Feb. 7th 2011 Sand Dunes

 Today we went to the Sand Dunes where there was 44 foot tall sand hills that are the only natural ones found in the Pacific. The dunes were found at Fiji's only international park where we took a 2 hour hike by the ocean side and up the dunes. During mid day the sand was very hot and you could feel it through your shoes. The wildlife there, besides birds are wild horses that actually live in the forests because it is cooler there. When we hiked through the forest we were told to take off our hats and glasses in respect for the Fijian spirits and ancestors that they believed still lived there. I also noticed many holes in the dirt which looked like snake holes. Our guide told us it was crabs that burrow to get out of the sun and make their way to the ocean. There were also many white shelled snails that had adapted so that the sun did not beat down on them as harshly. Once back from the hike we headed to Suva where we had our celebration ceremony where we wore or lava-lavas and drank the Kava once again. Here we also met our host family. My host mom wanted us to call her Me-Me (May May) and she has a 6 year old daughter named Elizabeth. She lives with her Auntie and her son named Richard. The house has no A/C so I practically woke up in my own pool of sweat the next day but that was better than getting bitten by the mosquitoes. The shower also does not have warm water so thank goodness the weather is warm here. There are also many lizards that climb on the ceiling above us. At night Richard, Elizabeth, my two other roommates and I went outside and played tag. Richard told me that you can cross your fingers and yell Bahli! if you want to take a break. Although when I tried taking a break when he was it he just put his hand on my arm and waited for me to uncross my fingers....

 The trees in the back are having to be replanted every year because homes near by burn their rubbish and start huge fires that cost the park 5 to 6,000 dollars a year or more.

 Happy that I was able to make it all the way up the sand dune...felt like one step forward 3 steps back...

 The snake like things you see in the water are huge slug like organisms they moved slowly along the beach and there were tons of them on the shore line.

 Country side view on the way to Suva