Country #112: Fiji delayed. Part 2 (the birthday edition)
Instead, this blogger- me, we are talking about me- will continue to try and hit some of the more memorable highlights.
One that comes to mind right away was my birthday. Why was it so special? Well, for starters, I was in fucking Fiji! On my birthday! That's pretty special. Add to that, my friend Iliana, who had just flown in from Miami.
Which leads me to a story. Back in February, I had an airline voucher that was about to expire. I went on the AA website and started plugging in a bunch of "dream destinations" to see if I could make any of them work. I saw that for $1200 (minus my $800 voucher), I could get to Fiji for my birthday. Perfection. I booked it and mentioned it to Iliana, who then also promptly booked it. Fast forward to late March and I get a text from a colleague, asking if I was going to Fiji. "Why, yes. I'm going at the end of May. How did you know?" "What?! I have no idea what you are talking about but there is a work trip going to Fiji next week." That's right. I would eventually have to cancel my vacation to Fiji because I was working...in Fiji.
Thankfully, I was able to get a credit for my flight and already be there when Iliana landed. From there, all we had to do was revert back to the schedule we had devised so many months ago. Our first stop:
* Kuata
There are a lot of reasons that this is one of the most popular destinations for tourists. Coming from Nadi, it is the closest island in the Yasawa chain. They have sharks. It is home to the perfectly run Barefoot Kuata resort. They have sharks. There are fantastic reefs that you can simply swim out to. Those reefs have sharks.
So, no surprise, I was there for the sharks. So was Iliana. So were Luis and Kevin, two friends who came along for the birthday festivities (but more so for the sharks).
There are two ways to visit Kuata. You can do a day trip where you snorkel with reef sharks or you can stay overnight and dive with bull sharks. It was my birthday weekend and I did not think I should be forced to choose between apex predators. (Note: technically you can do both on the second day but I was there already and eager to get on with it). While we were supposed to be in the process of checking in to the hostel, I was at the dive shack trying to get on that morning's shark snorkel trip.
Birthday luck was with me. Thanks to a couple of day trippers who had somehow managed to miss their boat, the dive shop had agreed to send out a second one and we could join them.
"Snorkeling with sharks" sounds like something strictly for adrenaline junkies but the truth is there is very little danger involved. You are in the water with white tip and black tip reef sharks, who are basically the Bob Marley of sharks. They look a little stoned, are super chill and are seemingly everywhere.
That's not to say it is not exciting when you first spot them. The first one I saw was swimming a couple of feet below us. That distinct shark silhouette triggered an immediate feeling of elation. We were snorkeling with sharks!
They know the routine better than most. With the tourists come the guides and with guides come the snacks. The sharks came up from the shallow depths and frankly, they were adorable. Soon, they were all around us.
It is hard to get a read on a shark. They don't really have the most expressive faces but from what I could tell, they did not seem either bothered or particularly interested in us. We were there, they were there. All was good.
I think we were out there for 45 minutes but if you would have told me it was only 5, I would have totally believed you.
We were back at the Barefoot Lodge in time for lunch. Most of the island resorts have a meal plan system. The mandatory resort package, usually between $50-100 USD per day includes all meals, snorkeling gear, kayaks, etc. It kind of sucks because it leaves you little flexibility and personally, I know if I was allowed to order ala carte, it would be much less but I get that the resorts have limited food and manpower so creating one or two menus for everyone is much simpler. That said, I was always impressed by the vegetarian options available to me.
Lunch was just that short interlude when the mask and fins came off. As soon as dessert was finished, we were running right back into the water. As a Cuban, I am aware that not waiting two hours after eating put me in major danger of una embolia but with water this warm and crystal clear, I was willing to roll them dice.
It was a risk well-taken. This was our front yard. No boat trip, no time restriction (other than the schedule of the tides). All you had to do was simply swim out there and admire all this beauty.
Once again, the time flew by. Soon, it was time for sunset. This was important. Sunsets everywhere are nice. That's kind of their thing. But no joke, no one does sunsets like Fiji. Each one is more spectacular and more dramatic than the last. For 3 1/2 months, I would go out to the beach every day to watch the sunset and every single time, I would find myself reaching for my phone to take pictures. By the time I left Fiji, my phone was 30% stupid memes, 20% Manu Chao playlists and 50% sunset pictures.
