Tim lives in Lautoka, a small city on the northwest coast of Fiji's main island. The primary industry seems to be agriculture (mostly sugar).
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We spent our first night in Laukota at Tim's sports club. It's essentially a neighborhood bar where locals (mostly Aussie ex-pats) can get together and share a drink.
I don't think that we were there for an hour before Sam broke his fifth glass of the trip. And that was before the drinks even got flowing. And flow they did, by the way.
After a night of very punctuated sleep (and multiple trips to the toilet, face first), we woke up and got ready for a boat ride. One of Tim's many local acquaintances (another Aussie ex-pat) knows a group of Fijian locals that run a boat tour of the outlying islands. We joined about 40 other visitors for an all day tour. The boat ride included a delicious bbq and an open bar (yes, we participated). It also included a snorkeling trip off of one of the many outlying mini-islands. They're the type of deserted islands that we've all pictured. In fact, Castaway was filmed on one of them.
Here's Tim, halfway through an ill-fated flip attempt (with our snorkeling island in the background).
He's still rubbing his chest.
Today, we visited Tim's office, where he helps coordinate microfinance loans.
These loans of $20-$60 can help farmers buy seeds or help women start their own businesses. In fact, we ran into one of Tim's appreciative borrowers in the local market. Tim helped him acquire the funds necessary to rent a stand. If you look closely at the picture (click it to zoom in), you'll see the coins that a recent payment contained. These loans are very small (by our standards), but they go a long way towards helping people get on their feet. Interestingly, their payback rates are much higher than those for loans made by large banks in develped nations.
As beautiful as the scenery is, though, I'm having a hard time separating it from the less-than-beautiful reality. After all, this is every bit of a Third World country.
But even in poverty, people still have birthdays. And tonight, Tim has his. The sporting club won't know what hit it.
Happy birthday, buddy. We're proud of you.
