Beqa Island--My Favorite So Far

I went to Beqa Island with 3 friends and 3 people I hadn't met yet three weekends ago, and it was amazing.  Even though it rained for 20 out of the 36 hours we were there. :)  Why was Beqa so great?

1. This awesome cross-stitch was hanging in the dormitory (there were two guys and five girls, so they took the bure and we took the five bed dorm). Seriously, this thing took a lot of time, and it is very accurate.

1a.  This is what we did for the first two hours (until lunch)--lay on the super comfy beds, chat, and eat dalo (taro) chips.  Corrine really likes chips.

1b. This is what the girl's room looked like the next morning--I love how mosquito nets make you feel like you're in a princess bed.  

2. Beqa Island is super pretty.  The beach part is not amazing, but the flora absolutely is.  And the nice thing about a grey day is that it makes the green pop so nicely in the photos.  More photos below.

Tree with bean pods... I've yet to find out what kind of tree it is, but it looks super cool.

Lazy ease and relaxation.  FYI--that grass is the best grass I've ever walked or laid on--springy and bright and wonderful. 

More pretty.

This lovely little swing made for a very fun afternoon for me.

3. When the rain finally stopped, as soothing as it had been, we were ready to wander around the island.  Time for a beach walk, led by the resident Swiss backpacker.

Away we go!

The outer shell of the coconut

The discovery of a cross-section of the coconut makes for a cool demonstration of how it has two shells. 

The first of two--what are these doing here? photos

Why do people keep forgetting their stuff in paradise?

The water in Fiji is so clear!

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is, but it smells great!

Two trees in one (they seem to have completely interspersed their roots to the point that they may be sharing a root system)!

Not great for swimming, but awfully pretty!

More jungle prettiness

Beqa's seashell collection.  Sadly, Fijian law keeps me from bringing shells back to the states.  Otherwise, everyone would be getting cool shells as presents.