Fiji, 2008 with Simon Baumer

Living in Hawaii was a beautiful chapter of my life but my living arrangements were sometimes questionable. I was sharing a one-bedroom apartment at the time with 3 people and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. The view of the ocean from my room and the rooftop pool were incredible but my living situation was not. I made laps in the food court for free samples and filled up on rice that was provided at work. Molly was one of my closest friends on the island and she introduced me to her friend Simon who she knew from college. Simon and I instantly hit it off. He was hilarious, interesting, and someone you just wanted to be around. When he saw my living arrangement he told me he had an extra bedroom in Waikiki, so I moved in the following month. Simon loved to travel and when he did, I watched his dog, Maxine who was a beautiful, sweet yellow lab. We went on lots of adventures from hiking to surfing, camping, and a trip to Maui. Simon joined Molly and I last minute as “shark bait.” I took the bus everywhere from the grocery store to work so Simon graciously allowed me to take his jeep to work when I was training dolphins at Sea Life Park. As if that wasn’t enough, as a thank you for watching his dog, he bought me a ticket to Fiji which was a trip I will never forget.

On October 15^th, 2008, Simon and I arrived in Nadi on Viti Levu after the long flight from Oahu. I hadn’t traveled much at the time so I couldn’t believe we were served free meals and drinks on the plane. We stayed at The Nadi Bay Resort, a quaint hotel in the city. After a quick shower, we walked 10 minutes to the beach accompanied by lots of stray dogs to watch the sunset. There was an abandoned Volkswagen bus in the sand and a sunset to be remembered. We sat on the beach until the sky went from yellow, orange, to red and darkened into a deep purple. We ate at an Indian restaurant for dinner where the server put a Bindi on my forehead to welcome me into the family. The food was incredible and the water was bottled Fiji water. 

The following day we took the Yasawa Flyer to the Mamanuca Islands, a tropical paradise with crystal clear blue water. When we arrived at Beachcomber, Simon and I immediately jumped in the water and snorkeled amongst blue starfish that sporadically covered the sea floor. We swam and relaxed on the beach all afternoon until it was time to take the flyer to the next location. At Mana, a local took us to the Survivor set. He said they don’t usually show people where it is but it looked like we would go anyways. We sat in the chairs designated for tribal council and explored the huts that the contestants stayed in. We were surprised to see the simplicity and also the A/C units. Back at our lodge for the night, we watched one of the most spectacular sunsets over our infinity pool.

The next day we boarded the Yasawa Flyer to the Yasawa Island chain while two Pacific bottlenose dolphins accompanied us along the way. After the magical boat ride, we arrived at the Sunrise Lagoon Resort on Nanuya Lailai Island. We were greeted by two men who introduced themselves as “Queen” and “Eddie.” They were breaking coconuts open with a machete and offered us a welcome drink with an umbrella. Eddie took us on a boat to a village on Tavewa to introduce us to the chief of the island. We sat in a circle with the chief and his family in a hut or a traditional Fijian lunch. It was very bland and accompanied by a lot of flies. While we ate, a man played guitar, and the chief told us about his culture. We expressed our gratitude and I purchased a handmade bracelet from a local woman. Eddie took us back to Nanuya Lailai and told us to follow the three dogs that eagerly ran up to us. We didn’t question it but we had to keep up. We lost two dogs on the way but one took us on a hike to the Blue Lagoon Beach where Swiss Family Robinson and Blue Lagoon were filmed. The last remaining dog sat next to us and watched the sunset. When we made it back to the village we heard the dinner bell. There were three people from Sweden, one from London and another from Canada. Queen made us introduce ourselves and sing our National Anthem. Canada refused and even though Simon could sing, he knew I could not so we hummed ours. The food was much more plentiful and flavorful than lunch. For dessert, Queen changed into a black jumpsuit and a green headband and sang and danced to Celine Dion. After the show, we sat around in a circle and had our first kava ceremony. There is a chief and a spokesperson who tell you when to drink and how to sit. Before you take a drink, you clap once and say, “Bula,” and then clap three times. Kava is made from the root of a kava plant mixed with water. It is supposed to have hallucinogenic and narcotic properties but it tasted like dirty bong water and makes your lips tingle.

The following morning, we woke up in our mosquito nets and I brushed my teeth in the trickle of water from the sink. Simon said “Its like a baby peeing.” I watched the sunrise from my bed as it started to rain. Queen took us to Sawa-i-Lau Caves on a little dingy in the ocean. He was the only one wearing a life jacket. We somehow almost hit another tour boat so Queen told us if we couldn’t swim to swim to the Queen. When we made it to the caves, Queen turned on the flashlight which was flickering and very dim. When it died about 30 seconds later he said, “Who forgot the batteries?” We met up with another group and watched their guide swim underwater through the cave. He did remember the batteries and we followed the light underwater from one cave to the next. We got to a cave called “Pregnant Cave” that we had to vertically scale and then squeeze through a tiny opening to get to the other side. I took a deep breath, pretended I wasn’t claustrophobic, and scraped by back and stomach on the walls inching my way through. On the other side we had to push ourselves off the wall of the cave to another wall to prevent ourselves from falling off the ledge where cannibals would kill their victims on the pointy rocks below. We swam in the cannibal cave while large crabs scaled the walls. The locals climbed the cave walls and jumped 40 feet into the water. Simon and I followed but didn’t make it as far as they did.

