We learned a few things about Fiji we did not know. First, Fiji has 332 islands, but they also have 522 islets. The volcanic island of Viti Levu is the largest with a population of 94,000 people. The capital is Suva, where we are docked, and has about 75% of the total population living here. There are three official languages. You will see the Union Jack on the Fijian flag. There are lush parks, British colonial buildings, a huge municipal market, a museum, and a beautiful garden all in Suva. The biggest sport is rugby, and the favorite foods are rice, sweet potatoes, taro, coconuts, cassava, breadfruit, and fish. The major hotels include Westin, Hilton, Intercontinental, Sofitel, Sheraton, Radisson, and Shangri-La.
Kava is the traditional drink….try it at your own risk. Fiji is home to the monkey-faced bat, and the collared lory, a very colorful parrot, is the national animal. Cannibalism was indeed practiced here, but no more.
We began the day with a leisurely breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill, while watching the action below on the dock area. The shore excursion folks were making a beeline to the waiting buses. Perhaps they have the right idea, since many things will be closed today…..it's Sunday remember? Some of the ship's tours included a longboat ride to waterfalls and a kava ceremony for $180. A day pass at the Pearl Resort was $150 and included lunch. An eco tour walk was $90 and a simple beach day was $40.
The internet remained shut down, and we all had a letter explaining why. It was interfering with the local wifi, so we were shut down. The same thing happened to us while we were in Barbados last spring. Our system on the N.Statendam was interfering with the local wifi, and messing up the banks we were told. We were instantly refunded some of the fee we paid for the internet. The same will happen here after we have left the area.
We stayed onboard until 10:30am, then decided it was a good idea to take the umbrellas. Glad we did, since the rain started within two blocks of leaving the ship. Passing by the Municipal Market, we saw that 90% of it was closed. Only a few vendors were there to sell flowers, and we did promise to come back later.
Downtown was about shut down. We did not see a restaurant or shop opened, except McDonald's. They had customers from the ship that were trying to go online there. This is the only McDonald's that has a police guard by the door. There used to be a nice small park across the way, but we found it totally boarded up with a plywood wall. Last time we were here, this area looked seedy. There were many street signs saying "Happy Diwali" for an upcoming Hindu holiday we heard.
About every Fijian man passing us said "Bula", directing the greeting more to Bill than me. It must be a guy thing. We passed by the Holiday Inn, so reminiscent of the 1950's. Right next to that was the Grand Pacific Hotel, a very impressive hotel, and most proper in the British vein. Just as we walked by, a bus full of tourists filed into the hotel lobby, just as we did many years ago while on a tour here. One of the things they head for is a restroom, which is outside near the pool. Our plan was to stop here for lunch on our way back.
Across the road, we entered the Thurston Garden dating back to the early 1900's. Although the museum is being re-done, the garden was still open. Many specimens of over 100 year old trees are here. Two of these mature trees happened to be full of large black fruit bats. If you did not see them right away, you could listen for their noises they make. We have never seen them in these garden trees, but in the roadside trees. There was a stray dog, who had fun following us. We think it was the bag of umbrellas we packed. The dog associated the bag with possible food. He did not leave us until a police van passed by, and went after it barking.
From there, we walked past the palace with a Fijian guard outside the gate. Right across from the palace is a helicopter pad near the oceanside. We continued up the seawall road, which really reminded us of the coast of Nuku'alofa. There are many destroyed pipes (sewer or drainage we assume) along this body of water. No one would even think of swimming here. Eventually, the road was closed due to construction, so we turned back.
We stopped at the Grand Pacific Hotel and were seated at a nice table for two under the patio covering. We ordered two Fiji Gold drafts, ice cold. When we saw they had pizza on the menu, we chose a Margherita. It was a bit of a wait, but was well worth it. The pizza was delicious. The pace here is laid back and very relaxed. The wait staff were about the friendliest we have encountered. Our waitress told us about the effects of the Covid pandemic. Since the country shut down at that time, the city dwellers had no choice but to move back with family in villages. It was their only means of survival. Now that things are opening up, they are pleased to see the tourists coming back. And most of the locals have gotten their jobs back. Finally ,we ended the meal with one slice of pumpkin pie with a side of vanilla ice cream. Then it was time to move on.
We walked back through town, passing many of our crew members. It was close to 3pm now and we still wanted to stop at the flower market. We bought two bunches of cut tropical flowers for a total of $10 US dollars. Since we had already checked out the policy of bringing back fresh flowers, we had no problems bringing them onboard. We may have a few stray ants, but for the most part, the vendors spray the bouquets before selling them.
Doing offline photo work, and report writing, we relaxed until it was time for dinner. That would be in the Pinnacle Grill. We ordered our usual wedge salads, and one filet mignon, and a plate of grilled lamb chops. Both of us had small baked potatoes with the toppings. We saved a little room for one crème Brulé and a strawberry sorbet plate with blueberries. It seems that most of the blackberries and strawberries are gone now.
The all aboard time was 10:30pm, then we will be headed for Dravuni, a very small island with a nice beach. Yesterday, we understand that the Westerdam was unable to tender guests there, due to high winds and rough seas. Hope we do not have the same problem.
Bill & Mary Ann
