Fiji..........Not Just Beaches, Not Just Bula

   I landed in Nandi on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji when I was on my way to New Zealand. The country of Fiji is made up of over 300 islands and sits in the south pacific (south west of Western Samoa). This country has a reputation for it's beautiful white sand beaches on many small islands and crystal clear waters to enjoy.....if you are a typical tourist. Just to give a little hint at what is to come in this blog, I was told a couple of weeks ago- 01/07/2015, that I should slow down, hmm, that is what I was told in Fiji.
    I checked into a hostel in Nandi and had a little accident with my cheap camera (I dropped it), so off I went to the shopping street to get a new one. Most all of the Fijian shop owners were of Indian descent and when they said hello, it was not a real hello, that word was used as "come into my shop". That first day I was pestered so much that the next day when I went downtown I used a walkman with headphones, these same shop owners were angry, a couple different men grabbed my arm to pull me into their shop; not exactly good customer service. There was poverty everywhere around this airport city, just outside the center the cows and chickens were trying to eat from the burning pile of garbage, there was a dead horse on the side of the road and the dogs were sniffing around it....not far away there were expensive tourist resorts.

                            

   I got out of the city after 2 days on an old overcrowded bus and made it to a resort outside Singatoka, this small town lies on the road that goes to the capital (Suva).

                             

 Once I checked into the dorm cabin (they had beautiful family cabins also) I took a walk and soon found myself invited into a Fijian village to drink Kava. This Kava is supposed to be a spiritual drink for the villagers, it comes from the Yaqona Root; they ground it and mix it with water. The older the root the more potent it is...this liquid made my tongue and lips numb. The villagers complained about the behaviour of the Indian Fijians, they monopolize most of the business's and seem to treat the indigenous Fijians poorly, no wonder the country has had so many coups.
   That first day at the resort was awesome, I met so many people from different countries; the beach was incredible, the water was clear, and warm, I swam and snorkeled.

                       

 I played different sports with many guys and we had a table tennis tournament. Later in the afternoon I went for a run; a couple of days before I left Squamish we had played soccer in Vancouver and I was a bit tight. The next day I took a local bus ride, the journey was so slow; not only do they stop for two waving arms in the sugar cane field but also for fruit vendors on the side of the road.

                          

                           



 I sat there while one person out of 30 on the bus bargained out of a window with the seller (soooo hot). I decided to walk back to the resort, about 15 kms. and on the way I stopped at two villages, the people were so friendly. The sky was dark when I got back so I decided to take the short cut over the fence instead of going to the main gate. When I got into the dorm the guys there started yelling "Heyyyy, there you are, there is a guy in the games room that is great at table tennis and he is going to kick your butt".
   I headed out of the front door and ran on the sidewalk towards the games room when all of a sudden I hit the ground....I had rolled my ankle in a hole. When I was gone during the day the workers had broken the sidewalk and dug a hole, there was no light, no cones....no warning, unless I was there during the day to see it. I laid on the ground in excruciating  pain groaning, some guys from the dorm came and carried me in to the cabin. My ankle swelled quick and I decided I would have to go to the hospital. A call was made for a taxi; when the driver got there he looked at my ankle and quoted me a price that was triple the norm for the 25 km drive to Singatoka. I said no, when he left another cab was called, this time I covered my foot and tried to look relaxed (although I was gritting my teeth and soaked with sweat) , the drivers quote was the regular rate.
   We got to the hospital about 10 pm and there was no x-ray so the nurse wrapped it and asked me to come back in the morning, if I could move my foot then the injury would probably just be ligaments. Back to the resort I went, staying awake all night before returning in the morning by bus. When I got to the hospital the waiting room was loaded so I took a seat at the back, my foot was throbbing and very swollen. When the nurse saw me she waved me forward and I tried to say no, I will wait. The reason I would go first is the locals pay about $0.20  where I paid $20.00. I saw the doctor and he took me in for an x-ray which was like two big camera's, there was a big flash and poof/poof then all I can remember is the doctor dipping this big negative in a laundry tub and holding it up to the light. He said that it was too hard to read so I could just wrap the ankle in Fijian leaves. I asked about crutches and was taken by wheelchair to an old sparse closet where there were two odd crutches, so I rented them.


                       


     I lasted a total of 9 days in Fiji; on day 7 there was a nurse at the resort that told me my ankle looked bad and that I should get to New Zealand and get some proper care; she also told me that "I should slow down" after learning how I got the injury, and how much crutching around I was doing. By that day #7 my foot was 6 shades of purple and the palms of both hands had raw spots. An infection had started on my back after leaving the hospital, I laid on the bed with no shirt (it was so hot), that oozing wound was now the size of a saucer.  All of the prices went up for me, a gibble; my independence was lost. I was in so much pain that I could barely stand sitting by the pool at the resort.
    You see that Fiji is not just a beautiful beach....although I saw one.