Fiji – Traveling Love Bug

In a world full of hate, it is easy to find kindness.

July 16, 2016July 16, 2016TravelingLoveBug

You hear it all the time, and I definitely wont be the first or last person to bring up what a sad time in history it is. With all of the darkness in the world, especially now, it’s hard to think love and kindness can be found in someone you do not know. A stranger, to be exact. We are all guilty of judging others. I unfortunately know I am, especially while traveling. It’s like you’re always second guessing yourself: Should I talk to that person? Will they like me? Are they nice? Will I be safe? Can they speak English? Can I say that one phrase I’ve been practicing well enough? Are they going to think I am a dumb American? These thoughts are normal, and a huge part of exploring abroad because traveling makes you vulnerable, and that is the beauty of it.

Traveling also causes you to get lost… a lot…which I highly recommend. Get lost willingly and purposely, get so crazy lost, you have no choice but to ask a local, and THEN find your way!! AND while you’re finding your way, you’ll find yourself, which ends up being the absolute best part.

Sean and I have been awe struck at how many times complete strangers have shown kindness to us while traveling abroad. Whether we asked, or not.

During our first extended travel trekking through Europe, we found kindness in Paris, and then it happened again and again and again.

Fiji Day 6: Happy Easter from Namale as we celebrated our last morning in paradise

May 3, 2014May 3, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs!

The Namale life is still as fresh in our minds as the daily mojitos we enjoyed in SavuSavu during our time there. We can still smell the fresh mint, and taste the refreshing lime as we reminisce on our islandy days in this sunny wonderland. We dream of operating on Namale time, and crave our 3:00pm afternoon nap in the hammock overlooking the ocean. I can feel my eyes slowly closing just thinking about the sound of the waves smashing into the sand. We were so blessed to rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection in true paradise. We enjoyed Easter morning by starting the day with room service. The Namale staff took our breakfast orders, as well as the entire resorts, the night before at dinner. They brought room service to each bure. We were delivered fresh breads in a beautiful hand woven palm frond basket.

Sean and I relaxed in the sun, went paddle boarding, and said goodbye to our favorite parts of the resort! We had such a blast paddle boarding. We laughed the entire time because we kept falling…we don’t know if it was the pitcher of mojitos we drank before or the waves crashing into the boards. All we know is that in the midst of laughing our butts off, we were stranded in the middle of the lagoon for 2 hours laughing hysterically. The hotel staff even took it upon themselves to take the boat out to check on us not only once but twice to see if we wanted a lift back to the resort. I will never forget that Easter morning of laughter. I wish I could go back. The Namale team does an excellent job of making you feel like a true part of their family. Upon leaving, they have you sign a cement brick, and they place the dried bricks around the entire resort enticing you to come back and find it. We were so sad to leave as they loaded our suitcases into the van and sang us traditional Fijian goodbye song.

Happy Easter! We love our Handmade Palm Frond basket.

Fiji Day 5: A trip into the village of Naidi, SavuSavu.

April 27, 2014April 28, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

I know it has been awhile since my last post, so please accept my apologies. I have been adjusting to the time change and jet lag! Yes, it really is as bad as everyone makes it seem. Sean says it is all mental, and he luckily has not suffered. I, along with many people that I have spoken to are suffering from a bad case of it. I finally have begun to feel normal this weekend, and it has been a full 8 days since I landed. This post will showcase our last full day in Fiji. We went into the village of Naidi, experienced the culture, tasted their homemade ice cream, and did a little shopping. We are so incredibly blessed to live the life we do in the USA. Yes, Fiji is complete paradise, but the Fijians who live there really do live in villages. The homes were like nothing I have seen in the U.S. Many homes had blankets covering the windows with tin roofs and concrete bricks that made up the frame of the house. Out of respect, I did not photograph or post any photos of the houses and people around them. Below you will find pictures of the village streets and markets. It was truly an eye opening experience, and I feel incredibly blessed to have had the upbringing I did. When we finally got back to the resort, we did a lot of relaxing, and then got ready for another ocean front private dinner.
We, for the first time ever, got to see the moon rise from the ocean. It was remarkable and like nothing I have ever seen! I had no idea the moon was even capable of rising like this. The moonlight was just beautiful.

There were 3 natural hot water springs outside of the village. Some Fijians wait there turn and cook there dinner over these hot springs. — There were 3 natural hot water springs outside of the village. Many Fijians wait their turn to cook dinner over these hot springs to save money on electricity bills.

