Yesterday and today we have spent in Fiji. Firstly in Savusavu and then today in Suva. Our day in Savusavu was one of the hottest days of the cruise with the temperature hovering around the 31c mark with 80% humidity. If the day had been cooler I think we would have spent longer ashore. As it was by the time we were transported to shore by tender after spending up to 30 minutes standing around between Deck 5 and Deck 4 waiting for the tender to load the day had already lost most of its excitement. Mary and walked the length of the town, approximately one kilometer, and back again. We visited the hot springs where local women cook many of their meals, two of the three supermarkets, the bank and probably two dozen or more handicraft stalls. The handicraft stalls were all staffed by Fijians all anxious to exchange the customary greeting of “Bula” with a friendly smile. The Taxi drivers on the other hand were less friendly and more insistent that you do business with them.
The town of Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu is only very small, has a population of less than 5000 and although not the largest town on the island is certainly the hub of activity here. The town has a single main street alongside the bay and has everything needed to spend a lazy few hours wandering among the stall holders and trying out the various shops, restaurants, etc.
Today we docked in Suva. As a comparison with Savusavu where one was sleepy the other is vibrant. It’s a very large and very noisy city of some 365,000 people. Mary and I had decided a few day ago that we probably would not go ashore here. Neither of really like cities and have bought just about every souvenir we want from the trip. The following is taken directly from the Sun Princess Patter, the daily news.
“Nestled in a yawning harbor, this city is sticky with sweat and industry but it’s Fiji’s most concentrated confluence of ethnicities and cultures. Swimming in the urban milieu you’ll discover the influence of every island and background. Downtown is a jigsaw of colonial buildings, modern shopping plazas, abundant eateries and a breezy esplanade. Small passages transport you to a city somewhere in India with curry houses, sari shops and bric-a-brac traders.-”
Tonight we sail for Port Denaru.and we are getting very close to the end of the cruise. Tonight the crew are putting on their concert. This has quite a tradition on Princess ships apparently. I’m told it’s an adults only night and should be a bit of fun. Our houseboy Marvi is performing a Michael Jackson dance act and he’s most anxious we see it. This show, in the Princess Theatre starts at 10.15 after the movie Mama Mia.
All for now.
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