Bula Bula!

Bula! Bula! (hello or welcome in Fijian). We arrived in Lautoka today after a 24 hour sail from Savusavu on the north island of Fiji. Most of the sailing was through passes of calm water with coral reefs all around but we tried to time the trip so that most of the passes were done in daylight. I have been pretty surprised at what Fiji is like. I guess I thought it was a tropical island paradise like bora bora. If you had told me it was lots of mountains, Indian food, hot springs, pine forest and sugar mills I'm not sure I would have believed you. It certainly has a little bit of everything. I know that I could spend a month here and not get bored or see it all.

Lautoka, also known as the sugar city for its big sugar exportation industry is the 2nd largest city in Fiji and has a much different feel than Savusavu. It is much more "city like" with literally hundreds of busy shops mostly run by Indians who are decedents of the migrant labor brought here to work the sugar plantations. There is a bus station and a train, a mall, large produce and handicraft market and a large shipping port. Similar in many ways to Papeete, Tahiti.

We anchored around noon and cleared into customs and spent the day on the town. We found a place to get some cheap food, and saw the produce market. I bought a small bag of ground Waka which we will use to try and make Kava later. Kava is the ceremonial drink of the western pacific islands. It has a mild grassy flavor and gives a feeling of relaxation to the drinker. It is very similar to tea and also very traditional and ceremonial. Later on we split up. Will and I went off on our own and Adam and Amanda went exploring elsewhere. We have done this so far it works well since we walk slower and tend to stop and smell the roses a lot usually without a plan just breathing it all in and going with the flow. This method of exploring a new place has worked very well.

We stopped at a barber shop because Will wanted to get a hair/beard cut. Almost every Indian shop here advertises as a barber and a tailor for that matter so it wasn't hard to find. I was even asked if I would like a haircut while walking down the street. Will got a very nice haircut for 3 fijian dollars but I opted to stay a spectator. Afterwards, we wandered into some random shops and looked at everything from second hand cloths to DVD's to handicrafts. We enjoy just walking around and reading the random advertizing signs like, "Meat Bird for sale, Inquire inside", or "Cloths for sale, 5 dollars each." Many eateries offer "takeway" food and almost every single shop has fried food that has been sitting under a hot lamp which is usually cheap and delicious. Of course, a day in town wouldn't be complete without also finding some ice cream.

Later we met back up with Adam and Amanda and headed back to the boat to get a good nights sleep after a long day of exploring in Lautoka. Fiji has been nothing like (yet so much more than) I expected and I know that I would love to come back here again one day.

-Alan

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