I took a leisurely breakfast, then a final dip in the pool.
While soaking I spotted a ripe mango on the ground that had fallen off the tree. Fiji's farewell gift to me. I peeled it and ate it on the spot. A bit tangy but not bad.
The other cat in the resort, who also appears on murals there.
I showered then discarded the now empty tubes and bottles of toiletries, the awful flip flops, etc. All according to plan. It seemed like such an anticlimax, such an orderly departure from Fiji that I had engineered. It was sombre and I was emotionally numb. Then I realised that I was somewhat sleep deprived. Not from wild nights but from short ones. I had got used to getting up at the crack of dawn because of stuffy dorms, then the day drew me into its activities without my normal afternoon coffee break. Emotions are intensified by lack of sleep and what seemed plausible is insupportable when affective emotions are dampened.
I had a suspicion Fiji would be that kind of destination anyway. If you join the all-inclusive hotel set then what's the difference between Fiji and say Bali or Phuket? So I think I made the better choice, to see the less developed Fiji on the backpacker trail. It's just me that I don't have much capacity for suntanning and water sports.
But a happy thought had occurred to me riding the bus between Lautoka and Nadi. I had noticed similarities between Fiji and (what I know of) the Caribbean. Fijian pop for example, could be mistaken for West Indian pop. And I suspect the underdeveloped and overgrown rural areas would be similar in the West Indies. Not to mention the resorts with sky high prices. So Fiji has given me a preview of the Caribbean and this will help me manage expectations before I get to go there.
My life was shrinking. I only lived to sleep, eat, hike, swim and read. I decided to dip in the ocean in the morning before the mercury rose. I could walk to the Blue Lagoon in the afternoon. Yes, this was where some scenes from the eponymous film were shot.
The water wasn't perfectly clear though, it carried seaweed and the owner swept some of the detritus off the beach in the morning.
It's a dog's life. He followed me around a lot and dug a depression for himself under my hammock when I used it. I'm such a bad influence on animals.
A pair of doves were repeating the same conversation with regularity.
My erstwhile resort companions arrived by the Flyer after lunchtime.
In the late afternoon I asked for directions to Blue Lagoon. The tide was high so I had to take the overland path instead of walking around the coast. One of the resort staff accompanied me on the path for a short distance and then told me to take the left fork when I saw a sign.
I reached the fork but there was no sign. I took the left anyway. But I had bigger problems than taking the wrong path. The skies opened up and it poured. I didn't mind the rain even though clad in a T-shirt and shorts because in a way it was refreshing. But I regretted not taking the waterproof camera instead of the regular one. I wrapped my T-shirt around the camera as best as I could and sheltered under trees. The leaf cover was inadequate.
Just as it seemed the rain would stop it would recommence. After many rounds of teasing it really abated, leaving rivulets of water. I crossed several coconut trunk bridges across creeks and reached a clearing with picnic facilities and a cruise ship moored offshore.
Some tourists were being transferred back on board. Fijian workers were packing up the remnants of a meal. I chatted with them. They explained that they had been catering for the Blue Lagoon cruise but were returning to the ship due to the inclement weather. One of them offered me a garbage bag to shield my camera. It had stopped raining, but I thought it prudent to have a bag anyway.
I knew going back was going to be difficult with slippery mud, but I didn't suspect how much. The soles of my flip flops picked up mud and slid on slopes. What's worse, mud, an excellent lubricant, got between my feet and the flip flops. At least with rain, the mud was washed off. And the flip flops being cheap junk, the strap was prone to popping out of the hole. So I walked barefoot, which wasn't so comfortable where the path was rocky. Fortunately there weren't any sharps such as broken glass or metal. Naturally the mosquitoes took the opportunity to make a blood donor of me.
But it wasn't all suffering. I passed a mango tree laden with fruit. Sadly none of the fruit on the ground were ripe and whole. (I didn't want to pick any off the tree, in case somebody was going to harvest the tree.) I also saw many land crab holes. Only by using the extreme zoom on my camera did I manage to get a picture of one, about to dart out of sight.
After what seemed like an eternity but actually more like 40 minutes I stumbled into the resort with muddy feet and walked to the sea to wash off.
I was glad I hadn't invited the other visitors to accompany me. I would have been blamed for the rain. Earlier that day the girls said they were bored out of their brains, were contemplating leaving one day ahead of schedule, and asked me if there was anything interesting to do in the resort.
