THE FLOOOD IS COMMMIIINNNNGGG

My dear friend Michelle from the US came to Fiji to visit for 2 weeks. We traveled all around the main island of Viti Levu & then took an 18 seater twin Otter prop plane to the aptly named “Garden paradise” of Taveuni. There are 2 other Peace Corps volunteers on the island that live in Fijian villages. Our first venture was a 5 hour hike on the Bouma Trail. It was a long, deep, winding hike through farmland and lush dense jungle. Our guide was well versed with the local flora and showed us the native plants that have been used for hundreds of years, specifically for blood coagulation for cuts & a special leaf that has natural surfactants so it lathers and was used for soap. We saw several exotic birds and laid our heads for the essential photo opportunity of placing our necks on the large stone where many a heads have been chopped as part of human sacrifices when cannibalism was alive and well. Christian Missionary soup anyone?

Following this arduous, sweaty hike we walked to a gushing waterfall 2 stories high. The waterfall plunges into a large, crisp fresh-water pool, begging to be swum in. So we jumped into the pool and the guide helped me climb jagged rocks to make our way behind the fall to jump in. Oooone….Twoooo….THREE! Weeeeeeeeeee….SPLASH! Then we waded around and took a looong deeeep breath and swum under the crashing fall. It was revitalizing after a 5 hour hike and waking up at 4am to catch our flight.

The next day we met another volunteer in her village where there is a well maintained trail called the Lavena Coastal Walk. This is a popular hike among adventurers & has unparalleled beauty, seeing long stretches of white & black sand beach, villages with waterfall backdrops, fresh water streams, fields of dalo climbing hills and of course it wouldn’t be complete without the Indiana Jones style suspension bridge, slippery and swinging in disrepair. Inviting indeed.
We started our hike and within 15 minutes it began to rain, not just a light sprinkle either. A down-pouring of rainforest proportions. No part of us was not covered in warm jungle rain. The hike 1 way is 1.5 exquisite hours. At the end of the hike you reach a river that leads to 2 waterfalls one of which is 50 feet high, the other is like a slide you can climb to the top of a slip all the way down. Basically natures version of a 6 flags water park. Because the rain had been pouring on us for over an hour the river was swollen and the current was moving swiftly. The guide said we may not be able to stay in the river long because there is a danger of flash floods. So we eagerly removed our shoes & hung our bags on a tree branch. We tumbled into the water & started to slowly move toward the waterfalls. Michelle, admittedly not a strong swimmer, was getting nowhere fast with the current pushing against her. At one point we stopped and hugged a rock to hold us in place. I was looking in the distance toward the waterfall & realized there was no possible way we could get even close enough the current was pushing so strong. Not 5 minutes of crawling in the river did the guide look back to us and yell “THE FLOOOD IS COMIIINNNNG!” I look at him in breath-holding surprise & yell a now obvious & stupid question, “Should we go back?” He does not reply & then yells a second time “THE FLOOOD IS COMIIINNNNG!” He follows with “GO BACK, GO BACK!” At that moment I don’t know if I imagine what happens next or if this is a real occurrence but, it felt as through the river had retracted, as if the water level reduced for a just a second, followed by the river swelling again larger than before, followed by another retraction and expansion. It was as if the river was breathing. I look to Michelle & say we have to go back & she says “Oh, this should be easy.” We now laugh at the irony of that statement. We let go of the rock that was securing us & get pushed down the gushing river. We are in the center of the river doing our best to move to the bank where we had left our things. Michelle nearly passes it & I am struggling to make my way across. We reach our things, just as the guide saves his flip-flops & Michelle’s tennis shoes. My brand new Teva flip flops, only a month old, went running away down the river….(at this moment one very lucky Fijian down-stream will probably be seen walking around with my brand new shoes.) Michelle starts to slip away as the current pushes & I reach for her arm and pull her toward myself & the river’s edge. We do our best to stand & are instructed by the guide to chain link our arms, as we very slowly step one foot at a time in knee deep water, shoeless & drenched, making our way to safety. In a matter of 5 minutes the river had swollen from our ankle to our knees. The guide thankfully had saved his shoes which allowed me to at least walk back with some protection, albeit they were pancaked flat & three sizes too big. We caught our breath and let the adrenaline subside along with the rain. Finally dry enough to get out our cameras, we stood posing for a photo, smiling out of life affirming happiness that we survived a flash flood.