Current Rock of Residence:
Suva, Fiji
Island Girl Since:
1986
Originally Hails From:
California – though that was an awfully long time ago!
Found frequently standing in front of the world map that hung in the dining room as a small child, Mary was presciently givena book about the South Pacific by her parents on her 8th birthday inscribed, “To our dream traveler”. Back then she aspired to live in Ulan Bator and Tierra del Fuego for reasons that remain unfathomable. Since escaping the suburban cultural desert of the pre-gentrified South San Francisco Bay Area, she has lived on three rocks: St. Croix, the UK and Fiji. Her time in St. Croix gave her an appreciation of fine rum, incomprehensible bureaucracy and not wearing shoes. In her little Northumberland village, she learned how to pronounce her T’s properly, take tea with milk and not to regard neighbors with suspicion. Leaving oldest child at university in Blighty, she moved to the sweaty megatropolis of Suva in 2012 with youngest child and husband, where she now works and takes in waifs and strays, mostly of the feline variety. You can read more about Mary’s Fiji life on her personal blog, Fiji Diaries.
Explore posts by this writer:
We have so many amazing women all over the world who love islands - many are lucky to live on islands and many just love the island vibe and try to replicate the laid back style and attitude whatever their latitude! I want to start sharing the stories of some of these...
Return to a Small Island
So, my husband and I have just relocated from the "big" island of 60,000 people back to one of the smaller "sister" islands with a population of 2,000 people. We left here 20 years ago after the birth of our first child. The return has definitely felt like a...
The Story of Rose – The Little Dog That Could
My life in the Dominican Republic had a major change in March 2020. My husband and love of my life passed away. I was also extremely ill with a Lupus flare and COVID at the time he died. I was in hospital and wasn’t with him. Doctors were trying their best to save...
Call me Cruella de Vil
I want to talk to you guys about the one time I "kidnapped" a dog and how I think I'm paying for it in Karma. Taking a brief trip into yesteryear, there used to be a bar and restaurant right next to the condo I live in. Said restaurant would host loud parties which...
The Perfect Island Community
"If you look at an island for what it is, it's a piece of land, surrounded by water that appears to stand alone. It's true that there are no united states or neighbouring unions. It floats in the middle of the ocean, seemingly disconnected from the rest of the world....
A Caribbean Take on Body Positivity
Found this article this week and love its positive spin on body positivity. I encourage you to read the whole article. :-) Excerpt from bbc.com Read the whole article here. It’s impossible to travel around the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao without falling in love...
