Getting nearly halfway around the world is not without some effort. My trip from Anchorage to Nadi, Fiji started with a flight to Honolulu where I had a two hour layover. What a cool airport, open air walkways with individual buildings for each gate and a very nice garden in the middle. Exploring the Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian gardens kept me awake and was a peaceful break.
Soon enough I was boarded on Fiji airlines and falling back asleep for the six and a half hour flight. Woken a couple of times I managed a decent four hours of sleep and soon enough was speeding through customs and immigration. Shockingly my bag was waiting for me and I was the first one out the door.
The plan was for me to provision at Fresh Choice in Port Denerau, which didn’t open for a few hours for I had some breakfast before grabbing a cab. Not my first rodeo, I skipped the yellow taxi line for the private ones a bit further away. I asked how much, for the ride and stop at the grocery store, and the answer was what do you normally pay. I offered up $30 FJD (about $15) and he told me to jump in. The timing was perfect getting to the store just before it opened.
Most of the items on my list were available but it was a longer process than expected, nearly an hour later I stumbled out, $1,000 FJD lighter and on to the ferry port. But before loading up I apologized for the long wait and let me driver know that I really appreciated his flexibility and that another $20 FJD was headed his way.
At the ferry terminal it was grabbing a cart from the marina, loading my boxes of food and bags before checking in. As I figured, I had to pay for the boxes of food which added $66 FJD to the cost (four boxes plus a 24 pack of beer). As Carl’s suggestion I had upgraded to the Captains Lounge, which made the trip so much better with AC, free snacks, and no crowds. I was meeting SV Sky Pond far north in the Yasawas meaning it was a long ride, nearly six hours.
Arriving around 5pm, it was great to get aboard SV Sky Pond after a seven month absence, and of course to see Roxy and Carl too. Settled in, I got organized and we stored the food. It was an early dinner because SV Cape Maria (Tori and Adrian) were coming over for game night. Bellies full and game time starting, out came some fresh fruit popsicles that Roxy made. Super tasty and not overly sweet which made me happy. Added to that I won the game of Sorry, a good start to the trip.
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