When we got back to the resort, we had lunch and took the Yasawa Flyer to White Sandy Resort where a small boat was waiting to pick us up from the water. The tide was so low, we had to walk to the beach in knee deep water. We were welcomed by locals singing and playing ukulele and given a coconut with a hibiscus in it. It was refreshing and sweet. There were three baby endangered hawksbill turtles that were being rehabilitated at the resort. I stayed with the turtles while Simon went snorkeling. I joined him shortly after. Our room was a small hut on the beach that we shared with two men from Israel. The weather was cloudy and overcast so I walked to Honeymoon beach while Simon continued snorkeling and I met a couple locals who invited me to a kava ceremony later that night. We had dinner and warm bananas in water for dessert. After dinner, they played music and we all danced and played games. Simon ended up in a dance competition and I went to the other side of the island for the kava ceremony. It was a fundraising event for living expenses. They made their own clothes, built their own homes, and fished to put food on the table. They were all welcoming, happy, and said “Bula” to people passing by. The simple way of life brought them a lot of joy. Everyone encouraged me to take pictures and they loved looking at them. At 10pm the power goes out on the island so when I made it back to our hut, it was dark. Simon was playing guitar around a fire with some other locals from the island. 

We met some kids the next day and they too wanted to look at our pictures. Simon gave them his favorite grey sweatshirt right off his back. They also loved the music that was coming from Simon’s phone. They were singing, “You have one hour and one minute at White Sandy.” They called me “Dolphin” and they loved Simon. How could you not? After saying, “Bula,” we got back on the Yasawa Flyer which took us back to Nadi. We rented a car that Simon drove. Not only were we driving on the left side of the street, we were dodging toads, dogs, people, and cows. It was dark and I was freaking out. I was stressing Simon out so he told me to close my eyes and go to sleep. I woke up laughing when he said “It’s like a bad game of paper boy.” Up ahead a police officer was flagging us to stop. Without saying a word, he got into the back seat of our car and told us to take him to a village. We stopped at a house where he got out and told us to wait. Immediately after he was inside, we took off. We weren’t anticipating picking up a hitchhiking police officer nor did we want to find out what was going to happen next. We luckily made it to a luxury backpackers’ resort which felt like hours later. We stayed in bunk beds with about 20 other people in a dorm with a pool by the ocean. 

I recently received my scuba certification in Hawaii and wanted to dive with sharks. The prerequisite for the dive was having 20 dives under your belt and being certified for 90 feet. I was certified for 60 feet and this was going to be my first dive. The guides said it was ok if I joined. Simon stayed on dry land while I went with two older men and five locals on a boat to the Shark Reef Marine Reserve. We were briefed on the dive and informed which sharks we could come in contact with. If our guide saw a tiger shark, he would signal to us with three fingers making a stripe motion across his chest. If he saw a bull shark, he would put two fingers up next to his head like horns and so on. As we slowing descended, the pressure in my ears was intense but I was determined to see the sharks. At the bottom, several nurse sharks gracefully swam over. The guides encouraged us to pet their smooth yet rough denticles. Shortly after, black tip reef sharks arrived followed by oceanic white tips. The aggressive sharks slowly started arriving one after another as if on cue. I was completely surrounded. The water was starting to get murky and I didn’t see the next three who joined the party until the guide put up bull horns. Bull sharks are interchangeable with great whites and tiger sharks for being the most aggressive sharks. They have the highest testosterone out of any animal on the planet. They are territorial and unpredictable. Adrenaline was pumping and yet it was peaceful being in their presence. They slowly dispersed and we made our first safety stop at a ship wreck. It was a beautiful dive. I was ravenous after so I devoured a plate of fettuccini alfredo by the pool. It started to rain so Simon and I drove to Suva and walked around the market and explored the city. 

The following morning, we drove along the Coral Coast and heard about a beautiful waterfall that a local named Moses told us about. He said there would be an abandoned tractor on the side of the trail when we got close. Soon after we saw a family bathing in the water by the falls. I placed a hibiscus in front of it for a picture that Simon called cheating but it’s still one of my favorite photos. Moses also told us about sand dunes that were not to be missed. After spending some time at the waterfall, we drove on another scavenger hunt to the dunes. We climbed up the steep dunes with a beautiful view of the ocean. On top of the dunes was a cross and a crab. The winds were gusty, so Simon took off his shirt and wore it around his head and face. Then he proceeded to try and slide down the dunes. He didn’t get too far but it was fun to watch. Our next stop on our road trip took us over a rickety wooden bridge to Natodola Beach which was rated the 7^th most beautiful beach in the world by “Ask Men” Magazine. It was a white sand beach that offers lots of activities including horseback riding. A man who introduced himself as Peter immediately met us at our car with a horse and I eagerly jumped on. We walked along the beach until he jumped on the back and we ran. It was a beautiful way to end this incredible trip.

We flew back to Oahu where I would live with Simon for several more months before moving back to the mainland. We would stay in touch over the next 15 years sharing our travels and life experiences. I would visit him in Hawaii a couple years later. We would laugh and reminisce whenever one of us found a lost “soul.” He would get married and have two beautiful children. He would continue to inspire me until cancer stole his life and he became my guardian angel.