Bula From Lautoka, Fiji

Today, Friday, we are in Lautoka for the second day.  It's an interesting port, mostly industrial with a massive pile of wood chips that are shipped to China and Japan.  There are nice looking islands nearby.

Yesterday, we took an Oceania excursion - Garden of the Sleeping Giant.  It was about a 45 minute drive through the countryside to the garden.  They grow a lot of sugar cane here.

At the garden, we were led through an area with many orchids.

We were then led through the main part of the garden - nice, but not very impressive.  It is called the Garden of Sleeping Giant since it lies at the base of the Sleeping Giant mountain.

The next stop  was the Vuda village.

We were then taken up a very rough road to the Vuda Look Out.

The final stop on the tour was in the city for a 30 minute shopping stop.  Fortunately, the stop was right by the shuttle bus stop and we were able to escape the shopping and take the shuttle back to the ship.

Today is a turnover day for the cruise.  We had thought about going into Lautoka and visiting the botanical garden.  However, when I went for my morning walk around the fitness track on the ship, it was already sunny and hot so we have opted for another day of dolce far niente!

Tomorrow we have our last port in Fiji - Dravuni.  Then it's off to Vanuatu before heading to Australia.

Vosa Vakaviti,

Linda and Larry

Bula From Fiji

Today, Wednesday, we are in Suva, Fiji, our second port in Fiji.  Yesterday, we were in Savusavu and we took Vuadomo Cultural Exchange and Waterfall Oceania excursion.  After tendering in, we took a short walk before boarding the bus for the excursion.

It was about a 40 minute ride to the Vuadomo village where we were greeted by local entertainment.

That was followed by a kava ceremony - we did not volunteer to take part and drink the kava.

This was followed by more entertainment.

We were then taken to the waterfall.  It was a short walk from the parking area to the Vuadomo waterfall.  Once there, it was time to jump in!

On the ride back to Savusavu, we stopped at the Urata overlook.

Then there was a painfully long stop at a store for shopping.  We could have walked back to the tender pier, but we stayed with it because the next stop was at the Nakama Thermal Hot Springs.  They are renowned for temperatures that approach the boiling point.  Apparently, the locals will steam food in the springs.  Let's just say that the hot springs were less than impressive and the drive by was more than adequate.

Today we are in Suva, Fiji.  When we were here in April, we did a tour that took us to a waterfall.  Sound familiar?

This time we opted to just explore the city, which is the capital of Fiji.  We did not get a chance to do that last time.  We walked to the muncipal market which is quite near the port.  We were impressed by the arrays of super sized vegetables and quite low prices.

We then went for a nice walk along the waterfront.

Along the way, we heard and saw many common myna birds and then Linda spotted this pretty tanager.

So, what's our plan for the rest of the day?  As I am writing this, Linda is getting a massage.  My massage is scheduled for later this afternoon.  Will we go out again?  Maybe.  Or maybe we'll just enjoy dolce far niente - the sweetness of doing nothing!

Vosa Vakaviti,

Linda and Larry