Suva, Fiji

Sunset in Suva

In my last blog I may have been a little harsh on Fiji but in hindsight and after a long voyage and our little misunderstanding with the local Customs people, and as we had a little time to have a good look at Suva I found that there is really on one word to describe this tropical paradise - "Idyllic" - what else can you say. 

Suva is the capital of Fiji and is a harbour city built on a peninsula reaching out into the sea. It has a mix of modern buildings and traditional colonial architecture.
The city is perched on a hilly peninsula between Laucala Bay and Suva Harbour in the southeast corner of Viti Levu. The mountains north and west catch the southeast trade winds, producing moist conditions year round.
Suva is the commercial and political centre of Fiji, though not necessarily the cultural centre, and the largest urban area in the South Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is Fiji's main port city.
Although Suva is on a peninsula, and almost surrounded by sea, the nearest beach is 40 kilometres (25 mi) away at Pacific Harbour, and the nearby coast is lined by mangroves. A significant part of the city center, including the old Parliament Buildings, is built on reclaimed mangrove swamp. (Information from Wikipedia)

The original inhabitants of Fiji called their home Viti. These were Lapita people, probably from Vanuatu, who arrived about 1220 BC and stayed for only a short while before disappearing from the archaeological record. Their descendants, who became assimilated with people who arrived from Melanesia, were coastal dwellers, who initially relied on fishing and seem to have lived in relative peace. Around 500 BC a shift towards agriculture occurred along with an expansion of population - probably due to further incursions from other parts of Melanesia - that led to an increase in intertribal feuding. Cannibalism became common and in times of war, villages moved to ring-ditched fortified sites. By around AD 1000 Tongan invasions had started and continued sporadically until the arrival of Europeans. 

Eventually the islands became known to Europeans as Fiji. The story goes that Captain Cook asked the Tongans what the name of the islands to their west was. He heard 'Feegee', the Tongan pronunciation of Viti: so 'Fiji' came from an Englishman's mishearing of a Tongan's mispronunciation!   (Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/fiji/history#ixzz2EuIkkAzC)

Downtown is a jigsaw of colonial buildings, modern shopping plazas, abundant eateries and a breezy esplanade. Small passages transport you to a city somewhere in India with curry houses, sari shops and bric-a-brac traders. Dribbled along the hilly ascent behind the central business district are Suva's suburbs, some of which have the best urban views in the country. When the sun is out the city is relaxed and ambient and you can easily fill a couple of days visiting the sights and shopping.
Suva is Fiji's political and administrative capital and home to almost half of the country's population. It's 

also the largest city in the South Pacific and has become an important regional centre; students from the Pacific region and a growing expat community make up a significant chunk of the population. As with most cities, crime and poverty are factors to be aware of and around half of Suva's inhabitants are crowded into settlements on land that has no title. 
On a less serious but equally grey note, clouds tend to hover over Suva and frequently dump rain on the city (around 300mm each year). You may, however, find this a welcome relief to the heat and humidity that often cloak the city. (Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/fiji/viti-levu/suva#ixzz2EuK2ZpWZ)

Also as stated in my last blog, it took 5 days to clear and the day our clearance came thru, we were about to haul up the anchor and depart. Fiji is an interesting place and now after a lot of after thought, I will eagerly sail back there to see all of what Fiji is about and hopefully, like Eugene,  Fete's original owner, spend some time enjoying the whole of the archipelago, but this time I will ensure that I follow the correct protocols

Now it was time to get underway and head for Noumea. Next Blog will be Suva to Noumea




Below I have left some images of Fiji which I borrowed from the net so as to give you a better picture of Suva and on my next journey I will take some more pics to share with you . . .  so until then enjoy!!!