June 18-24, 2013
We arrived in Suva, Fiji at 1200 hrs on June 18th and anchored in front of the Royal Suva Yacht Club. This Yacht Club arranges all of the transportation for the Health, Customs, Immigration and Bio-security officials. We were boarded at 1630 hrs, granted "free practique" and clearance at 1700 hrs. Entry procedures were very easy with no complications. No food or meat products were confiscated as is done in New Zealand. Since it was late in the afternoon,Phyllis and I stayed onboard for the evening just relaxing and enjoying the relative tranquility of the harbor.
Suva harbor is fairly busy with the comings and goings of freighters, car carriers, petroleum tankers and fishing trawlers. There are a lot of Chinese fishing vessels rafted up in the harbor that come and go. As far as visiting yachts go, there are about 15 in the harbor at the moment. The harbor is protected by a fringing reef but open to Sw'ly winds and swells. If this should happen there are other anchorages within the harbor to find safe refuge. So far we haven't had any problems.
On Wednesday, June 19th we made out first excursion out into Suva which is the capital of Fiji with about 190,000 inhabitants. Since then we have gone out everyday looking around. The city is absolutely fantastic in the sense that it has all the modern amenities that one could find anywhere else in the world. The Indians, Chinese and other world powers have brought their wares into Suva. There seems to be nothing that can't be had with a few inquires or just looking around. Additionally, it has one of the largest Municipal Farmer's Markets in the South Pacific. Acres and acres of stalls with fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, etc., etc. The amount and quantity is staggering. We have seen nothing like since we left Panama. Wonderful color with very friendly locals calling out "bula" which means "hello" in Fijian. The place is a paradise and quite cheap next to New Zealand and French Polynesia. The Fijians are a wonderful happy friendly people that welcome visitors to their country. We are totally and completely impressed with the quality of life here in Suva. It is a joy to be here in this fabulous country!
As we venture out into the island group of Fiji, there is a custom called the "sevusevu". This is an important custom which requires all visitors to a village or island to make a prsentation of "Kava" to the village Chief. In return the Chief will welcome the visitors to his village offering his protection and all reasonable assistance and allow free access to adjacent beaches, waters and reefs, which are considered village property. Kava or Yaquona is the dried root of the Kava plant. It is mildly narcotic and causes some numbing of the lips, tongue and throat. If enough is consumed, the whole body follows suit! Phyllis and I have had it once in Tonga and it tastes like muddy water but is not unpleasant. Other than some numbing of the lips and tongue, I felt no other effects. Anyway, it is the national drink here in the Fijian islands. The roots are dried and pounded out into powder and residue, then infused in water and strained through a cloth or coconut fibers and served in a coconut bowl. It's the equivalent of having a beer with someone. When I've tried more of the stuff, I'll be able to describe it better. As a matter of fact, one of the yachties told us that there is a Kava Bar very near the yacht club so I thing I'll wander down there and get a bucket full.
We went to the Municipal Marrket today and on the second floor are all of the Kava Dealers with their dried roots from all over Fiji. We bought three kilos (6.5 lbs) divided up into twelve bundles for making the "sevusevu" to the local chiefs. Each bundle looks like a bouquet of flowers wrapped up in a newspaper with colored string holding it all together.
There are about one million inhabitants living in Fiji of which 200,000 are in Suva. There are two main islands: Viti Levu and Vanua Levu and 300+ other islands of varying size. Fijians make up about 52 percent of the population and Indians 44 percent with the remainder being Chinese and other Pacific Islanders. The cuisine is runs the gamut from Chinese, Indian curry, seafood, American (MacDonalds) and European. It's all here and delicious. Great quality and cheap. It's no wonder that Fiji is becoming the preferred country for travel. There's something here for everyone at affordable prices.
Most of the yachts leaving New Zealand made Savusavu their destination. It is a beautiful town on the North Island of Vanua Levu. Eventually, we will get there but I'm happy with the choice of making Suva our first stop in Fiji.
I found a sail maker here in Suva and he can repair the genoa and return it to us on Friday. I think we'll plan on leaving next Monday for Gau, which is an island about 50 nm to the Northeast of Suva. There we will make our fist "sevusevu" to the local Chief. In the meantime, we'll suck up all the wonders that are here in Suva.
Went to the Fiji Museum on Wednesday and was surprised just how many artifacts they had dating back 3500 years. It has a full size war canoe and several others that are interesting. I was told that it is the oldest museum in South Pacific. Since all these South Pacific islands practiced cannibalism, some of the utensils used for human flesh are rather unique. The four pronged wooden fork was ornately carved and of varying sizes. The prongs are in a circular pattern rather laid out flat like ours. Some of the wood forks were large enough to bring out huge chunks of flesh from the ovens. Thankfully, the missionaries were able to end cannibalism in the islands but a few ended up in the stew pot before it was accomplished.
