Fantastic Fiji

By: Jamie Bianchini

Greetings from the breathtaking town of Kaikoura, New Zealand where I'm typing this newsletter on the beach after surfing the classic waves with dolphins, cool local Kiwi surfers, surrounded by mountains that jet out of the turquoise blue water up to over 5,000 feet!

More on New Zealand later. For now, get ready to escape into the magical world of Fantastic Fiji!

My trip got off to a rocky start with a canceled flight, lost wallet and lost baggage leaving me on day one in Fiji with no cash and no clothes. But just as I walked off the plane and felt the warm tropical heat, gandered at the lush green mountains and clear blue water, we were greeted by smiling Fijians playing classical happy tunes at the airport my "worries" disappeared quickly.

With no clothes but the ones on my sweaty body I was grateful my bike had arrived and built it up first thing in the morning. As I assembled the Black Sheep into tandem mode I noticed a pair of very curious eyes of fellow American cyclist Shaun who is a bike mechanic and was eager to take the bike out for a spin. The weater was perfect for a day of riding and with two cyclist legs and no load we were soon flying down the streets of Fiji in the big ring loving the scenery of cool Fijian houses, coconut and bananna trees, sugar cane, birds singing, sun and friendly smiles in every direction.

Shaun and I hung out for the day while I waited for my bags to arrive at the airport. We met up with an Aussie friend Debbie at the luxurious Sharaton Hotel where we treated ourselves to thier pool and lounge chairs by the sea. Although I don't generally like staying in larger cities by the airport, Nadi was actually quite charming and the locals were very friendly when we made our way into the town.

I was cruising out on the tandem on a small road when a big 250 pound Fijian guy ran out into the road with a huge smile asking me to stop. His name was Joe and I knew right away he was a guy worth getting to know. One huge benefit of being in Fiji is that most of the folks speak English and I was finally able to communicate with the locals; a luxury I had almost fogotten in my travels throughout Asia. Turns out Joe is 19 years old and has NEVER ridden a bike in his life. He asked me if he could come on the back of the bike for a spin and, of course, I was just as excited as he was to explore his village with him.

Joe was very nervous when he sat down on the seat and kept asking begging for confirmation "you got me man? You got me?". Piloting this tandem with a new 250 pound rider was like having a huge bag of wild monkeys on the bike as he had no leg power and was shifting his weight without warning left and right to do his part in balancing the machine. Joe was on his way to play rugby, which just happens to be my favorite team sport. He was so excited to finaally be riding a bike that he rode with me all the way downtown away from this rugby practice. I checked my rear view mirror often for traffic and adjusted it to check out Joe's face. He was smiling ear to ear, giggling like a kid who finally learned to ride his bike, and waving at all his buddies on the road who were cheering and jumping up and down wildly!

I let Joe off outside town and gave him a few bucks to take a bus to his rugby practice and told him we'd ride again the next day if my bags did not come from the airport and maybe get a game of rugby in too. I met my first of many Fijian friends in just 48 hours and life was good!

That evening my bag was scheduled to arrive but did not make it for some reason. I did manage to get some cash with my spare credit card so let that be a lesson to all you travellers out there--have a spare credit card! The airline gave me some cash to buy some clothes and I purchsed a tradional Fijian "Bula Shirt" and "Sula" (a Sula is like a dress used for special occasions) to use for Christmas time. Since I had to wait in Nadi I decided to do a few scuba dives in Fiji's beautiful clear water where I met the dive master named Willy who invited me to spend Christmas in the beautiful Yasawa islands with his family. So I "planned" to see him then, but you know how plans go when you are adventure cycling. After the amazing diving I wanted to meet up with Joe for another ride and some rugby. Turns out he had left already and I had no idea where the rugby pitch was.

I guess Joe and I were meant to hang out together because as I wandered the streets looking for a rugby field I heard a loud "Hey Jamie!" and tured around to see Joe relaxing with his buddies on the steps of thier house. He was, as always, smiling ear to ear and was excited to see me again. I told him I was looking to get some rugby in so he hopped on and we pedaled together marvelling how we happened to find eachother in the middle of Nadi.

