🇫🇯️ Suva in Fiji

The wind on passage from Port Maurelle in Tonga’s Vava’au group to Suva in Fiji is just right. 15 to 20 knots of tradewind pushes us gently downwind. Jimmy Cornell’s book World Sailing Routes advices to take a small detour further South to avoid dangerous reefs in Fiji’s Lau group.

The wind is just right and we cross the 466 nautical miles with the wind behind us in just over 3 days arriving at Suva harbour by noon. After a call to Suva port control or ( Suva VTS as they call it these days)

Suva harbor faces south. Opposite the industrial town of low rise and colorful roofs its eastern curve opens to mysterious hillside thick with green trees and cloud. Whisks of mist curling lilac at sunrise. A working man’s hero kind of place where the town sewer appears to be in front of the Royal Suva Yacht Club and two large tidy piles of containers. Empty we guess.

The bay itself is littered with dangerous objects some mainly submerged and others waiting for their next job. Ranging from 5 metres to 300 metres the freighters sit peacefully at ancor decorating the nighttime harbour. Not lit at all there are two piles of fishing boats a dozen deep rafted together nearer the entrance and a large modern wreck sitting on the reef, the white and red paint advertising it as a twenty-first century piece of junk. We spent the weekend here, enjoying the bustle of this busy port, while waiting to check in.

Leaving our dingy at RSYC Royal Suva Yacht Club we passed a fishing boat just in from a few days at sea. They boasted a box of Kawakawa pink grouper or called Merou in French, some magnificent fish!

Then a local sailor came up and chatted away, he is an Aussie from Melbourne and was generous with his valuable advice from many years experience in this area.

Walking to town and back for the fifth or sixth time is great for our lazy sailors legs and today we went second hand clothes shopping. There are more than one huge clean smelling well organized shops for this.

We are thoroughly enjoying Suva. Despite the air pollution in the bay, there are so many things we love. Shopping! From cheap and cheerful Chinese plastics in air-conditioned, yes it’s pretty hot still even in Fijian winter, shops selling the useful and frivolous, to a fabulous produce market and plenty of supermarkets. We found the one that sold our favourite New Zealand peanut butter and it also sells coffees for the cafetière. The jury is still out on that one.

Optometrist Dan Lee of Eyesite in the center of town gave us excellent service when Stefan needed new glasses. We ended the experience with having our picture taken together.

A visit to the women’s cooperative area gave the opportunity to buy presents. It is below the second hand clothes place called “Closet Point flea market”. It is on the main road opposite the bus station. There are small box type stalls selling goods made by the women of the villages from pandanus, tapas and other natural products. Swinging elaborate belts, jewellery, bags, mats, hats and fans.

We met Jacqueline, Fijian but born in France, who greeted us explaining Fijians don’t speak for themselves after generations of colonial rule. Her task is to help the women in the community. She shared her story and offered to bring us to her village and meet her family to see where the fans are made. We would like to do this very much.

Upstairs in the five sided (?)market building we bought kava for the ceremonies of the future. You have to bring this mildly narcotic root to the village when you ask permission to anchor there. The chief will then make ceremonial tea to share with you. If you are of good character he gives you his protection. We haven’t had this opportunity yet.