We had an early tour, that leaves the ship at 7:50 am, so we had an early light breakfast at one of the buffets. This tour is called the “Best of Suva”. Suva is the capital and largest city, which including the surrounding towns has a total population of about 100,000. Fuji has a population of about 928,000. We are on the southeastern coast of the island called Viti Levi. Suva is said to be the most modern and sophisticated city in the South Pacific, outside of New Zealand. In 1882, the capital was moved to Suva and has grown because of expats and students coming in to the three universities. Suva is governed by a Lord Mayor and a 20 member elected city council.
On tour we learned that the appropriate greeting which our guide repeated frequently is “Bula” meaning “life”. We saw and I have pictures of the palace, with a guard at the entrance which changes every two hours. We did not get to see the changing of the guard. Also, have pictures of a few of the scenic views from around the city. We did pass a golf course, but reportedly the nicer courses are on the other side of the island, which is several hours away. Multiple photos of the market place that only had vendors outside due to being closed because to it being Good Friday holiday. Some good looking fruits and vegetables. We did get a tasting of some of the local tuna and fruits after the tour segment in Fiji Museum. The pineapple in particular was very sweet. There are several pictures of some of the exhibits including the remaining portion of the rudder from the HM Armed Vessel Bounty which was burned after a mutiny of a portion of the crew to control of the ship from Captain William Bligh in 1787. This mutiny occurred during a transport of breadfruit ( one of the local crops) from Tahiti to the West Indies. Also have a not so great picture of a doubled hulled canoe, named the Ratu Finau which in 1913 was able to sail 10- 15 knots which was unheard of in that time. Not sure if I got a good picture as we passed a group of people reenacting the walk down the Via Delarosa for Good Friday.
Two final notes. Not sure of the freshness of the fish, but this market had a not so nice odor. We also saw a roadblock of police, but I have no other details. We were told that guns are outlawed, even for the police! We saw security at the pier, and I did not see that they were armed either. Our final stop was also at a store that opened up on the holiday for us and another cruise ship that was also in port. With the long lines at the checkout, I think it was worth their time to open.
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