We hit the rugby pitch just as the rain began to fall but that did not keep the local kids from coming out. We had a wild and wet game of touch rugby and it was a truly thrilling experince to finally be playing my favoirte sport with a few dozen local Fijians. Just as the game came to an end the rain stopped and Joe and I took a long ride to a special Kava shop to buy myslef some Kava to bring to the remote villages I planned to visit once my bag finally arrived. Kava is a sacred root that grows in Fiji that they grind up and use for special Kava cermonies. It's a tradition to bring Kava as a gift when visiting villages so I stocked up on a kilo of the islands finest kava for my adventure into the Nasori Highlands.

That night my bags arrived and I picked them up at the airport and planned to leave the next day with Joe as my guest rider to a special locals only beach about 60KM on the way to Singatoka. As I was picking up my bag I noticed a smiley woman carrying a bicycle bag near the baggage carosel and decided to see what she was all about. Her name is Julia and she's an Italian gal out on a tour of the south pacific for a few months while her husband held down the fort in chilly England. We became frends instantly (the bond of cycle touring folks is pretty magical) and I invited her to join Joe and I for the ride to Natondola Beach the next day. She was thrilled with the offer and we planned to take off next morning at 6AM.

We woke up early and were greeting with a tropical rain storm that hit with vengance. Should we ride in the rain or wait it out? We decided to wait it out as I knew that my loaded bike wth Joe on it would be tough enough to balance and the rain would only make it more difficult. The rain stayed all day long so we opted for a relaxing rainy day inside reading and chatting with other travellers. That night we all went over to Joe's place and I was happy to hear he was still very excited to ride the following day--this time rain or shine.

I ran into Shaun again, my American friend who was first to ride the tandem in Fiji and asked him if he was interested in finding a bike and joining the fun to the beach the next day. As any cycling nut would do he gratefully accepted the offer and rented a bike from one of Joe's friends. We were set to ride! Jamie and Fijian guest rider Joe on the tandem, Italian Julia and fellow yank Shaun on a very beat up rental bike with bald tires and in need of Shaun's bicycle expertise in a huge way.

Next morning the weather was clear and Joe and I woke up excited as every to ride. Joe's place has a huge mango tree it so we ate heaps of mangos and soon Julia and Shaun arrived. We set off early at about 6:30 AM and about 500 meters up the road Shaun blew one of the tires! No problem, we have a mechanic with us. We hit the road south and soon enough were out of Nadi experinecing the breathtaking scenery of Fiji. The interior of the island is very lush and ruggeed with sugar cane fields leading up to the sharp mountains. Cute Fijian houses and families were spotted around the road affording views of real Fijian living; just one of many benefits of cycle touring.

Remember, Joe is a new rider and this was only his 3rd time on a bike, which was now loaded with about 50 pounds of my gear. On the flats outside Nadi we were cruising along just fine. But just like most islands the flatlands usually give way to steep hills and Fiji was no exception. Before we knew it I was pumping with all I had in the granny gear to get up the hills. Joe's limited leg power and huge body brought our average speed for the first 20 KM to a whopping 9KM/hour. Considering the fact that we had over 60KM to ride it was going to be a "beautifully brutal" day in the saddle for us both. We sucked up the scenery and stopped often to allow my heart rate and body temperare to go down. By about 10AM the heat and sun was really taking it's toll and it was time for Joe to get off this bike and on a bus. Neither of us were able to look around and enjoy the ride with the steep hills back to back so I gave him some cash for the bus to the turnoff to the beach and was relieved of the heaviest load I've ever had to pedal. I put on my headphones and was now cruisin' and groovin' at my normal pace and loving the scenergy of sugar cane fields, flowers, tropcical air, and a gently falling rain to keep me cool.

I was about 10KM before the turoff where I was going to meet Joe, Julia and Shaun when I ran into a group of screaming sugar cane workers about 100 meters from the road. The ran out to greet me and invited me to their fire for their tea break. I threw a guest rider on the back and maneuvered my fully loaded machine down a tight single track trail to the sugar cane fields where I was greeted by a dozen smiling and cheering local kids. I was eager to try some fresh cut sugar cane and my wish was granted when one of the kids ran down smiling with a piece of prepared sugar cane ready to bite into. My mouth was dry and the burst of sweet sugar juice that flooded my mouth after the first bite into the stringy cane was an expereince I'll never forget! Just after that I was blessed with a full course serandade of a popuular Fijian song by the entire group of workers that I caught on tape--a magical experience one can only really find out bike touring.

