Bula tally everyone. (Hello again)

So much has happened since I last wrote. Where to begin, where to
begin? Let me first start by saying that today is a sad day as it is
my last day here in wonderful Fiji. Well, I'm really not that sad
because I am quite excited about my upcoming destinations. Traveling
is such a wonderful thing because you meet so many wonderful and
interesting people. It's a strange bond that travelers on the road
have. Within a few days, complete strangers can develop bonds that
normally take years in your home city. The downfall of this is having
to say goodbye. You smile, exchange email addresses, embrace, wish
them the safest of travels, and then walk away knowing that you will
probably never see them again, but you look forward to the time when
your paths may cross again. There is a moment of sadness as you leave,
but then you feel excitement for them and yourself knowing that the
journey continues. The memories and the bond will last a lifetime.
It's a pleasant feeling knowing that you will always have a place to
crash if you're every wandering through that person's home country. So
to all of my friends still on the road and to those who have gone home,
Bula Vinaka! Sota Talley! Mova.

I leave tonight at 10:50pm for an all night flight to Seoul, South
Korea. In Seoul, I have a 10-hour layover. Enough time to go explore
the city for an afternoon. It should be quite electric with all of the
World Cup madness. Too bad there are no matches. Which reminds me, the World Cup really makes this is an interesting time to travel. It
seems that, internationally, the World Cup is bigger than the
Olympics. Everyone, and I mean everyone, talks about it constantly.
It really makes for nice small talk while waiting around for
something. And believe me there is plenty of waiting time here in
Fiji. It's a concept know as "Fiji Time". This basically means that
everything is late. Buses, boats, shops, people, everything. It's a
bit frustrating when you are standing on the side of a hot road with
your pack waiting for a bus, but otherwise, if you just shift your way
of thinking, it works pretty well. Actually, I know several of you
back home that operate on Fiji Time, myself included for the past
couple of months. Oops, did I just say that? Anyway, the World Cup
has really been an amazing thing. Any of you who have not been
watching it have been missing out on the sporting event of the year.
America has really shocked the world. Too bad we lost. So after
wandering the streets of Seoul for an afternoon, it's off to Bangkok,
Thailand on another overnight flight. I am really excited about this.
Not the flight of course, but Thailand. I feel that airline fights and
airports are the lamest part of any trip. Well, long hot smelly bus
rides are pretty bad too, but even those have a bit of excitement to
them.

Hmmm, long hot smelly bus rides. Yes, that is exactly what I did after
I last wrote to you. I spent a wonderful night with some friends at
the Travelers Beach Resort. Not really a resort at all, but a decent
place to hang out before heading off again. The next morning, it was a
mad rush to the bus station in Nadi to catch an express bus to Suva.
Suva is the nation’s capital on the other side of the main island about
110 miles away. The bus was packed! I felt a bit bad having not taken
a shower, knowing that I smelled like a mule. However, once I boarded
the bus, I realized that I smelled like roses compared to everyone
else. Note to self: Never drink heavily the night before a long bus
ride. It was a grueling five hours before arriving in Suva. It's
amazing how a bus can just suck the life right out of you. You haven't
done a thing but sit and yet you barely have the energy to get off the
thing when you arrive. Anyway, Suva was nice. Much nicer than Nadi as far as cities go. I spent two days, exploring the city, shopping in
the local markets, hitting the occasional bar and nightclub, and
meeting as many new people as possible. Next I was back on a bus
north, to catch a boat to the island of Overlau. I spent three nights
in Levuka, the old Fijian capital from the 1800s. Amazing place. All
of the original buildings are still intact and functional. A small
place and a real throwback in time. Fascinating! I stayed in the
oldest hotel in Fiji, the Royal Hotel. It was fully decorated in turn
of the century furniture. Not bad for $5US a night. The old snooker
table was a lot of fun. I happened to arrive in Levuka on a very
special day. The Overlau rugby team had just won the most prestigeous
annual cup in Fiji. They were complete underdogs for this event and
shocked the entire nation with their victory. Also the same weekend
was the 150th anniversary of the oldest school in Fiji which sits up on
a hill in Levuka. To top it off the coming Monday was a national
holiday to celebrate the Queen of England's birthday. Three big events
all in the same weekend. Needless to say the small island and sleepy
town burst to life with great celebrations. Island pride oozed from
every individual. After three nights, I knew almost everyone in town
by name. Especially the children who followed me around town
everywhere I went. There were only about six foreigners on the whole
island. Not many people visit, Levuka, so the locals are extra nice
and intrigued by your visit. I had very interesting conversations with
almost everyone. Some of the most interesting were with the guys in
the Fijian military. I had no idea that the Fijian military was so
active in today's peacekeeping missions. Although, the Fijians are the
nicest people I have ever met, they come from a long line of warriors,
and take great pride in their military and helping make the world a
better and safer place. I really mean it when I say that of all my
travels, I have never been to a country where that people as a whole
have been so nice. That is a bold and true statement. I recommend
this place to anyone.

