One Friday as we walked into Savusavu with Rich and Cyndi from 'Legacy' we passed Craig and Bruce, the guys from 'Gato Go,' and they asked "Wanna take the bus to Labasa tomorrow?" "Let's see, now, what do we have on our busy schedule for tomorrow . . . oh, nothing!" Okay, so without knowing the details we just said "Yes." That is truly how plans get made and adventures begin in this spontaneous lifestyle of ours. As the day unfolded we tried to figure out where the bus would leave from and when, how long the ride would be, if we needed advance tickets, and what time the bus returns. None of the answers were crystal clear but we agreed to meet at 7:15 am. What? I really don't do early morning anything! But, I didn't want to be left behind, so I sacrificed a little sleep.

Saturday morning was a perfectly sunny, blue sky, adventure kinda day. We had many rainy days in the past week so this was a gift. We walked a few blocks to the bus yard, and standing by our bus a young man was selling bags of "in the shell" peanuts - strange early morning offering I thought. We paid the bus driver our fare - $6.50Fj (about $4US) each - and grabed one of the few seats left. Bob and I were lucky enough to get the front seat, right behind the bus driver where there was a large open area behind the driver's seat; this gave us a much better view looking forward, a nice breeze from the driver's window and leg room . . . at least to start with.

As we are checking out our surroundings we noticed a sign near the front of the bus that said "Eating of peanuts is strictly prohibited on this bus" What? - we just bought peanuts from the vendor outside! Another sign said no eating or drinking allowed - and this was to be a three hour bus ride. Oh well, what can you do but obey the rules!

The trip took us from Savusavu, on the south coast of the island of Vanua Levu, to Labasa (pronounced Lambasa) on the north coast. This large island is volcanic in origin and has many high rugged peaks. The variety of landscapes we saw was stunning - spectacular, beautiful, lush and ever changing. The one constant is it is green, green, green - every shade and texture of green. Waterfalls drop out of no visible source in the middle of a cliff. Layers upon shadowy layers of hills seem to go on forever. Sugar is the main export of Fiji and the further north we went the more evident that was by the acres of sugar cane. I have seen sugar cane fields before in Hawaii but here the cane plants have beautiful plumage like glittery pink pampas grass swaying in the breeze. It was so lazy and fluid and a bit hypnotizing.

The bus stopped at many of the villages along the route and picked up passengers who were packing large satchels of kava and other produce to sell at market. Some were going to other villages to sell their goods, and others are going all the way to Labasa to the big market. No such thing as a plastic bag here; everything was wrapped in large pieces of fabric or in woven palm baskets. With each stop the bus got more and more full until it was standing room only, and more and more bundles of goods for market were piled at our feet. So much for all of our leg room!

The ebb and flow of passengers continued throughout the trip. At one point I had one year old Eoshi and his young mother sitting next to me. He was a beautiful little Indian boy with huge sparkling eyes and incredible long black eyelashes. They were going to another village to visit his grandma. Three Fijian ladies traveling together sat across the aisle from me for a time, and with big smiles they handed me a "god is good" pamphlet. I chuckled when I saw the pamphlet was printed in Oregon . . . small world! Five young and handsome guys traveling to a rugby match with a neighboring village could barely get their long legs in the twelve inch space between the seats. This bus load of passengers was such a cross section of Fijian culture . . . with the exception the six Americans and two German cruisers! We stuck out like marshmallows in a box of chocolates. Everyone was very kind and very curious about our visit to their country. We were commonly asked where we are from and if we enjoying our stay in Fiji; and, they were truly interested in our answers!

Our bus was a school bus upgrade and had nothing in the way of cushy seats or even good shocks for that matter. Much of the road had more pot holes than smooth pavement so the bus driver just plowed on through. On the steep grades - and there were many - he had to almost stop so he could set the jake brakes for the downhill run. Villagers at the bottom of the big hills knew when the bus was arriving from quite a distance by the noise from those loud compression brakes; needless to say, noise pollution is not high on the list of environmental concerns in Fiji! Thankfully, there was very little traffic on the road because our bus often took its half out of the middle. All of the bridges were wide enough for only one vehicle, so the first one there has the right of way. Yikes!

Our first glimpse of Labasa was total sensory overload -people, people, people, traffic, dust, Bollywood music blaring from every shop, traffic, more people, and the air was thick with heat and humidity. This is Vanua Levu's largest town and is predominantly Indo-Fijian, many of whom are descendants of the indentured laborers the British brought to work on the surrounding sugar cane plantations.

We stepped off the bus and were literally standing on the curb of the farmers market. Colorful produce laid atop mats on the pavement was offered by smiling, friendly Fijian women. Inside the market, dominated by Indian merchants, kava was the main offering along with handicrafts, produce and every imaginable type of spice and curry powder. Down by the river was a fish market with literally piles of fish of every description for sale. Everyone was anxious to have us take their picture and quizzed us about our travels.

We had lunch with our traveling buddies off Legacy and Gato Go, walked through the downtown shops ala Bollywood (no need to go to India now - we've already been there!). At a Vodafone store we managed to find sim cards and a usb dongle for internet that we were not able to get in Savusavu. There was even a parade down the main street, complete with a police marching band and a float with local beauty princesses! After a couple of hours the group consensus was we needed a cold beer and a quiet place. A beautiful little hotel a block off the main street was the oasis we were looking for away from the cacophony of downtown Labasa. Ahhhh!!

We were back on the bus by 4pm for a 4:30 departure, and we just barely got a seat - this was last bus back to Savusavu for the day! But this was a luxury bus that would rival any U.S. touring bus, with air conditioning, plush seats, and a blaring D rated horror movie. What a laugh! Rivaling that, two Indian teenagers with a new phone that must have had mondo speakers was blaring - you guessed it - Bollywood music. It was hard to escape the noise! Not all of Fiji is the Travel Brochure paradise. Part of it is just everyday life in another part of the world - stuff you would never see from a cruise ship or at a resort. But this is why we travel the way we do!

(For pictures of our trip to Labasa, click on "Photo Gallery" in the top right hand panel, then click on "Bus Trip to Labasa; click on any picture for a larger image, and to launch a slide show. Enjoy!)