Maddy and Nick here, reporting from the lively city of Labasa on the smaller, Northern Island of Fiji! Our 24 hour travel day started yesterday morning when we said our final goodbyes to Togovere, and it has been hectic but fun as always. After a 3 hour bus ride from Rekireki to Korovou, we found ourselves sitting roadside on our packs for a good part of the day waiting for the next bus. It was okay though- we journaled, napped, played cards, and ate a large amount of ice cream in a very short time (courtesy of Brett). Our next bus finally arrived to take us to Notovi Landing, where we jumped on a huge passenger/transport ferry. Since many of us expected to be sitting among crates and livestock in a wet cargo hold, we were pleasantly surprised to find a nice selection of indoor seating, actual bathrooms, and, most importantly, food!
Anyway, we slept (or, for about half us, didn’t sleep) in style on $5 rented mattresses on the floor. Valuable lessons from the ferry ride: Remember that boats rock (literally), take Dramamine even if you don’t think you’ll need it (because you will), and as a follow up to Valuable Lesson #1, don’t sleep next to a flat table with a bunch of unstable, full, metal water bottles on it (as Nick learned the hard way).
We had a timely arrival in the tourist destination of Savu Savu, and hopped on another bus that brought us here to Labasa. We’re accomplishing some much-needed shopping and haircuts before heading up to the small island of Kia for a while to get another taste of village life. While we already miss all of our new friends and family back in Togovere, we’re super excited to finish the Fiji leg off strong and have an awesome week of student directed travel! So far, so good.
As always, we miss everyone back home like crazy, and still can’t thank you all enough for supporting us throughout this endeavor.
Love,
Maddy and Nick