Savoring Suva

We spent a week in Suva on Fiji's biggest island, Viti Levu.  It's a small city of 200,000, with a busy commercial and fishing port in a large harbor enclosed by a protective reef.  There are several scraps of shipwrecks on the reef that remind us to take extreme care.  Part of the visit involves the ritual of visiting Customs to clear in .  Fiji is has several customs districts, and we have to clear in and out as we move around the country.

Everybody says Suva sucks, but we enjoyed it.  Granted it was a bit noisy.  There are big rusty fishing boats running 1-cylinder generators day and night,  Nearby shipyards and drydocks seem to work around the clock.  But it was interesting and not that loud.

We anchored off the Royal Suva Yacht Club, though scruffy, it's convenient, clean and friendly.  And interestingly, there's a prison across the street. 

RSYC has a big open clubhouse, a mediocre cafe and a big open friendly bar.  G&Ts $3.50Fj ($2.50 US)!!! Yay!

Suva's central business district is bustling, with department stores and many small shops and restaurants.  And real drugstores!  And coffee shops with good coffee!  We hadn't seen those in months. 

We provisioned at the supermarkets and the big, colorful municipal fruit/vegetable/kava/spice and flower market.

Cassava,Dala (taro) etc

Taxicabs are numerous and cheap $2.50-$3 Fj, ($1.50+ US!) so it was a breeze getting around.

We met some new people around the yacht club: a Finnish family was anchored next to us, a couple from Nanaimo and N Carolina, and Peter from the shipwrecked Troutbridge who was working on his boat,  Then we all went our separate ways....After a week of shopping and internetting, we weighed anchor and set sail for Ono and Kadavu islands to the south.