Editor’s Note: Looks like Angela Schnabel found a great vacation spot. If you found a piece of paradise of your own, we’d love to hear about it. Submit your story and photos to paradise@stripes.com by Jan. 8, 2014, and we’ll make you famous by posting your story on this site and running it in our Destination Paradise magazine that hits the streets in February!

This summer my husband and I went on a once-in-a-lifetime scuba diving trip to Beqa Lagoon resort on Beqa Island, Fiji. We went back and forth on if we should go because of the cost and the fact my husband got military orders to Japan around that time. But, we’re so glad we did!

We were worried we’d be too stressed out with upcoming PCS move to enjoy a vacation, but we were wrong and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. Some of the most amazing dive sites in the world are in Fiji, so dive there if you ever get the chance.

We went with our local dive shop’s group of 12 and there were about 10 other guests outside our group on the island that week. This gave us a very low-key vacation with an exclusive feel to it. I’m unsure if it is true, but I heard there was a 2-year waiting list to vacation at our Fiji location. After our experience, I would not be surprised if that were the case.

I was most impressed with the kindness and warmth of the locals who worked at the resort. They lived in a small village that you could see from the resort’s dining hall. We were welcomed by the staff at the shore with a traditional welcome song and we were offered fragrant garlands.

When it came time to leave they sent us off with a goodbye song and a traditional flower ceremony. You toss a flower into the sea as you depart the island, and if the flower comes back to the shore, you are said to be destined to return. I actually cried when we left. I've been on many a vacation and was never moved enough to cry when it was time to leave.

We had a single bure (a private hut) and it was lovely. We even had a few geckos visit and chip at us. Oh! Be on the lookout for mongoose as you walk the grounds.

Just be sure to bring the right kind of adapter for your electronics. There is internet, but you have to pay for it. It was so refreshing to be unplugged from Facebook, email, and the web. People actually talked to each other during meals and we only used our phones for pictures. It was so nice to be unplugged.One of my favorite things from this trip was waking up and falling asleep to the waves softly crashing in the distance.

I took advantage of the complimentary welcome foot massage the second day while my husband David took a nap. The massage therapist was so friendly and had a great sense of humor. It was delightful and I knew that I would want to look into their other services.

Later in the week we treated ourselves to the Beqa signature massage and that was so very relaxing. The therapists are professional, kind, and experienced. And even though you were in a private hut, you could see still out across the ocean and feel the sea breeze.

The food was fabulous (the best resort food I’ve ever had, actually), and the staff and level of service were impeccable. They knew your names within a few days, which blew my mind since we aren’t used to that kind of service in the States.

I rarely eat dessert but had it every night. We dove hard every day so I figured my body could handle the extra calories. They also had lean and vegetarian options available.

The soups were delicious. The fish tasted wonderful. The steak was to die for; it was perfect. It took a lot of will power to avoid licking the plate.

Taking a dive

The diving was unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like it, and look forward to other amazing dives in our future. We have dived at Playa del Carmen, but Fiji was the perfect place to start our scuba diving bucket list.

The dive crew was very experienced and took us to wonderful dive sites. How they kept up with everyone, I’ll never know. But I felt very safe in their hands.

The night and shark dives at the “Bistro” site were a lot of fun, but we got just as many great pictures, video, and memories from the other boat dives. Yes, we dove at night and petted sharks. The night dive was just so fascinating. So many different sea creatures come out at night.

Seeing only by the beam of your flashlight adds another level of adventure to scuba diving. You look to your left only to see complete darkness until you shine your light over. Then you see a small reflective dot. Then another. Reef sharks are checking you out. What a rush! I will definitely do it again. One of our dive masters even grabbed shark teeth for us from the bottom of “The Bistro” shark dive site. I turned into necklaces that look pretty awesome.

The Fire Walkers are exclusive to Beqa and they put on quite a show. The local villagers put on what they called a fashion show, but it was more of a cultural display of different outfits and dances.

Usually I’m ready to get back to the daily grind and see our two fat cats, but this time I found myself wishing the vacation would never end. I imagine it was mostly because I knew that same daily grind and packing for the move to Japan awaited us back home and there would be no freshly cut papaya every morning, no “bula!” when you greet each other, and no sarongs back home in Oklahoma City.

I wore my traditional sarong at home after work for weeks and it took about two months for me to get over my daily longing to be back in Fiji. Now it is a fond memory and we hope our flowers returned to the shore so we can visit again someday.