Anyway, the strangest day I had on this island was when I decided to
climb the ancient extinct volcano in the distance behind town. I was
told that there was a path, but the local guide was taking the day
off. The directions I got were like old Southern directions. "Well,
you climb the 199 steps to the old school house and follow the path
through the bush until you come to the big mango tree. Turn left a few
meters beyond the mango tree and take any path you can that bares
left." Hmmm. Easy enough. I made it up the stairs and found the old
school house, which was actually about six buildings and not one.
Beyond that, I found no path and no mango tree. Just a big trash
heap. Looking up I saw my summit. It really didn't look that far
away. So, I've got my boots on and a liter of water, shouldn't be too
bad. I set off walking through the light bush. No path, but no
problem. Down into a small valley then up the other side to my final
summit. The tree canopy was rather thick and most of time I really
couldn't see the summit at all, but I knew it must be somewhere in this
general direction, so I pushed on. I kept zigzagging through the bush
wherever it was lightest. After about an hour I broke through the tall
thick trees saw the summit again. I turned to look behind me and there
was the ocean and town where I started. Wow, I had gone quite a long
way. Time for a rest and I sat down. It was at that moment that every
mosquito and ant of the entire mountain attacked me at once. Hmmm, I
seem to have forgotten my repellant. Not good. It sure is hot here in
the direct sunlight. Forgot the sunscreen as well. Even worse. Too
late to turn back now. When I say that I had broken through the thick
trees, it's not like it was open meadow for the rest of the climb.
Things got difficult. The mountain began to get very steep and was
completely overgrown by thick tall grass, weeds, vines, and small
trees. After pushing on for another 20 feet, I realized why all the
locals carry around such large machettes when they walk off into the
bush. I began to feel a bit foolish about my predicament. The sun was
intense, the brush still wet from last night's rain, the insects
oppressive, and here I am standing on a very steep mountainside in
grass taller than me. My movement saw very slow going at this point.
Many times the bush was just too thick and steep to continue, so I
would descend a bit and flank around some more. Hand over hand,
slowly clawing my way up. Hmmm, I seem to be very wet, smelly, dirty, the bites are beginning to swell, my skin is roasting, I cut my finger
open, and to make matters worse, a stick poked me in the eye! My will
was fading rapidly, but then I heard a sound. A chopping sound.
Someone was harvesting something about 50 feet up beyond my location. It seems as though there may be a clearing up ahead. I mustered all of the energy I had for one final push. This push was pure madness, but finally success! I broke through the thick bush to a small, somewhat level crop clearing where I frightened the hell out of this old man! BULA, I shouted and held my arm out. The old farmer looked at me in pure astonishment. Partly from having come up from where I did and exploding through the bush, and the other part from just thinking at
how completely insane I must be for having done this. Bloody and
burned I asked if he knew where the path was up to the top. More
bewilderment on his face. "Path? Well there is a path, but it is so
overgrown, you will never find it." We both pause for a
moment. "Actually I am just finishing for the day and would be happy
to show you the way. I enjoy sitting up top myself, admiring the view
and reading my bible." YES! Well after about another 40 minutes of
what was more like rock climbing than hiking, I made it to the top.
The view of the ocean and city was stunning. We sat up top and talked
for almost an hour before descending. We spoke about his family, Fiji,
my life back home, fishing and hunting tactics, farming, plants, and
insects. Quite fascinating! The way back down, except for the top
part, was much easier. I could now see the huge mistakes I had made on my way up, but from my earlier vantage point, I had no way of knowing. He pointed out casava roots and wild yams on the way down, which I dug up and cooked over the next two nights. Very good, actually. At the bottom, I offered to buy him dinner or give him some money for his trouble, but he would accept neither. Then yet another goodbye.

Sorry I got carried away. My time is running out here at the cafe. I
can never explain all of the great things that have happened in the
last two weeks. After Levuka, I took a boat out to a really small
island. Leluevia. This place was like the movie Castaway. So remote
and quiet. This is probably the most remote place I have ever been,
except maybe a few places out west. I camped for days out on the sand under some coconut trees. I would watch the sun rise in the morning, snorkel and lie around all day, watch the sun set at night, then
occasionally drink kava and play music with the few Fijians who lived
on the island. Magical! Words can never describe the inter-peace I
felt.

I will leave the internet cafe now and go back to where I stayed last
night. Another small backpacker beach place. Horizon Beach Resort. I
will sit on the beach in the warm sun for a few hours, reflecting on
this amazing place that is Fiji. When the sun goes down, I will
celebrate my friends and say my goodbyes.

There is so much more that I need to say, but I must be going.

I'm off to the next stop.
The journey continues......

Later,
Mark Duvall

PS. I have not proofed any or this, so please excuse the grammer.

Oh yea, I almost forgot.

THE POO BOARD
- I foolishly left my glasses behind in the storage room in Suva and
thought all was lost, but my friend, Luke from Switzerland, found them
and brought them back to me. All the way from Suva to Leleuvia.
Thanks!
- I respect all living creatures, but I have lost all tolerance for
mosquitos and any other insect that bites. The swelling and rashes are
horribly irritating.
- The many assorted cuts and scrapes still continue. They worst so far
was accidentally sticking my pinkie finger into a huge fan while trying
to hang some wet clothes on it.
- In general down here, many things that should be working, don't!
- In a country so hot, you would think that there would be hot water
showers in at least one of the places you stay, but no. Actually the
cold water grows on you after a while, but it's not something I will
miss.
- I lost two bags of grocerys.
- The handbag that I have been carrying around, ripped all the way down the side. I had it fixed for a dollar. This morning the other side
did the same thing.
- I don't like goodbyes.

POO!

PPS. My cold went away after two days of rest.