The crew united again and we were all soon pedaling towards Natondola beach as the rain began to gently fall. We arrived at this pristine beach and we were literally the only Westerners on the entire beach. We took a nice swim to clean up and realized that we had no food and were all starving from the hard ride. "No worries, we are in Fiji", I say to my friends. Julia and I simply walked over to a group of

Fijians who were having a company picnic with heaps of food and offered to buy a few items. Turns out they had all just eaten and had moved on to drinking Kava. They had heaps of amazing dishes left over so we all were treated to a huge plate of home cooked Fijian food including Kasava (tapioca root), veggies, rice and a few bowls of Kava too. I set up my hammock and we all hung out for a few hours listening to a few guys play guitar, drinking kava, and hanging with new friends.

Julia and Shaun rode back after our meal and Joe hung out with me and helped me find a breathtaking camp site right chrystal clear river entering into the sea. I set up my tent and hammock and relaxed with Joe for a while until he had to make his way back to Nadi. I gave him a few bucks for the bus back and we planned to meet up after my inland adventures. I did a nice round of yoga, ate some food and hit the hay just as the sun was going down.

I woke up later than planned and did some mellow yoga, swam naked in the river, and packed up camp in the morning sun with birds singing. I hit the road towards Singatoka where I had hopes to find some surfing at the only sand break in Fiji. I hit the main highway and the hills continued as did the headwinds. Luckily I found a fruit stand at the top of a hill and fueled up on freshly picked mangos, papayas and carrots while chatting with the local farmers who were a blend of native Fijians and "Indo-Fijians", Fijians who's ancestors came from India when the British used Indians to work the sugar cane fields.

I was about 10KM from Singatoka when a group of very wild Fijians were in the shade drinking beer and listening to music. They yelled for me to stop and, considering the mid-day sun that was cooking me, I happily accepted the offer for some shade, cold beer and friendly dancing Fijians. An hour later we were all dancing and singing together but none of them wanted to leave the shade to ride the 10KM to Singatoka. No worries,--I was happy to ride alone and put my headphones on to continue the grooving to some Bob Marley. Very Nice!

I had not idea what to expect when I turned off to find surf at Singatoka. I hit the only lodge around and was told by the owner I could use any of the boards there and go have a surf. I checked it out and, with my limited knowledge of the break, did not see any good surf. Oh well, back to the lodge. Just as I was ready to pedal out of town I met William and Simon, two guys who work at the lodge as the "Adventure Staff". The lodge was empty so they were gearing up for the Christmas holidays by cooking a meal and drinking cold beer in the kitchen. They invited me to join them and the rest is history.

We ate and drank for several hours and then I took Simon for a ride through his village of Kula Kula where we played some pool and hung out with the locals. We all had dinner together and William was super excited to ride with me into the Nasori Highlands and Simon wanted to come as well on his own bike. Simon is an excellent surfer and promised to show me the surf the next morning and we were then going to leave that next afternoon to go riding. So I stayed a night at the lodge and was excited to do an early morning surf session with my new friends.

It was the next morning where I had my first experience of "Fiji Time". The 8AM surf session turned out to be about noon, when I had "planned" for us to head out head out of town to the highlands. "Relax Jamie, Fiji Time!" they kept telling me as they read my western impatience and inflexiblity. I finally surrendered and let me shoulders fall as we walked together to the surf break and we all got some great surfing in that put a huge smile on my face. When we got back to the lodge we decided we would take time to plan the route, find Simon a bike, and have another evening in Kula Kula village. William and I took a ride over to meet his family and we set the record for most people on the tandem when we piled on Williams three kids AND three of their friends for a total of seven of us on the tandem. We rode together through the village of Kula Kula, seven of us all laughing and screaming together, as the villagers all came out of their cute homes to cheer us on. Great fun!

I was invited to stay the night at Simon's place in the village where I was treated to a nice meal, my own bed, and the opportunity to meet Simon's wife, 9 month old baby, and his many family members over some Kava. We all got to bed early ready for a 5AM wake up to begin our 3-day adventure to the Nasori Highlands.

