Winston. Cyclone Winston took a circuitous route to Fiji which culminated in the second most powerful storm in recorded history with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts up to 225mph that destroyed just about everything in its path…..concrete homes and schools…gone.
I realize that storms like these are unpredictable at best, but check out the path that Winston takes to Fiji : It is completely insane.
If the left turn on the 14th wasn’t enough to make you shake your head, then the the fact that it went from being downgraded to a tropical storm (40mph winds) before doing a 180 and then growing to a Category 5 monster in a few short days is downright cruel.
We feel incredibly lucky and grateful that Winston did an ever so slight move north on the 19th and as a result the eye and the incredibly destructive zone moved just north of us as you can see in the below chart:
So, yes, we had a dramatic night on the 20th, but we never felt like we were losing control. The fear was around what could possibly happen, not what was happening outside our windows.
While we were spared of the destruction, we did loose power for 3 hot days following Winston as crews worked around the clock to rebuild power lines…etc. It was pretty uncomfortable and crazy making, but rarely did we lose perspective and forget to balance out the frustration with how very lucky we were last Saturday.
Even being spared Winston’s full rage, look at what he did to this tree down the street from Lucy’s school.
Not going to lie, when that power came back on after 3 sweaty days, we may have had a celebratory drink and that may or may not be cold champagne.
Summer time in Fiji. Okay so back up a few weeks. From the moment we decided to move to Fiji, everyone has asked when is the best time to visit. Having no clue, we replied with the standard, “it’s 75-85 year round so there really is no bad time”. Okay, January and February (and quite possibly March) are decidedly not good months to visit Fiji. It is balls to the wall hot and humid. Just look at Will looking for a cool spot:
Another way to stay cool is to find some shade and some pools and a rope swing. The thought of doing a back flip off this massive rope swing somehow turned into thoughts of me slipping and bouncing off each rock on the way to the pool. So, I passed and vowed to come back with some stick ‘um.
Another option is to FINALLY pull out my windsurfing gear and drive 2 minutes to the Suva Sailing Club and get out on the water.
Waldorf. Lucy recently moved to a Waldorf school in our neighborhood and we absolutely LOVE It…..I mean, Lucy loves it. 🙂 Since drop off time is 30 minutes after Will’s drop off, Salote has taken to dressing Lucy in the mornings and the result are spectacular.
We have what looks like a nice spot for a garden on the side of our house with a super random bright blue wall that was just looking to be transformed into Will and Lucy’s garden….artwork inspiration needs to be given to Emily and the tortoise murals in Hawaii.
Not sure if it is the difference between Lucy and Will or between boy and girl…..make no mistake, these two are different.
Family visit. Jesse and the San Jose Boettchers (Nina and four boys) won the award for the first visitors to Fiji. They timed their visit perfectly with our good friend Winston. Almost uncanny. On Feb. 10th, Winston popped up as a rather harmless tropical storm heading south….and he kept that course as Jesse and the family boarded a plane on the 12th. As Winston wandered around the S. Pacific, we had enjoyed some time at the beach and a 2 day visit to Leleuvia where we were (shockingly) the only people on the island. The visit took an unexpected turn when Winston decided to hit Fiji the day of their departure……so, what was once a brief but lovely visit to Fiji became an extended and epic trip to the S. Pacific that nobody will ever forget. Here some pics of the good times:
Cousins enjoying a beach day at Pacific Harbour:
Cocktails and sprints at Leleuvia:
Trouble:
Family time:
As if Leleuvia isn’t magical enough, the morning we arrived about 20-30 baby sea turtles hatched somewhere on the island. Fearing every predator in the world was going to eat these little guys for breakfast, they scooped them up to bring to a sanctuary till they are older, then they will bring them back and let them make the trek to the water when they have a chance….
Will is completely oblivious to the full rainbow forming above him as he digs in the sand. Daddy desperately maneuvers for a ‘pot of gold’ pic.
That seems like a lovely way to end this post…..
As always, we love and miss you all!
Clancey, Abby, Will and Lucy!