Bags, and Paradise Found

Great news to report since the last post - the bags got here. All it took was Sharon's expertise with airlines to shepherd them through. And, I am embarassed to say I packed way too much junk. You tend to realize that after not having any of your stuff for a few days. Sheesh, you think I would learn.

Anyway, Sharon and I are currently at Namale Resort and Spa near Savusavu, Fiji and it is fab-boo! You can see the website at http://www.namalefiji.com/. The place is owned by an American self-help guru, Anthony Robbins. There are a few oddities relative to the service, but most of all we have had a great time aand it's completely beautiful. Here are some highlights:

The not so large 12 seater plane we flew from Nadi to Savusavu. Landing strip is approximately the size of a stick of chewling gum and the pilots were consulting paper maps during the trip. Great flight though!

Our first kava ceremony here at Namale. That brown stuff in the giant bowl is kava. What, may you ask, is that? Well, it's a traditional drink here in Fiji and everyone is really into it. These guys even call themselves the Kava Band and they play at the resort every night, except Sunday.

We looked up kava on Wikipedia, hoping for an unbiased account. I also took the above photo of some dried kava for sale at a local market. Here's what Wikipedia says:

"Kava (Piper methysticum) (Piper Latin for "pepper", methysticum Greek for "intoxicating") is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaii), 'ava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), and sakau (Pohnpei). The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from it. Kava is a legal intoxicant in many countries and if consumed before driving can cause a DUI citation. It is a tranquilizer primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. In some parts of the Western World, kava extract is marketed as herbal medicine against stress, insomnia, and anxiety.

Who knew. I like kava, but Sharon is not sure yet. Here she is preparing to try it for the very first time:
The first day, we went on a nature hike with our guide, Paul. There wasn't a lot of hiking going on, it was more like a leisurely 20 minute stroll.

We did learn that poison ivy grows on trees here! YIKES!!!! Sharon was careful not to touch it, and so was I.

Later that day, a lovely picnic was served near the ocean...

It is really hard to describe how beautiful this place is, so I'll let the pictures do the rest.

More soon...Gretchen

Monkeying Around in Bali

Bali was a stop on the trip I had not visited previously. It definitely met my expectations! First, you can see from the photo below that the place we stayed was, literally, the lap of luxury. Sharon agreed too!

One interesting things about Bali, is you get the beaches and resorts and also some tropical jungle terrain, up in Ubud. We took a day trip to Ubud, where we stopped at one crafts store after another. It did not take us long to figure out our driver was getting a cut of the action. Nonetheless, cool stuff was procured. We ate lunch at the lovely Maya Ubud Resort (http://www.mayaubud.com/) . This is another Steve and Janet pick, and you can see why.

In Ubud, there is also a monkey forest. Immediately upon entering, we met a gentleman who is (I am not kidding about this) a monkey whisperer. He clearly knew a lot more about monkeys than we did, because we saw him breaking up a near monkey incident with a tourist who was harassing the poor animal. He showed us some very cute baby monkeys, and then the fun began! He gave me some food to feed the monkeys. You can see what happens next…
I can now say I have had a monkey not just on my back, but on my head! I’m really glad we met the whisperer guy, because a woman I met here in Vietnam claims she was bitten by a monkey at this exact same place. She did not have to get any shots and everything turned out fine, which was good to hear.

Bali is a beautiful place, but a few things about it were sad. People are poor and everyone has their hand out, similar to other resort areas where tourism is the main source of income. Moreover, the Bali bombings several years back have hurt the local people very badly. Folks were generally surprised to learn we were Americans, and explained that Americans no longer go to Bali. I didn’t visit there, but Brad Borgard tells me there is a mall just up the road which has completely shut down.

Bali is a great place to relax and enjoy the world of luxury. And we did!