Normally birthday eve, would be cause for a raucous party, at least for me, but there were two issues present. 1. Nightlife in most of the smaller islands is pretty non-existent. You can linger around after dinner playing cards and having a couple of beers but that's about it. 2. We had an appointment early in the morning....with sharks.
These would not be the wee Irie reef sharks. We were going diving with bull sharks, considered by experts to be one of the most dangerous species in the world. Despite this reputation, there are two places in Fiji that offer bull shark dives: Pacific Harbour and Kuata.
I awoke the next day like a kid on Xmas morn. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a bit of primordial fear present- I'm not completely insane- but it was far outweighed by sheer excitement. From the moment I'd arrived in Fiji and sought out the dive refresher course, it was with one goal in my mind: to dive with sharks. And now, on my 52nd birthday, it was happening.
Kuata offer two dives. The morning one goes down to about 23 meters and is for certified divers. The afternoon one is around 15 meters and is for non-divers who pay a bit more for a resort course. Kevin and I were doing the morning dive; Iliana and Luis were taking the afternoon shift.
After a pretty basic briefing- you descend to the designated spot and kneel behind a man-made coral wall- we were on our way.
Fifteen minutes later, you are following the dive instructors to this little wall. Once there, everyone gets into place. There's dive staff alongside us, behind the wall, holding metal poles. These are used to keep the sharks from getting too close to us- or so it seems. In front of us are the divers who will feed the sharks and more people with poles. They are there to make sure the sharks don't eat the feeders.
As if on cue, the sharks appeared out of nowhere. First a couple, then a few more and then some more..in all, there were about 15 that showed up for the dinner party.
It is exhilarating, there are sharks everywhere. Where am I supposed to point my GoPro with so many of them buzzing around? Did I grab enough weights? I'm more buoyant than I need to be so I get a good grip on the wall, lest the current shove me into "the arena". Ooh, wow. That one got really close.
At first the pole guy, who happens to be right next to me, is on his game. He is working his pole like a majorette making her debut at the homecoming halftime show. I worry that he is too much of an overachiever and the sharks are going to avoid our little end of the wall.
As time passes and we settle in, I start noticing some things I had missed earlier. For starters, the whole thing is very orderly. This dive shop does this dive 2 times a day, every day. Like their reef shark brethren, the bull sharks know the routine. They actually line up for their turn at the feeding box, not unlike a bunch of midwestern tourists at a Vegas buffet.
With the adrenaline rush subsiding, I take a good look at them. They are surprisingly beautiful. Those are the actual words I hear myself saying inside my head "Wow. You guys are really beautiful." I'm struck by their dignified elegance.
Towards the end of the dive, I see one big boy (or girl?) coming straight at us. I figure pole guy is on it but I look over at him to make sure he is seeing the same thing I am. He has the pole in his left hand. When the shark is less than a foot away, I see that the pole is not moving. Instead pole guy casually waves his right hand in the universal "Get the fuck out of here" motion...and it works. It hits me that the pole is most likely for show. When we had first arrived and everyone was jittery, he was master of the pole but now that we had become accustomed to the organized chaos, why bother?
Once the feeders were out of fish heads, they closed the box and the sharks knew the party was over. They left just as quickly as they had come.
That afternoon, we took the ferry back to Nadi. I wanted to take Iliana to Smuggler's Cove. Every Sunday at 7pm, they have a free fire dancing show and you can't leave Fiji without seeing some fire dancers.
Because of some delays with the ferry and then the bus to Wailoaloa, it was going to be tight. There would be no time to shower so I just threw a sundress over my swimsuit and figured hair full of seaweed would just be my new look. It's not like I was going was going to be the center of attention or anything...
Kevin had told the dj about my birthday and a great day got even better. When I got back to the hotel, the front desk staff- who were beyond amazing- asked about my day. I gushed about the sharks, the dance, the incredible birthday.
Maybe an hour later, there was a knock on the door. On the other side were two of the girls from the front desk holding the most delicious-smelling piece of chocolate cake. They were deeply apologetic for knocking so late but they could not let the night go by without doing something special for me. It was so incredibly touching that I did not have the heart to tell them my last name is not Bozo.
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The photo was taken in the bathroom to not wake up Iliana but I swear I ate it on the balcony.
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