Well Kimber, we are here finally. Your dream destination. Your vacation for all lifetime. The one and
only place you would pay mega
bucks to get to.
Well Suva is the only harbor that ships can sail into. It is
miles and miles away from the picture postcards that we all dream about. The
harbor is filled with boats; broken boats, rusted boats, and regular sea boats
and dark green water; not the crystal clear water of our dreams.
We were informed more than once that the Fiji of our
calendars and postcards is on the other side of the island. This Fiji is the
industrial side of the island. There were 4 shore excursions to choose from all
of which were sold out before we got on board. We were warned not to take any
credit cards with us, leave all jewelry behind and they put the US Embassy
contact on our shore sheet. Wow! We are
really looking forward to docking here!
We are headed into town to experience the markets and the
people. I guess our dream of swimming in Fiji sill be swimming on ship as we
sail out of Fiji to say that we swam in Fiji. Maybe I can throw one of the
plastic fish on the walls of the Sea Princess into the water to pretend like we
are snorkeling.
Bula Bula (the total Fijian greeting
meaning Hello, Goodbye or whatever): BACK ON THE SHIP
We got off the ship
and were inundated with tour people wanting our business. It was hot and humid
and I started looking around at the tours they were offering. Since we knew
that the only beach access we had was at least an hour away that was what I was
looking for.
We found a nice tour operator who was glad to agree on a
price of $50.00 roundtrip to Pearl Beach Resort with a tour of some villages
and general information of the local culture. We were sharing a cab with a man
who resembles Steve Nash and has a 3 yr old daughter Ruby. He has been seen on
the ship all the time with her and no mama in sight. He is a single dad
committed solely to her. She has travelled the world with him and was very
bright and cheerful to be with.
When our tour operator finally found a cab driver to drive
us and take our US dollars instead of Australian dollars which most of the
cabbies wanted we were off.
An hour later we arrived at a beautiful beach resort with a
lovely pool, amenities and a beach! I wouldn’t say that the water was pristine
blue or turquoise at all. But the water was refreshing and I can say that Jim
and I swam in Fiji! The ships shore excursion to the same place cost $100 per
person so we thought we got a steal for $50 total!
Tomorrow we cross the International Date Line. Today is
Wednesday, April 25, 2012. At 2:00 AM we will set our clocks ahead one hour and
set our day back one day. Tomorrow will be Wednesday again…….can you say
Groundhog Day in the Pacific? We will be at sea sailing to Pago Pago so it will
be another sea day for us. 2:00 AM tomorrow will become 3:00 AM yesterday.
Pretty cool.
So I would say thanks to finding a cab driver and going out
of our comfort zone we had a wonderful day in Fiji and after I saw the markets
I am glad we did something else instead of shopping.
Bula Bula
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| Aview of Fiji from the ship |
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