Growing up in Florida, I’ve always been used to a white Christmas with warm weather and palm trees. After moving up north this year, I was looking to escape the cold weather and seek out the kind of Christmas I’ve always loved. My buddies, Ryan and Richie, felt the same way and we arrived in Fiji on Christmas Eve after a short layover in Hawaii.
Most of the time when I travel, I leave my days fairly open and make a list of places I want to see. When I arrive, I talk to fellow travelers, locals and and ask for recommendations on things to do. This is how we planned our trip to the Yasawa Islands and discovered the day trip we did for Christmas.
Long before we arrived in Fiji, we agreed to all bring an “ugly Christmas sweater” and do a photoshoot on the beach in them, so we woke up early Christmas morning to take our photos at sunrise before our shuttle departed at 7:15.
Our full day excursion with South Sea Cruises departed Port Denarau on a large catamaran and dropped off several other passengers before we transferred to the Seaspray, our boat for the day. When we boarded, the crew greeted us with fresh cut fruit and a large cooler full of beer and wine; all included.
As we sailed, the crew members played and sang songs in their native Fijian tongue. We sat back and enjoyed the sounds and warm tropical breeze while cracking open a few beers.
An hour or so of sailing brought us to the island where Castaway with Tom Hanks was set and we dropped anchor and jumped overboard and swam to shore. We were too excited to wait for the tender to take us. A soft, sandy beach waited to give us a different kind of White Christmas. The beautiful tropical beach and calm cool water was just the vacation we needed after an extended hiatus from traveling.
Richie and I soon broke out the Mavic 2 Pro to take some shots and test out his new ND filters. The island is small, uninhabited and easily recognized from the movie. It even still has the giant “HELP ME” written in wood next to where Tom Hanks’ character made his home for his duration on the island.
The morning sped by and we were soon called back to the boat to have lunch and sail off to our next destination. Upon embarking, the crew had a huge BBQ lunch spread out for us. Grilled fish, chicken skewers, various salads, rice and noodle dishes filled the stomachs of everyone on board.
It is is customary to bring a gift of Kava(herbal root powder used to make a traditional drink) when you visit a Fijian village; thankfully, our tour guides brought some since we had no idea until we arrived. Upon entering the village, we were greeted by the locals in a welcoming ceremony in which they offered us kava to drink from a coconut after clapping and shouting a big “BULA!” Bula is the typical Fijian greeting.
When we returned to the boat after touring the village, we all jumped off the boat into the clear blue water to cool down before heading back to catch our ferry again.
All in all, it was a fantastic Christmas spent with two old friends and our new friends we made. The guys on the boat even let us take back most of the leftover beer we didn’t finish. VINAKA VAKA LEVU!
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