Joe spent the morning trying to all the credit card companies and get things sorted. We finally got one of the cards to send an emergency card to an address we have set up in New Zealand. It only lasts for a month, so we'll see how it will go from there.
We spent some time talking with a few of the other couples staying here. One couple from England just arrived this morning. We wanted to head to the nearby supermarket, so we asked if they wanted to join us. They did and it was fun chatting with them because they're essentially doing what we are, but backwards. So, we learned about a few areas that we're looking to go to.
A family that's staying here (they're from Switzerland) pointed us to an Indian/Thai restaurant nearby. We had dinner there, which was excellent.
We're heading to the island tomorrow. I feel better about everything today. Hopefully it works out.
-Miranda
PS Here are a couple older photos since I slacked on taking and uploading photos.
This was in the trunk of our rental car on the Big Island in Hawaii.
Our view from the place we stayed in Honolulu.
Two kittens that hang out in the patio area at our hotel in Fiji.
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We woke up at 5:45 to finish packing and head to the airport. Sue was kind enough to give us a ride. The flight was supposed to leave at 8:10 and we got to check-in at 6:45, we were slightly concerned. Then, the lady at the check-in desk said we had to have a flight scheduled out of Fiji before we could go... So, Joe quickly bought a ticket to leave Fiji on the next Sunday. One of the guys there mentioned that we could always buy a refundable ticket, then return it once in the country and get a ticket for when we really want to leave. They're pretty expensive, but there shouldn't be much, if any, fees for refunding it. So, we'll probably do that from here on out.
Anyway, we finally got that situated, and headed to security. We got through security without a problem, found a tiny bit of breakfast, and were on the plane. It took off early at about 7:55. It was a 6.5 hour flight. At about 5 hours into the flight, Joe realized his wallet wasn't in his pocket. After searching the aircraft and our baggage, we tried to retrace when we last saw it. We remembered him taking it out and putting it in a tray at security, but can't remember it after that. He talked to the flight attendants and they were a big help. The pilot ended up contacting Honolulu and asked the security if they had the wallet. Unfortunately, they didn't. I just remembered that this security check was the only time I haven't looked back and triple checked that we had everything. So, he must have left it and then someone behind us swiped it. We're still hoping that it turns up, but our hopes aren't too high...
We landed in Fiji and had no idea where to go. We found some food and talked to information who apparently knew about the hostel we were supposed to be staying at. He called her and she came to pick us up. We found out the actual hostel was under renovations and we would be staying nearby at the Wailoaloa Beach Resort instead. The room is nice. It has wifi, though it doesn't reach our room, so we just have to sit outside in the eating area.
She then talked to us some more and was trying to help us plan our week. We ended up deciding to take a boat to a nearby island and stay at a hotel there for four nights (all meals included). She was doing the booking, she called the place to verify that they did have wifi and that they could cater to vegetarians. When we added it up, it came to about $500. She wanted the cash upfront. We were a little skeptical, but wanted to just have a plan figured and taken care of, so we paid her. Later, we were talking to the guy that checked us in here, and he was basically saying that we were charged way too much. After some talking with him and hearing about a situation where another couple had problems through her, he ended up calling the director of the place we're staying to verify things. They later called him back and were upset that she was sending people out there without money... So, basically, the guys here are going to get the money back from her tomorrow and we're apparently doing the stay through them. So, now we feel a bit bad for her, but who knows. I guess we'll just see how tomorrow plays out...
-Miranda
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Yesterday we were planning on resting after walking so much, but Sue was heading to work and apparently Chinatown is near there, so we hitched a ride. Joe wanted to go there to check out the area and try and find these neat cereal/drink packets that Donald introduced us to.
We spent about 4 hours on our feet and walked another 4 miles or so. We were pretty tired and sore from the day before still, so I think it was a day too early... We did find the packets and they had less protein in them than Joe was hoping, but he still picked up a bag of them.
On our way home, we stopped at a vegan restaurant that was very good.
Today, we have been sitting at the house just working, resting and playing. Joe's getting a little bored, but it should mean we have more energy for doing something tomorrow.
-Miranda
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On Sunday, we decided to try taking Mary boogie boarding. We checked out a few different beaches. One beach we had to drive down a crazy awful road to get to the parking area. The beach was absolutely gorgeous though. Joe and Mary played in the water some before we headed back out. We checked out another beach that was very pretty, and far easier to get to. We decided to come back there when the sun was lower.
We found lunch and even some desert before heading back to the other beach. Once there, we sat in the shade and watched the others in the water for a while. An older couple (just retired age) were watching whales out from the beach. They let us use their binoculars some. Joe and Mary went into the water and I sat with them chatting and watching the whales. They were super active!
For dinner, we found a little hole in the wall sushi joint. The food was excellent.
All three of us were flying out on Monday, so in the morning, we had heard of another good snorkeling spot. We decided to head there. The snorkeling was great. We got to see an eel and a couple turtles. The geography of the coral was amazing. Afterwards, we headed back to the house, cleaned up, and headed to the airport.
We got there early, like you're supposed to do. It looked like the waiting area for our gate was through a line that had a sign about agricultural inspection (you can't bring fresh fruits, vegetables or flowers from Hawaii to the mainland), so an hour before our flight, the previous flight was done boarding though the plane hadn't taken off yet, we got into line to go into the waiting area. The lady checked our tickets, wrote a new seat number and said, 'here ya go'. Apparently we were supposed to board the plane? So weird. Because we happened to be there, they put us on the flight before ours.
It worked out fine in the end because we just stayed in the Honolulu airport with Mary until our ride was coming to get us.
-Miranda
The gorgeous beach.
Joe and Mary hanging out in the waves.
Another gorgeous beach. The colors were amazing.
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Yesterday was a pretty lazy day. We returned the rental car, but otherwise hung around the hostel and got some work done. Joe shared his underwater cave adventure with a number of other people at the hostel. Some were pretty excited to go and check it out. One girl we originally met at the airport waiting for the guy from the hostel to pick us up. Nat is from Australia, so she ended up hanging out with us for a bit and told us a bunch of stuff about Australia and ideas on where to go, maybe where not to bother and even mentioned a couple other islands and things we could check out in the Pacific.
This morning, we got packed back up and headed to the airport. Our flight to the Big Island left at 1:39 without a problem. We arrived and decided to try without a rental car for the couple days we're here before Mary arrives. The bus only stops at the airport twice a day, so we didn't bother waiting and just started hoofing it towards the highway. Once on the highway, it took 10-15 minutes to hitch a ride into town to the Target/Kmart. We did a little shopping at Target then headed up to Kmart where there was a bus stop.
The bus arrived, we got on, and then found out a tire was flat, so we had to get off. We waited 45 for the next bus to come, then took that. Apparently there aren't really bus stops here.... You just know the route of the bus and flag it down when you see it coming. That's our best guess so far. When you request a stop, it stops at the next corner and drops you off. We weren't quite sure where the hostel we were going to stay at was, but we did have the address and it was right along the highway. As soon as we spotted it, we pulled the cord and he stopped soon after.
The hostel is super quiet. The room is big. It even has a couch in it, but the 'bathroom' is outside and the kitchen is in a different building. It's pretty interesting. So far, we've seen the two owners and that's it. I don't even know if anyone else is staying here. The woman running the place seems very nice. At least it will be quiet tonight.
-Miranda
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