Weekend at Leluevia

Last weekend was probably one of my most favorite weekends since we've arrived in Fiji. It's definitely in the top five. After hearing a lot about our friend's favorite resort, and after many unsuccessful attempts at booking, we finally made it to Leleuvia! I am so glad we finally went because it was beautiful. It reminded me of the magical island of Cumberland, where we used to do our yearly camping trips, ..not because we were hard core camping, dirty, and staying in a tent....but there was just something so mystical about being there...just like I felt at Cumberland. When a place has that much beauty and sweet charm, it almost gives me the chills. It makes me take about 1000 pictures just to capture that feeling - which the pictures never quite do.

We took a boat out on Friday evening from outside of Suva and arrived at Leleuvia 45 minutes later. While it rained the whole weekend in Suva (shocker!) it was beautiful there. The food was tasty, the drinks flowed, and the smiles were non-stop. Our bure was very basic and steps away from the ocean. I didn't even have to use my sound spa on my phone to sleep, as the waves were crashing right outside of my door. There are no bathrooms in the bure so you have to walk to the public bathroom 100 meters away if you need to go. Andie woke me up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning saying, "What kind of bure doesn't have a toilet?" "This one," I said...but you know, it didn't bother me. I think it would be nice to have our own toilet, but the rest of the experience made up for that. Again, it reminded me of camping...but way nicer.

All of the water sport equipment on Leleuvia is free and abundant. I paddle-boarded around the whole island two times, one time with Andie's company on the front of the board. We kayaked, snorkeled in the amazing coral reef and relaxed in hammocks with brilliant blue water as the backdrop. The owner of the island, Rob, was there with his jet-ski and took the kids out on the pull behind raft for a couple of hours every day. I rode with Zoë and I have to say it was one of the most fun things I've done in a long time. I couldn't stop giggling the whole ride!

When it was time for us to leave on Sunday evening, I couldn't tear myself away. The girls and I decided to stay an extra night and day since they are on holiday break and Warren was the only one who had any responsibilities in Suva. Right before he left Warren and I were sitting in our chairs on the water and the girls sneaked up on us from behind. Warren turned around, chased them and tossed them around. I was sitting in my chair, looking at the beautiful blue water and listening to the kids and Warren laugh hysterically behind me. It was one of those moments where I was completely content in life. I felt so grateful to be living in Fiji and to have my beautiful family with me. A little bit of that complete bliss has stayed with me all week... despite the incessant rain in Suva. I don't think I'll forget that moment.

After Warren left, I watched the sunset with my book as the kids ran around making new friends with the new guests. It's a very weird concept in the states to be at the beach with your kids and not know where they are....to not be vigilant the whole time. But, here, it's completely possible. The water is not deep at all, there are no cars or kidnappers to worry about; there is really no place the kids can go. The total freedom the kids have is awesome for them...and a huge plus for us as well.

The beautiful scenery, the complete freedom the kids have to run around and the ability to totally relax will draw us back to Leluevia time and time again. I hope our wallets can handle it!

Here are way too many pictures!