Fiji~ The Outer Islands

Nacula was our first stop as we'd had our hearts set on putting our feet in the white sands of the Blue Lagoon. We boated out from Nadi after picking up a few Kava roots to offer to the chief in hopes he'd allow us a camp stay on the edge of his village. When we arrived he was open armed and smiles as he hadn't had Americans stay with him and wanted badly to talk with us about some of his favorite, John Wayne movies, hahaha!

We camped along a hillside overlooking the sea above their village and ate with them every evening. I quickly made friends with a sweet jungle pup that slept at my feet nightly in exchange for leftovers and a few pets.

The morning after our arrival a local took us off shore toward a smaller island and the Blue Lagoon was ours!

The waters here were aqua beyond belief and the white sands powder under our feet, like soft pillows caressing our sore soles.

We explored the island's edge in the morning at low tide and were lucky to come across a sea snake from a safe space~ the colors through his aqua-white bands aren't so present in this image but he was just beautiful!

From Nacula we ventured by boat on to the island of Waya and the land changed drastically! There were giant rock formations with bats circling over head in the evenings, deep dark blue waters filled with rainbow parrot fish and white corals covering the shore lines.

The food here had a strong Indian influence, incredibly spiced with cardamom and curry with lots of fresh naan. Chicken ground with bones is a favorite of locals as well so being vegetarian was a plus for us in dodging these offerings with out offending and leaning on more of the Indian veggie dhal cuisine.

The adventures we had here, exploring in small boats from island to islands, seeing the reefs out on the edges of the earth, celebrating kava rituals until the wee hours of the morning with small in tact villages still living off the lands so successfully will always leave us humbled and aspiring to have less and want for nothing. Life here is simple and perfect, just swaying in hammocks and floating in boats hunting for fish for family meals on the beach~ the simplicity here is surreal.