Coup Shmoo!

First stop, Fiji. Our flight there was practically empty due to the coup. But that was mainly in Suva and were were going to Nadi (pronounced Nandi) on the other side of the main island, so we took our chances. Other than guarded road blocks all along the main roads, we didn't really feel there was anything going on. Well, only in that everyplace seemed deserted. We even got a chance to tour some condos and pick up some free gifts because, as the lady put it, "All the more wealthy tourists are staying away and you two are better than nothing." The free gifts were a $100F gift certificate for a huge souvineer shop and an all-inclusive day trip to Mala Mala island. Not bad for sitting through a 2 hour air-conditioned sales pitch.

Nadi is a little town near the airport. Plenty of cheap hostels there. We decided to find a place to go along the southern coast, called the Coral Coast, because we heard it was pretty and also not really affected by the coup. We chose a place called the Beach House. To get there we caught a bus to Suva and hopped off in the middle of nowhere. The Beach House was very nice and very empty. We could sea kyak all day if we wanted. We were told that normally you have to sign up for 1/2 hour turns.

We, unfortunately, did not get the opportunity to travel to any of the other island in the Fijian chain. There were many ferries to other islands out of Nadi, Suva and several northern towns. They were cheap and most ran regularly, many daily, but we didn't have time on this trip.