Suva, Fiji

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Day 26 - February 10, 2007, Saturday, Suva, Fiji
(We skipped a day—jumping 23 hours ahead last night!)

Time: 7:30 am Saturday (1:30 pm Friday CST)
Latitude: 18 degrees 08.12 minutes S
Longitude: 178 degrees 25.37 minutes W
Speed: 0 knots - At Anchor
Distance traveled from FLL: 9325 nautical miles
Weather: 85 degrees / 75% humidity, Partly cloudy/sunny

Bula! Bula! (Hello! Hello!) We were greeted with this throughout our day in friendly Suva, Fiji today! Fiji’s 322 islands are spread across the Koro Sea in a giant U shape. We visited Suva the capital and largest city of the Fiji Islands located in Rewa Province on the southeastern coast of Viti Levu Island near the mouth of the Rewa River. Suva is a very ethnically diverse city, with about equal numbers of Indians and indigenous Fijians. This was a surprise to us! The Indian population grew here in the late 1800’s when many Indians were brought over to work on British plantations that produced sugar cane. Due to a recent military coup, we notice a heavy military presence with many military check points but found that everyone we met was very tourist-friendly! Our day began as we left the main city of Suva and went to a local food market (Saturday - everyone sells and shops at the local markets) on the Rewa River. It was great fun walking through the market and just seeing the many fresh fruits, vegetables, roots and spices that were available, and mixing with all of the locals who were curious about us. It smelled just like vegetable soup in there! I almost wanted to go home and cook—almost (smile)!! We then traveled a bit further on the bus where we to a local river bank (local boat/bus stop) where we transferred to small motored boats and ventured up the Rewa River. We didn’t really know what was in store for us, as the boats were even a surprise. As our guide made our way through a cut in the river’s edge we came upon a small Fijian village that was tucked into the lush vegetation. For the next few hours we enjoyed the hospitality of this local village, quite removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. We were treated to a special welcoming ceremony that is customary when there are visitors to a Fijian village. We happened to begin talking with a young woman while we were there who then gave us a tour of her village and the local school (she was a new teacher who was still waiting on her teaching assignment from the government). There are about 80 children in her village of about 250 people and are taught through grade 8 in the villages. It was amazing to see the work on the chalk boards from yesterday all written in English. Even in these remote Fijian villages the children are learning English! We were sad to leave this village today—it was a highlight of our trip! We were especially sad to leave our new teacher friend—it is a dream of hers to visit the United States—we wanted to bring her back with us! We finished our tour and then headed out on our shopping expedition. We had cannibals on our minds! Until the 1920’s, cannibalism was practiced in many South Pacific islands. The centuries-old practice was a completely normal part of life. Warriors were honored with religious sacrifices of enemies following great battles. Stocks of capture enemies were usually kept on hand so there would be a good supply for special occasions! Suffice it to say, that we now have a full set of the required silverware—small forks for eyes and brains and larger implements for big hunks of flesh!

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Comments

[Peg]

What a Day!