There was no "Fiji Time" this morning as I was gently awoken by Simon and William at 5AM sharp with twinkles in their eyes both very excited to ride into the hills together. Neither of them had been into the hills on bike and the route we were neither of them had attempted. Much of the route followed the terrain of the famous Eco-Challenge adventure race so we knew it would be very tough.

We loaded up the bike and off we rode into the morning light into Singatoka. For me this was a dream come true--doing a 3-day mountain bike trip with local Fijians into totally untracked terrain. I was grinning ear to ear as we strolled into a café to fuel up on Milo and bread, a combo they assured me would give us maximum power for our first day of riding.

The first day of our expedition was perfect. We had about 3,000 feet to climb that day but it was very gradual and William has some of the strongest legs ever so we were moving along the almost deserted gravel road at about 20KM/hour along the Singatoka river where the scenery we some of the best I've ever seen. We had great conversation while we all marvelled at the constant eye candy of flowers, exotic native bush, lush rock formations, broken clouds and perfect temperature.

It was about 1/2 way up when William said he saw a friend of his Joe stick his head out of a passing bus and wave to us. William knew Joe lived up in the highlands somewhere near where we had planned to stop for the day, but did not know where. It was about 2PM when three cute kids came walking up to us and asked us if we knew a guy named Joe. Upon confirmation, they relayed a message to us that Joe was expecting us at a junction about 10KM up and we were invited to stay at his house for the night. How's that for communication?

Just as we were told, when we hit the junction Joe was there on horseback with a huge smile and he led us to his village and to his home right next to the rugby field. We presented his famiily and the head villager a nice Kava offering and we all went over to the kava grinding bowl and took turns grinding the kava from a root to a pretty find powder. We did this by taking turns pounding the kava with a very heavy pole into a heavy bowl. By the time you lifted and pushed down this big stake about 20 times your shoulders were pretty sore and you would be breathing pretty heavy. I held my own in the grinding rounds and about 1/2 hour later we had some yummy kava ready to brew up with cool water by straining it through a cheese cloth.

The local kids were playing rugby just as the afternoon rains began to fall. I just had to play and this time it was tackle rugby. I played until I could barely walk and was drenched in mud, sweat and grime by the time the game ended. I cleaned up in the local river and was then invited in to eat with Joe and his family. We had a huge feast of Kasava, veggies, rice and some noodles we brought. We ate heaps until we could barely move.

After dinner it was time for the Kava ceremony. Many of the villagers came, including the head villager and they performed the welcoming ceremony for us and we were now part of their family and okay to stay with them. I was pretty tired afer the big day and big dinner so the Kava was really making me sleepy. Kava has a very calming effect and is used often to bring together village heads to work out conflicts due to it's mellowing qualities. My new friends saw me struggling to sit cross legged on the thatch floor and told me to lay down and relax. I had no idea I could still be in the Kava circle and be laying down! So I would drink a huge bowl of Kava, shut my eyes and relax laying down, and they would tap me when it was my turn to drink. We did the for hours until William and I were finally passed out. Simon stayed up until about 4AM drinking Kava and meeting new friends.

The next morning I was up early but it was very clear that we were back on Fiji Time. We had a late meal and did not saddle up until about 11:30AM. On the map it was clear we had about the same distance to loop back to Nadi as we had done the previous day. But it was also clear that the terrain was going to get very challenging. I did my best to relax and trust my Fijian friends, but I knew we were in for a tough day.

As we made our way back to the junction we now had to climb about 2,000 feet in the searing mid-day heat right out of the gate. After the big climb we had very steep undulating hills for anohter several hours. The rain came with vengance at about 1:30PM and did not let up a lick until we finally made it to a very small village where we finally were able to find some much needed food at about 3PM. Our meal consisted of tinned fish and crackers with some cookies for dessert but it was fuel and we were fed. On the map it looked like we had only about 15KM to the next village where it would finally go downhill to Nadi as I was planning to hit the Yasawa Islands with my buddy the next day for Christmas celebrations.

Again I was told to relax and get on "Fiji Time" but I knew we should have been getting rolling right after lunch. I was outnumbered so we played a few rounds of pool and relaxed with the locals till about 4:30. We left just as another mean streak of jungle downpour rain came crashing down but the scenery was still stunning. The rain would stop often and we would be blessed with some of the most amazing scenery ever with rivers, waterfalls, rolling green hills, birds, flowers--just like you would dream of a jungle expedition!

