Fiji By Penny

Wandering Dream
Steve Litson
Thu 6 Aug 2015 01:35

Thursday 30th July maybe 9.00, or, Friday 1st August 5.00am both!


Should I ever again succeed in overcoming my terror at travelling half way around the world on my own, I will carefully select my own seats or pay the price to travel business class with a view to never again spending an 11 hour flight positioned next to a 14 month old sleep averse baby. I am told I have an expressive face....clearly my horror showed as mum, dad and baby Jack arrived with the standard amount of travelling baby paraphernalia to squish into the 2 seats beside me, as both parents apologised and mum wanted me to know that he'd been 'really good' on the way over 5 weeks ago. I said not to worry, I had 3 sons of my own....and mum and dad were friendly and lovely. Jack was provided with a bassinet which hooked on infront of his parents, and in which he bounced, and bounced and bounced and bounced until he flipped out in most spectacular fashion to be caught , amongst the trays of aeroplane food, upside down, by his mum. Whilst sleep was really not on his agenda, he  definitely slept more than me! His dad was on his second time round, with 2 daughters already of17 and 19, and a new baby girl due in November, I felt  his pain as he was repeatedly woken by mum to go and deal with the whole nappy fiasco, but I had little sympathy!! At 6 months pregnant, squeezing out between me, my screen, (which had to be hauled from the arm of my seat,)  was quite a challenge for mum. Did I sleep? Did I heck?! Bump, bash, squawk, squeal, bounce, then, food...we had afternoon tea, sandwiches and scones with cream and jam at what to me was 1.00 in the morning! Lovely! As we commenced our descent, baby Jack vomited copiously all over his mum, who mopped it up with a baby muslin, which Jack then cheerily threw over my leg, where it stuck for a moment before dad retrieved it with some embarrassment ! Thank goodness for knowing children,and  for travelling with Josh as a cantankerous 1 year old. I had to repeatedly remind myself of what a joy it was to have no responsibility for it but even that joy was starting to diminish by the eleventh hour. I hope my desperation to vacate my seat as soon as the plane touched down in LA, was not too obvious to Jacks lovely long suffering parents!



4.20am Fiji time, (that would be 5.20 on Sunday pm in England) Monday 3rd August 2015


A gale roars outside, tugging violently at  the many palm trees surrounding room 448, our plantation Bure in the Outrigger resort. It's been raining since I arrived in Fiji, 2 days ago, meeting Steve at the airport after my second 11+ hour flight which was way better than the first, finding myself sitting next to the gorgeous Logan, a 24 year old banker from Phoenix Arizona, on his way to Australia to spend tine with his older brother before the arrival of the brother's baby. He was completely charming. I slept a bit but panicked hugely when the seat belt sign came on and we were told to fasten our seat belts mid flight. I envisioned the plane crashing into the sea to the extent that I had resigned myself to dying. I hate that feeling. People who know me well are aware of where my over active imagination can take me...But, the plane didn't crash, I didn't die! I survived to enjoy the highly enlightening Fijian taxi driver imparting much information about Fiji and it's history as he drove us from the airport along the only road on the island, to the Outrigger resort. He was particularly keen to remind us that they had been cannibals until relatively recently, and how the Europeans had been unable to work successfully with the Fijians due to their mantra of Fiji time, no hurry, no worry! Fiji, he told us, has 4 religions, Hindu, Muslim, Christianity and Rugby!