Cyclone in Fiji - Low Cost Travel

It had started raining at 5 in the morning.

The rushing water and the wind had woken me up. It must be 5 in the morning, everyone is asleep and it’s still dark so I go back to sleep too.
But that incessant noise doesn’t let me rest so that at 7.30 I wake up and, still drowsy, I head towards the breakfast room where I find everyone sitting.
Time is scary. To go from the dormitory room to the breakfast room there is a meter and a half not covered by the roof, taking two steps I arrive completely wet.

The wind seems to take everything away. The pole where the volleyball net attaches is also completely bent.
They tell me that there seems to be a cyclone heading south but that the situation is under control at the moment so not to worry.
We have breakfast and the weather doesn’t seem to want to improve.
The first one arrives”warning”.
They invite us to pack our bags and put them in high places in the rooms and explain what to do in case the cyclone arrives.
It seems like a movie to me. We all run to the room and put our suitcases away.

Have you found plane tickets? See also on Traveljourn
Read also: Fiji Islands – Really a paradise for a few?

The New Zealand millionairess who survived the Tsunami in Indonesia tells how she also experienced that disaster, throwing us into even more panic.
My first thought goes to My parents who don’t even know what island they are on.
And I think of when my mother told me to inform the Foreign Ministry and indicate where I was as I moved.
In case of disaster, he said.
I’ve never done it and I laugh at how silly I am for continuing to not listen to his advice.

The second thought goes to mine computer. I don’t abandon him on a bed. It doesn’t matter how tall. If the water arrives it would knock everything down so it would end badly anyway. I seal it in 3 plastic bags and put it in the bag where I also have bottles of water and some biscuits.

The weather is getting worse and although the cyclone is not exactly in the direction of Mana, this island is still in the cyclone zone, hence the strong wind and heavy rain and the risk of it changing direction.
The sea seems to clear, the bright blue becomes a dark, not very cheerful blue, you can’t see it from 30 meters away. Talking about this and that, we are all waiting to know about evolution and how to behave.
My cell phone is out of battery and on the other hand I don’t see the point in upsetting my parents.
Meanwhile another warning arrives, things could get worse.
They give us information on where to take refuge in case the cyclone passes over the island.
A small computer room sheltered from the other buildings, they explain to me that in case the cyclone passes we are safer than in our rooms, in addition to the fact that there is nothing there and therefore nothing should fall on us. The explanation, however sensible it is, scares me even more and so does those with me.

After hours the news arrives that we are out of danger. We look at each other and smile…but the adrenaline of the moment has tired everyone.
There are those who play dice, those who play cards, those who watch CastawayI retreat to my room because I want to sleep now that I know that everything is ok, like many others.
Everything seemed to be back to normal, but things got worse in the following days.
There were now 3 cyclones. From Nadi we learned that the roads had been destroyed and I was stuck on the island, losing a flight and sometimes even my patience.
There was no means of transport, no boats ventured into the sea, the main island was flooded, there was no electricity or running water and flights were all suspended.
For the first time I was a little scared. An island in the middle of nowhere, wind, rain, no means of transport and the feeling of feeling like a prisoner. I called the island Alcatraz o House of Big Brother. Next time I’ll check the weather more carefully and let you know Farnesina.