The dream soon became a bit of a nightmare as the sun went down and the road now turned into a mud pit. The chain on my bike was super sticky and we had a three cases of "chain suck" that damaged links of the chain and slowed our progress considerably, not to mention it shortened the length of the chain as my spare links ran out. It was about 9PM in pitch black dark mud that the disaster struck. On the shorted chain we got another case of chain suck that literally destroyed and ripped off the rear derailleur and broke the chain. Our biking was over. We now had to push this loaded tandem in thick mud that was now sticking to the tires and turing the rolling tire into a stuck sled on the mud needing to be pushed up steep hills of mud that often reached our knees! By far this was the most challening experience I've ever had in my life. The Fiji Duo of Simon and William kept a very positive attitude and offered to push the tandem often as they both knew that it was their "Fiji Time" that got us into this situation. I did my best not to be bitter about the bike and my soaking body of sweat, mud and grime. That was almost as challening as the physical efforts.

It was 11:30PM, almost midnight, when we arrived in the village of Nasori without a clue of what we were going to do for a place to sleep and eat. By this time we were all covered in mud from many falls, stinking of body odor that would scare away most living creatures, and so hungry our stomachs were singing in harmony.

Simon and William took the lead and the first house they went to turned out to be the head of the village who was not only awake still, but eager to give us a place to shower, feed our hungry bellies and provide us a free place to stay in his traditional "Bure" thatch house with fresh blankets and pillows! Our Fijian Angel named Tuk arrived just in time and his family all welcomed us into their home with open arms.

The next morning we woke up to sunny skies and views of the surrounding mountains that were exceptional. I was up early to try to get my bike sorted and ready to be transported to Nadi where I hoped I would not be too late to meet my friend Willy and go to the Yasawa islands with him for the Christmas holidays. I called him from Nasori and was informed that he had left already. I was a bit upset as I was looking forward to meeting Willy's family and experiencing the Christmas holidays with a Fijian family in the Yasawa Islands. However, Simon and William calmed me quickly by inviting me to spend Christamas back at Kulu Kulu village with their family and friends and promised me many surf sessions to make up for my broken bike. I bounced back immediately and was off to Kulu Kulu for Christmas.

After a relaxing morning with Tuk, his beautiful wife and kids and the other villagers we hopped on a truck about mid day back down to Nadi. It was an emotional ride down as we were struck with the fact that we pedaled up to the highest point in Fiji and had to take a truck down instead of ride! Yikes! And it was not a straight shot to the top of Fiji either! All in all we rode, pushed or carried our bikes up over 10,000 feet in one day! Oh well, it's not the first time and likely not the last that equipment will fail so I did not let it bug me too much.

Back down in Nadi it was Christmas Eve and everyone and their mother's brother was in town down last minute shopping, catching buses to othervillages, selling goats and animals--the place was hopping! I had to check the internet to see if my wallet was found or if anyone had used my credit cards. I had only 25 dollars to last me 4 days and Simon told me that would be enough.

We had 2 bikes and lots of gear so hopping a bus during this peak travel time was a bit tough and we had to wait several hours, but with all the lovely people around I did not mind relaxing and waiting. Although we had some tough moments, I surrendered again to Fiji Time and that is truly my biggest lesson I learned in Fiji is how to relax and go with the flow more. We finally caught our bus to Singatoka and arrived to find that town also loaded with happy people all out on the streets socializing, shopping or just hanging out watching all the colorful people walk by. It's the "Christmas Feeling" they kept telling me, and it was like no feleling I've ever experienced in my life. With our limited budget I was able to buy one small beer for each of us to celebrate our safe arrival back to Singatoka and we all toasted with huge smiles as we leaned against the wall waiting for a truck to take us to Kulu Kulu village. Life was good!

The plan was for me to stay with Simon and enjoy the Christmas Eve dinner with his family and then hit William's place for a huge "Lovo" Christmas dinner and a surf fest in between in all. I did not really care how it all shook out. All I knew was that Fiji Time is a good time!

I arrived at Simon's place and the family took all my gear into the bedroom that Simon grew up in from a baby boy. I had my own queen sized bed in the house and that made me feel super special. We had a huge dinner with his two brothers, sister, mother, father and other relatives followed by a nice Kava ceremony to welcome me into the family. After dinner we walked the village and were invited to yet another Kava ceremony at the town hall where we met more great people. I could have have asked for more!

