My plan had been to write a final summary of my trip to Fiji as soon as I got back to the States. That didn't happen. With all of travel shutting down I just was not feeling very motivated to write about what will likely be my last overseas trip for a while. Well, now that it is mid-May and the weather is warming up (the nights are not going below freezing as often) I finally got motivated.
Well, not exactly. This is not a summary of the whole trip, just a bit about the final place I stayed and my trip home amid the start of the China Flu epidemic.
I tend to post to FecesBook, then add those posts to my web page along with more details. If you are not a FecesBook member, I gathered my last posts here: 2020-03-20 - Fiji Semi-Final Update
I was far from vigilant in putting my photos on-line, but here is the album as it stands. With any luck I will get motivated and edit and add. I will e-mail you all if I make major additions. I wouldn't hold your breath. FIJI PHOTO ALBUM:
When I got back to the US February 27th, I had planned on staying there for a month, maybe two, then heading back to Spain to pick up my bike and see more of southern Europe. Man plans and God laughs.......
With any luck I will at least be able to do some traveling around the US during the summer/fall. As can be said for anyone in history "We live in Interesting Times"
Here is my entire trip, including some of my dive boat trips.
FIJI Actual
The entire trip, from Boston. 
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Before I get into the latest, you might have missed this from a place I was at earlier in the trip. It is pretty impressive, and worth watching the whole thing (in my opinion).
The last full post had me in northern Fiji at the Koro Sun resort in the town of Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu. It was a nice place, but the boat was small and did not go out often as the weather was a bit windy. When I say small, it had room for maybe 4 divers, and two crew. More like a row boat. The little motor just kept plugging along, and missing, and hard starting. Still, it got us to the dive sites. When I say us, most of the time it was just me and the two crew. We did get out to the Natewa Bay which was pretty impressive (in a bigger boat). Completely undisturbed, as the local tribe does not let many dive boats go there.
The little boat that could 
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This was the place with the Floating Villa (Bure). You can see my post on that on my web site. There were hardly any people there, and the staff and the resort showed it. You could never be sure where the meals were going to be served, nor if the dive boat was going out. There was a ton of miscommunication. Still, it was at an extremely reduced rate and was a beautiful and relaxing place.
I was at the Koro Sun from Feb 8 to Feb 19. From there I went way south, to Ona Island, and the Oneta Island Resort. To get there, I had to take a plane to Nadi, then a cab to Pacific Harbor, then a 3 hour Boat ride on some fairly rough waters to the Resort. There was supposed to be two eye doctors on the boat, but their flight from California was delayed so I was the only guest on the boat. There were a few people from other islands that we were giving a ride home to. The airport to Ona Island is shut down for maintenance, hence the requirement for a boat ride. It was a small boat and I was still not 100% sure my GI issues were gone. I was really worried that they might come back while on this boat, but they did not and it was a nice boat ride.
Although it seems like rather small boat for the long, rough ride, it was actually ideal and made for a nice day. 
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I was the only person at the resort for the first two days. Had it not been for the Eye Doctors already being scheduled, the resort would probably not be open. During the time I was there, I don't think there was ever more than four other guests.
Two days after I got there, the two eye doctors that missed the boat arrived. They were volunteering their time to go to various local islands to do eye exams. They came with a bunch of donated eye glasses to distribute to those who need them. They were a very interesting couple. The amount of work they did in their short time here was incredible. Oneta Foundation
I really liked the resort and the owners and staff were amazing. Because it was slow, I was upgraded to the two bedroom villa. What a great place. You can see photos of the room below, or you can just watch the video below:
The Dining/Lounge/Bar Area 
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One of the places to relax outside. 
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The reef protecting the island is called the Astrolabe Reef. It is in fantastic condition, other than a few places that had hurricane damage. In some places, during low tide, the reef sticks out of the water. Diving the outer reef requires a bit of timing and a captain that really knows the reef well. One of the fun dives we did ended, as expected, with no way to get back on the boat at the dive site. They threw out a rope and we floated/were towed back over the reef until we were inside the reef and the boat could properly use it's motors again.
There is a Manta Ray cleaning station here, but it is not the right season for them. One could get lucky and see one or two, but in season you are pretty much guaranteed to see some.
Whales also come inside the reef, often with their young. Of course, it is the wrong season, but we did see one while in the boat. Only saw a bit of it, but some of the people saw it from the shore on a few of the days.
As usual, we had a Kava ceremony the day before our departure. Supposedly, this part of Fiji grows the best and most expensive Kava. Although I did partake a bit, I was a bit wary of the health consequences of drinking out of a common bowl that many people have had their hands in. I really did not want to get GI issues prior to a very long set of flights. I was not even thinking about Covid-19, as no one was really concerned about it. Even the doctors from California did not mention it.
One of the Dive boats. 
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Some of the dives 
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MAP OF DIVES - Shows the routes I took for the dives around Ona Island, just in case you want more details.