Fiji Day 4: Celebrating our 3 year anniversary with Waterfalls, Massages, and Beachy Deliciousness

April 22, 2014June 23, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

As a quick update, Sean and I are safely back in Florida. We arrived yesterday around 11:00am EST. It was a very long journey with multiple strenuous layovers, but it was all worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Sean and I could not have asked for a better way to end our journey through the South Pacific, than shutting down our vacation in Fiji. In this post, you will see how we spent our fourth day. Although a month early, we celebrated our 3-year anniversary together, and what better way to celebrate it than in paradise! For those of you who do not know Sean and I personally, we do not have a “typical anniversary date.” We met in May of 2011 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina while interning for University Directories. We shortly began hanging out/dating, and the rest was history! Hence, we do not have an actual date as it all just kind of happened

We started off our 4th day in paradise with breakfast in bed, and we then made our way over to the spa where we were given a 105 minute heavenly couples massage while listening to the waves crash against the rocks. After hanging out at the spa, we made our way to a beautiful waterfall, and had a very nice picnic lunch. That night, the Namale staff created a wonderful dinner for Sean and I to enjoy on our own private stretch of the beach. The stars in Fiji are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. You can see each and every little twinkle including the Milky Way! It was unbelievable. I tried to catch it on my camera, but I had some technical difficulties. After our romantic dinner, we went to the Kava Bowl, Namale’s entertainment center. Sean and I have a friendly competitive nature, and I am proud to say I beat him in Air Hockey best 2 out of 3. I guess I cant fail to mention that he beat me in bowling. We had an absolute blast, and even ordered a pitcher of mojitos (our favorite) & chips and salsa late into the night. We also began watching Anchorman 2 in their movie room, but fell asleep. Overall we had an absolutely fantastic day!

We enjoyed amazing breakfast in bed! — Champagne breakfast in bed! Take me back!

Enjoy a close up of our yummy breakfast! We were spoiled by the Namale staff!

Fiji Day 3: Vinaka! Secluded meals, Horseback riding, Cave explorations, and Kava!

April 18, 2014April 27, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

Sean and I highly recommend a trip to Fiji! We wish we didn’t have to leave because we’re having a total blast. Honestly, we have had so much fun together. Our days have been full of exploring, relaxation and laughter. Today was absolutely wonderful. The Namale team set us up with 2 Private meals, and they were just to die for! We had breakfast on their “Lover’s Deck” looking over the ocean by the jacuzzi, and then dinner in a romantic cave. They decorated an oceanside cave with at least 100 tea lights so it was glimmering in the moonlight beautifully. In between meals, we went horseback riding on the beach and around the property. We also walked on reefs and explored the caves finding any and all hermit crabs we could find. After dinner, Sean became the “Bametti” in the Kava Ceremony. The “Bametti” mixes the kava in a huge bowl, and has the honor of handing it out. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with the workers (local Fijians) drinking Kava. I have some great videos of it that I will share once we get back to the states!

We had the most wonderful private breakfast. Here is the picture of the setup! Love my Seansy.

A close up of our private Champagne breakfast! It was delicious. The blueberry pancakes reminded me soo much of my best friend, Ally, who loves them! Miss you Als!

Fiji Day 2: Drinks, Sunshine, Snorkeling, Polynesian Dancers, and Bula Bliss

April 17, 2014April 27, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

Today was wonderful. I swear I think this place is magical or something. The staff at Namale bends over backwards to make you feel special. The hotel can hold up to 44 people, and has about 105 staff members. They do this purposely to make sure each person has more than enough attention. To top that off, they purposely only book half occupancy so everyone feels more than accommodated for! Sean and I rarely bump into other couples! We went snorkeling with another couple, and the dive staff took us to the most beautiful reef! It definitely gave the Great Barrier Reef a run for its money! We saw vibrant colored coral, a shark, and a turtle. The food here is to die for. The chefs and pastry chefs really know what they are doing. You can order anything you’d like at any time of the day as many times as you’d like, regardless if it is on the menu. Sean and I woke up and had the most delicious oceanfront breakfast. We then relaxed all day! It was heavenly. Namale allows you to eat wherever you want on property. There are several private dine out locations that we have been taking advantage of. We had them set us up with a beautiful private happy hour to watch the sunset, in which they served us cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, and mojitos before dinner. We ended the night watching the Miller Dance Company, a Polynesian children’s dance company. They were sooo cute, and really good!

Breakfast by the water is the only way to have breakfast! We had a great breeze, and the water was beautiful, what more could you ask for?

Fiji Day 1: BULA! We have made it to paradise!

April 16, 2014TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs,

I am watching the sunrise over the water as I type this. Our trip to SavuSavu, Fiji was quite the adventure. Our initial flight leaving Sydney was delayed 2 hours leaving us praying we wouldn’t miss our connection in Nadi. Fijians are so unbelievably nice and helpful. If it weren’t for the gracious staff at the Nadi airport, we would have missed the last flight. They held the plane for us and a family of 3 for 45 minutes! Can you believe that? That would never happen in the US. After we got to Nadi, we figured out exactly WHY they waited….it is quite funny because we made up nearly half the plane (Scroll down to see pictures). The flight from Nadi to SavuSavu was absolutely beautiful–the mountains, the reefs, the vibrant colors of the ocean. It was picturesque to say the least. Once we arrived to Namale, we truly found our hidden paradise. The resort is amazing, and the people are even more wonderful. We settled into our “burre,” tried Kava, and had a delicious dinner! This place is truly great.

Some pictures of our flight into SavuSavu (the reefs from above were just unbelievably gorgeous):