Fiji! (1 of lots)

Whew.  Back from the cruise.  I wish I was taking notes -- there was so much that I wanted to write about -- I hope I remember it all.  Right now I'm sitting in the little shop in my hotel that has internet access, listening to a bopping little ditty called "My Fiji Is Your Fiji" blasting over the radio ("We will tell the world around us/Fiji is the place to be"), waiting to put my load of laundry in the dryer.  Oh, and the world is rocking back and forth slightly.  I don't get seasick (apparently), but I do get "land sick" once on solid ground after all day on a boat.

So, we left off last time in search of a sarong and towel.  I found them at the OTHER shop in the hotel (the "designer" shop).  I bought a really lovely sarong (fire engine red) and a really overpriced towel.  I'm telling you -- the sarong was $25, and the towel was like $30.  (I also learned the exchange rate.  One U.S. dollar buys about $1.70 Fijian.  Which basically means the sarong was reasonably priced, but the towel was a total rip off.)  But what am I gonna do?  I need this stuff.  And the lady in the shop helpfully points out that it's Sunday, so all the shops in town are closed (even if I was gonna brave walking into town alone to try to find a cheap towel).  So I ponied up the cash.  (Dinner was cheap.  It all balances out.)  For spending more the $50, I got a free "mystery souvenir."  Turned out to be the crappiest plastic keychain EVER.  Leaping dolphins on it, says "Fiji."  It's huge.  Totally impractical.  I had a friend with whom I used to exchange tacky souvenirs -- whenever we'd travel we'd try to find the cheapest, tackiest thing we could to send to the other person.  When I opened the package, I immediately thought of her.