January 25, 2018 – Suva, Fiji

Alluring sand beaches, magnificent emerald-clad hills and stunning coral reefs comprise the 330 islands of the Fijian archipelago with 132 of these inhabited. This is the description of Fiji from the brochures. Yes, Fiji is beautiful; however, we are docked at a commercial port.

Our tour today is their free tour of Suva, the capital, and is located on the picturesque island of Viti Levu, is the largest city in the South Pacific and a thriving center of culture and history. It encompasses 10,424 Square kilometers. Originally there were many poisonous snakes on the island, but they imported mongoose and they ate them all. Now, though, the mongoose are eating the chickens. The first thing that our guide (Joe) taught us was Bula (cheers, good day,etc.), Vinaka (thank you) and Moce (good-bye). Everyone greets you with Bula. Our first stop was high above the city where we could overlook the harbor and our ship.

Our guide explained that it rains 24x7 here and we were very lucky to have a rainless day. He kept thanking God for the weather. There are two zones here. The south and east are the wet side and get about 120” per year. The north and west is thought as the dry side and gets about 60” of rain per year. The police and guards in Fiji do not carry guns. The population of all the islands is 750,000 people with 46% Fijians, 35% Indians and the rest European, English and Chinese.

We rode out of town into the rainforest of Colo-I-Suva before arriving at rural Nausori, where local farmers come to sell their wares. As we made this trip we saw two types of homes. Some were ones like we would understand and most of them had gates and walls around them. They there were the villages where there were no walls or gates. He said this was because in the villages they did not know what land was theirs so could not build walls, as these families have lived on the property in that village for a long time and usually all of them were related.

As we were going through these hills we would encounter speed bumps. Our guide said that they called them silent cops. Another thing he pointed out to us were houses that had a red flag waving. This was to indicate that a Hindu family lived there and it was their custom to have this flag.

They grow a lot of root crops here. The Taro is the elephant ear plant and the tapioca is the other one. The coconut palm is considered the tree of life as they use every part of it. The roots are used as medicines, the trunks are used to make furniture and the milk is used for cooking and making soap and shampoo as well as the coconut oil.

There is great diversity in this island with cultures and religions. It is a very tolerant and happy island. Here are pictures of a mosque and a Hindu temple.

Here are the root vegetables after they were harvested. The ones that look almost like big sweet potatoes are the tapioca and the other ones are the Taro.

We went by the colonial-style President’s Palace with the guard in front. The palace is under renovation, so did not look too good, but the guard did.

The next stop was the Fiji Museum that hosts the world’s largest collection of Fijian artifacts, including relics dating back up to 3,700 years and the rudder from the HMS Bounty, the British merchant ship whose fate was sealed by a famous mutiny. 

Fiji was cannibalistic for many years before they were Christianized. The last person to be consumed was Mr. Baker (ironic name). They had one of his shoes and also a fork that they chief would use to eat the meat.

The Thurston Gardens, pride of the islands, lined with palms, water lilies, ginger trees and other local flora surround the museum. Within the gardens, is the island’s beloved distinctive clock tower. The large tree is called a Monkey Pod tree.

Next, we passed the 100-year-old Grand Pacific Hotel. Our guide said it was the oldest and the best. It was built in 1914.

 

On the way, back to the ship we passed the government buildings.

We stopped in town and did a little shopping and then walked back to the ship. When we got there, we were greeted with another warm welcome that included a glass of champagne.

After lunch, we found they had Fiji beer on the ship.