Next morning was Christmas morning and there was no tree, no early wake up by the kids or expectations of big gifts from Santa or family. We had a nice Christmas breakfast and Simon helped me into my Sula, which I had no idea how to wear. A Sula is like a dress for men used by elders and for special occations. He then gave me one of his Bula shirts, which is a soft flower print shirt. I looked good! I had a clean shave and kept my surfing shorts under my sula for a run to the waves. We walked the long way through the villages where I was greeted with much respect by the locals due to my snazzy dress. Simon and I were both in very high spirits walking by all the churches singing and celebrating this wonderful day. I wanted to catch a service but, once again, it was Fiji Time.

We headed to the beach to do some surfing and then headed over to William's house for the big Lovo dinner. A Lovo is a Fijian underground oven made by burrying hot rocks and food wrapped in bananna leaves under the earth for several hours to create some truly amazing flavors in anything cooked in there.

When I arrived at the house in my special clothes I was greeted first by the children who dragged me into the center of the room and began dancing with me to traditional Fijian songs. Before we knew it, the entire household was up dancing together after 30 seconds of my arrival! The sweat beading off my head from the kitchen-side room dance fest finally raised a flag for someone to save me before I soaked my clothes in sweat. I was then led to the porch where we drank many cups of Kava with William, Simon and many new friends while I happily became a new toy for every kid in the village to come play with in between cups of Kava.

William has three beautiful kids and we all got along so well. Each kid got one gift for Christmas, and they were pretty modest. But that surly did not keep them from smiling ear to ear. After our Kava ceremony it was dinner time. I had been watching William's mom cooking from time to time and was amazed how many dishes this woman prepared.

By the time dinner was served, there were about 16 different dishes! Many of the dishes were from the lovo oven, including many types of fish, pork, beef, chicken and every vegetable from the family farm. I had to make 3 trips to the table just to be able to try all the wonderful dishes! It was one of the best Christmas dinners I've ever had. There was no table to sit at either. You can sit wherever you want so I sat in various places with different people. A perfect experience!

After dinner we took all the kids up to the sand dunes and caught an amazing sunset after a Christmas rain shower created the perfect sunset enviorment. We jumped around the sand watching the surf and sun dance in the distance. It was the pefect end to a perfect evening.

Next day we caught an early morning surf and then were off to a Boxer Day picnic with Simon's family at a local beach. Again I was treated lke one of the family. I played in the water with the kids, took my licks at beach rugby, and shot some pool with Simon's brother Luke at the end of the day.

The last day with the boys included an epic ealry morning surf session with huge swell and sunny skies, a farewell to William's family, and me catching a ride in a plush Mercedes Benz while waiting for the bus. Perfect! It was sad to say good bye to my new friends but I knew it was time to go and I knew we would meet again.

Back in Nadi I arrived at Joe's house and his family was relaxing under a mango tree eating mangos, drinking mango juice, and drifing in and out of a mango coma of sorts. His tree was full of ripe mangos and I ate at least 10 of them! Joe was not due until tomorrow so I was going to miss a formal goodbye, but I'd see Joe again too as Fiji has captured a piece of my heart and entered the top 3 list of greatest places on earth.

My plane did not depart to New Zealand until 3AM so I had plenty of time to pack up my bike at the hostel, grab a feed, and catch up on my journal writing. As I sat there typing a few travellers came up and asked for advice on what to do in Fiji. As I shared some of these expereinces with them they sat there in disbelief and awe. I don't think they were really after a cultural experience as much as the best tourist hangouts.

As I reflected on my time in Fiji all I could do was smile. Even with the adversity I faced along the way, the two weeks in Fiji were among the best two weeks of my life.

Bottom line-go to Fiji and meet the locals. Play with them. Face your fears and expand your comfort zone. Expereince their simple and peaceful way of life. You will never be the same again!

I'm closing this newsletter from the tiny town of Lake Parinca, on the west coast of New Zealand where I'm waiting for a guest rider who is hitching here to ride with me 3 days to Wanaka for yet anohter amazing music festival overlooking Lake Wanaka to celebate my birthday on February 10th! Pinch me!

Much Love. Much Peace.

Live Big. Give Big.

Jamie :)