Not bad for a bunkhouse

bure-bau-interior
Originally uploaded by brownhousechris.

The eco-resort on the island of Wayalailai was pretty sweet, living up to the good expectations while avoiding the easy sterotypes. First of all, the resort was owned and run by the residents of the island, who were all native Fijians- much nicer than giving your travel cash to some conglomerate. I went to a church service on Sunday in the neighboring village, and the beautiful music mixing with the sound of waves washing breaking outside the small church was a pleasant change from the services I'd attended in a somber, stone New England church.

I think I paid something like $10 US a day to stay at the Waya Lailai, and that included all meals. The amenities are basic but more than adequate, and besides, who wants a marble bathroom and air conditioning when you are smack in the middle of a tropical paradise? If you want to be pampered and spoiled, this might not be the place for you, but if you're looking for an amazing setting, attractive facilities, great beaches and snorkeling and diving, and affordable rates, then check Waya Lailai out!

This place, like the entire nation of Fiji, has an extremely laid-back nature- an afternoon beach volleyball game is almost too much excitement. When they tell you that you're on Fiji Time, they mean it; trade your watch for a shot of kava, because you won't need it. If you're considering some island-hopping in Fiji, I'd strongly recommend stopping here for at least a few days.

Kejimkujik

Kedji1
Originally uploaded by brownhousechris.

Time for my first time-space continuum violation. We're moving to July, 2006.

I might get in trouble for this, because the Travel Gal (my finacee) took this picture, and not me. But she'll never find out, right? Yeah, nobody ever finds out what you do on the Internet. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Anyhow, this was a July sunset taken from our campsite at Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia. Yes, that's how it's spelled- my crack editorial staff checked. To be simpler, let's just call it Keji, like everyone else does.

At its heart, Keji is a lake with a park around it. We were lucky enough to get the legendary campsite 334, which sits on its own little peninsula, poking out into the lake. It felt as if we had the lake to ourselves, and was well worth hauling the gear to and from the car. If you ever go to this park, make sure you ask if this campsite is open, and if it his, well holy shit, take it!!!

As you can see, the lake is gorgeous, and you can spend days paddling around all the little islands. The Travel Gal and I can heartily recommend a nsunset paddle, when you can watch hundreds of bats flit through the gathering dark, and listen to the loons call goodbye to the sun. Plus, you might see a sunset like this!

Snorkeling 101

Brain Coral
Originally uploaded by brownhousechris.

My RTW (Round-The-World) trip began in Fiji in April 2003. This seems as good a place as any to begin my posting.

April 4, 2006. There is a borrowed purple towel between myself and the sandy beach as I sit here at Waya Lailai Island Eco-Resort, which is on the second southernmost island in the Yasawa group. I just returned from my first-ever snorkel trip, which was fantastic. A little skiff dropped us off over a coral reef, and for about an hour I just floated along, kicking slowly and staring down at everything below.

It's amazing; all the things I have read and heard about in oceanography classes were right before my eyes: corals in every color and tropical fish enough to stock any pet shop, from tiny irridescent-blue fish, to neons, to striped fish a foot long or so. The water was just teeming with them, swimming in every direction. Sometimes I could just stop and let the motion of the waves wash me back and forth over the reef. I think I'm going back, and I can't wait.

Getting Started

After finishing graduate school, I found myself with some money saved up and no desire to be employed; combining the two, I bought myself a round-the-world plane ticket for six months of travel. I still don't know why I did this, besides the obvious reasons of course:

1. My health insurance didn't expire for another six months
2. I hadn't studied abroad, and regretted it a little
3. Youth and stupidity, you know

Now it is three years later, I have been working for a couple years, and I've started thinking back to that trip. So, I'm going to go back through my journal, work up my entries with some photos from the trip, add in some thoughts from trips I have taken since then, and maybe add in some thoughts about looking back. If anyone actually reads this, I hope it's at least mildly entertaining!