a windy beach, a whiny bitch (fiji, pt. 4)

apparently on the seventh day fijians rest as well. sunday, a nationwide day of rest as far as tourism goes, means no activities to placate the agitated tourists. i don’t want to complain about being stuck on a tropical island in the middle of the pacific but really how much downtime does one need? i’m sure there’s some wisdom in the mantra, “fiji time” and i’ll probably be begging for some relaxing days on the beach when i get home, but it does in fact get boring. just had to say it.

i snuck in a bit of a forced activity all the same because i transferred islands for the first time. hopped back on the boat taxi and took the 2 hour cruise north to long beach resort on the matacawalevu island. it is not real easy to make consistent friends on a disjointed island hopping adventure, not that i’d probably make any keepers in the shot span of a week, just a stray observation. it creates an even more annoying version of the standard travelers conversation condensed down to a chain of islands. “where are you from?” “how long have you been here?” “where else have you been?” you can make this fiji specific or just generally travel related, which makes it so fun. i guess you have to start somewhere. its not like you’re going to find out you and your new german friend are both fans of coltrane’s giant steps from word one, but there’s only so much i can hear about the southeast asia trail without my eyes glossing over. i would love to talk about that with a friend or, sure, try and impress a girl with it, but generally i do not give many shits about your home stay in thailand, random french dude i just met and will never talk to again.

so new island, new people, and unfortunately new weather. was great the first few days but the weather turned gray, overcast and windy for this new island. a shame because true to its name it really is a long beach, but how much fun can you have at a beach wearing a sweater? a sweater? in fiji? uncharacteristically cold is a phrase i am hearing like its supposed to offer comfort. well i am characteristically upset that the weather is not perfect for my island holiday. combined with the no activity sunday this highlights a bit of a glaring problem with the secluded island getaway, the very reason you choose the secluded island: the seclusion. feels luxurious when things are going the right way for you but can be a real bummer with a simple thing like the sun falling behind some clouds. i begin to see us less as guests on an island but more as spoiled children(1) being entertained at a tropical day care center.

so first day on long beach was a bit of a lame one. finished my first book (blood, bones and butter - if you think i can complain about privilege you should give this book a try) and started my second one (behind the beautiful forevers). met some decent folk, sure, but i will no doubt forget their decent faces sometime in the next month or so as well as the particulars of their 5 months tour of southeast asia. what i will probably remember is that they snored all night in our deadly quiet dorm room.

sunday is also a day of no photos.

(1) these low budget accommodations are mostly 20 to 30 somethings like myself with adults and families more often choosing the upper class resorts, of which i'm sure there are also plenty, but i did not have the money to investigate.