Ona Island with Kadavu island south of it, showing the reef that protects the two islands and the dives we did. Only the green parts are the islands, the rest is the underwater reef structure. 
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Guests and Staff. All were great. 
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Staff saying goodbye. 
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On February 26th I took the boat back to the mainland along with the two doctors. It went quicker this time as the seas were smooth.
On the way back to the mainland, we were flagged down by a snorkler who misjudged the current leaving the inlet near the marina. We towed him back in with the boat. 
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I decided to stay at the Hilton, Denarau Island, rather than the cheaper place near the airport (the Fiji Gateway). I thought the Hilton would be better since I was going to be staying all day without a room since my flight the next day did not leave until 9pm. It was a very nice place, but it was cold, unfriendly and empty. I would have much preferred the other place I think, as I would have been much more likely to find people to talk to.
I was told by staff that the Hilton was empty mainly because it would normally be filled with Chinese tourists. Direct travel from China had been prohibited for a bit, and Fiji was screening all passengers that had been in China recently, no matter where they were flying in from. This was still before anyone was really worrying much about the virus. Part of the reason I was heading back to the US was I didn't want to be stuck here with no resorts/hotels and no way to get back home if the US closed travel from Fiji.
While eating tiramisu I broke one of my gold crowns. It was good Tiramisu, but it came with a chocolate cup, with caramel covered popcorn. I bit into an un-popped kernal and the sticky stuff pulled off the crown.
My last day in Fiji, I checked out of my room and hung around the hotel (part of the package). There were swimming pools, beaches etc. While walking back to my lounge chair, I did not see the step, probably due to my bifocals. I tripped, fell and thought everything was OK. Nope, I broke two toes. I iced them (they wanted to charge me for the ice, but I talked them out of that foolishness). So most of my day was laying back, putting ice on my toes and watching them get blacker and bluer.
The offending step 
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27Feb2020 - Thursday - Fiji Airways - While waiting for the delayed boarding, two people, not together or sitting near each other, were hacking and coughing, dry coughs, they both looked terrible. People are trying to stay as far away from them as possible while standing in line. I chose a place on the other side of the waiting area that was not near anyone, and most definitely not near any coughers. There are a lot of Chinese in Fiji, and a lot of Chinese tourists. We did not know much about the virus at this point, but we all knew enough not to sit too close to a cougher.
The flight from Fiji to Los Angeles was awesome. I was the only person in a 3 seat row. I was able to lay down and sleep the entire flight. We left Fiji Thursday night at 9:40 PM (Actually a little later due to delays)
The plane had two outdoor cameras so you could see if a wing was falling off. 
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Arrival in Los Angeles was smooth. We arrived at 11:35 AM on Thursday. Yup, arrived 10 hours before we left. Gotta love them date lines. Easy entry, there was no screening and no waiting as long as you had not been to China. The immigration officer looks at my passport, says I have the same birthday as him and he removes his glove and SHAKES MY HAND. No easy hand wash anywhere nearby. Even at that time I knew that was not a good idea.
To get to next flight, since I was not booked through the same airline, I had to get to the other side of the airport. I had very little time to get there and it took a long time for my luggage to come out. So I ran. Remember the broken toe? Fortunately I had a cart, so I used that as my third leg. Also, since it was Jetblue, I bought a seat with more leg room, that gave me early boarding. Fortunately they were late boarding so just as I was walking down the jetway they started calling the other rows. I was the last of the early boarders. Plenty of room for my stuff.
The flight from Los Angeles to Boston was a bit crowded, but not full. - One guy was even later than me, but they were late getting going so all was good. The late guy was able to jump into the exit row seat, which I had my eye on.
I got back to Boston at 9.57 PM Thursday. Remember, I left Fiji at 9.40 PM Thursday (actually later, as they left late) So I got to Boston about the same time I left Fiji. International date lines are weird.
I stayed in Boston, then rented a car the next day. Remember, I don't own a car.
A few weeks after I left Fiji, a Hurricane came through and hit the Oneta Resort pretty hard, along with the surrounding islands. They are fixing the damage, but they won't have many guests for a while.
For two and a half weeks after I got home, things were pretty normal. Restaurants, bars, stores. Everything was open, and people were acting pretty normal. Then everything changed.
I don't know when things will get back to some sort of normal, but I am confident we will start heading in that direction fairly soon. What that new normal will look like, and how long it will take to get there are the big questions. I don't know when I will be able to get back to Spain to ride my bike, but I hope it will be soon. Stay safe out there, and protect those who are in the high risk categories.
Bedroom 1 
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Bedroom 2 
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Sitting Room 
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Bathroom with 2 sinks 
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AND two toilets 
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And one outdoor shower 
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And a second outdoor shower 
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Flowers everywhere. 
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One of two decks. 
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And a true thatched roof. 
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