some materials, so Janie and I, and Georgette, another journalist in our group decided to join her on the drive to town.

After stopping at the office, we stopped at one of the local produce markets. Despite the weather, locals were busy catching up on commerce and gossip.

The Fijian people seemed to take the inclement weather in stride, and even as we watched the local populace wade their way through the streets, we only saw smiles and laughter all around.

Later, I re-opened the temporary business center and as the rains calmed down some I continued to hold out hope that by tomorrow we would be able to rejoin our regularly scheduled itinerary already in progress.

In the evening Janie and I headed over to the Fiji Beach Resort & Spa Managed (AKA the Hilton) to enjoy dinner there. This shot of the Hilton pool showed just how gorgeous the island looked, even in the bad weather. In the distance, though, notice the speck of a man in a blowing rain coat, which will give you an idea of just how windy it was.

Although we’d already enjoyed two fabulous dinners in Denarau, this one was probably the best one yet. I had fish steamed with coconut milk (so, so good). What made dinner especially fun is that the bartender, Seta, was the bar manager at the LikuLiku when I stayed there last year. As is the Fijian way, he remembered me from my last visit, once again demonstrating why visitors always feel so at home here.
After dinner, Janie and I decided to take our chances and walk back to the hotel because to quote Janie, “it isn’t that far away.” Three seconds after we started walking, we were soaked through, so we spent most of the “walk” running along the beach squealing like little kids as we tried to find palm leaves to protect us from the downpour.

Water, Water Everywhere

The rain we never saw last night during dinner, found us sometime during the night. This morning we woke up to find ourselves smack in the middle of Tropical Cyclone Gene. Now I’ve seen Mother Nature wrathful before, but nothing like this. And the Radisson with its open lobby and restaurant areas gave us a front-row view of the effects 140 km/hour winds can have.

Janie and I enjoyed a lengthy breakfast, meditatively contemplating the wind and rain as it pounded the surf. (We watched through a screen that kept most of the wet away from our breakfast.) We were so impressed with the water’s fury, we were moved to order a second ham, cheese and tomato sandwich on croissant.

Our morning meetings were all put on hold, as most of the transportation on Denarau Island had been cancelled, making it difficult to transport our group (which was scattered throughout different hotels on the island) to the meeting venue.

So instead we spent a quiet morning at the hotel. Of course, I found the bar, where I indulged in my ice coffee addiction, complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (bad Weight Watcher) and took advantage of the hotel’s free wireless service.

Lunch consisted of wood-fire pizza (I know, pizza in Fiji? What can I say, it sure tasted yummy), after which our group organizers decided to forge ahead with the meetings. At this point we spent hours meeting a large number of hoteliers and suppliers from around Fiji. Overwhelming how many wonderful properties there are yet for me to explore.

Outside, it was still raining, so Janie and I joined our wonderful host Ili Matatolou, the Regional Director of the Los Angeles office of the Fiji Visitors Bureau, who invited us for a most delicious dinner, the popular seafood buffet at the Sheraton Fiji Resort. I enjoyed second helpings of Kokoda, which is a Fijian specialty (one of my favorites), and is basically ceviche prepared with coconut milk. Yum!

The Fiji Bitter beer, the wine with dinner and the general overloading on excellent seafood caused me to enter a coma pretty much the second I got back to my room, and if the winds continued to blow outside my room, there is no way I could tell for sure.

Back to Fiji

A week after my birthday, and I’m heading back to one of my most favorite destinations in the world, the Fijian Islands. This trip was supposed to happen in December, but due to some scheduling issues, it got moved to January, and I feel like I’ve been waiting FOREVER to leave.
The flight (fortunately for Air Pacific) was quite full. As a member of the travel industry I always meet this news with mixed feelings. I’m delighted of course, for the airline, but selfishly hate not having an empty seat next to me.

Nadi

After our night-time departure, we arrive early in the morning at Nadi (pronounced “Nandi”) International Airport. At the airport I’m fortunate enough to meet a fellow journalist, Janie, and it pretty soon becomes obvious that Janie and I are friends who were just waiting to meet.

On my last trip, I’d toured the Radisson Resort Fiji Denarau before it had opened, so I was looking forward to staying there. After check in, we had several hours to fill before our first meeting, and so many options of things to do. Tour the hotel, get a spa treatment, go swimming in what is being promoted as the largest pool in Fiji. Unfortunately I was sidelined by option D, taking a nap. I sat on the bed for a few minutes and the next thing I knew, I was out…

Conveniently, I did make it on time to lunch, a yummy buffet at the Radisson. I tried to remember that I’m being a good “Weight Watcher,” and so chose to forgo the yummy-looking chocolate covered banana bread at lunch figuring I would see it again later in the week. (You know what they say about resisting temptation, it may never come around again. Sadly, that was the last we ever saw of those cakes.)

After an afternoon of business meetings, I did have enough free time to snap a few photos of the Radisson Hotel at dusk.

Our evening program, which was originally scheduled to be held at an outdoor venue at the Westin, was moved at the last minute to an indoor location at the Sheraton due to the threat of rain. At the Sheraton, we enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner capped off by a native Fijian performance.



The music in Fiji, is one of the reasons why I’m so in love with this country. No matter where you go, you will always find Fijians singing. If you are in a hotel or resort, and the workers are on a break, they will almost always migrate over to a common area and start singing. Visitors are always welcomed with song, and as I’ve mentioned in past posts, “Isa Lei,” is the official farewell song, which most people will hear on their final night or upon departing.