Then (15 years ago) we flew from Suva, on the big island of Viti Levu, at night, in a blinding thunder and lightning storm. We landed on a grassy runway - surrounded by jungle - with a faded sign in Fijian, Hindi, and English advising pilots to watch for cows on the 'runway'. The arrival/departure lounge was a quonset hut. Not a light in sight.
Today we left Nadi (also on Viti Levu) just before 8 a.m. on a beautiful sunny day. We had a spectacular view of the whole island, then a short hop across the Pacific into Savusavu, Vanua Levu, the second largest island in the Fijian chain. We land on a proper, paved tarmac with a near proper arrival/departure building. (According to the tourist literature, Fiji claims 333 islands in the entire chain, but I'm certain 320+ of them are a couple of palm trees on a rock.)
Then we were met by Sailosi, a gentle Fijian giant of a man whom we later came to know well, and he took us by truck to our rental home even deeper in the jungle. Today, we are met by Mihin, the official 'driver' for the owners of bulavista where we will stay for 19 days with our pals, Debbie and Paul, whom we met in India. We are all thrilled to see each other!!
Tim wants desperately to get into this wee plane we arrived on and have a go!
Bulavista is up on a hill with a commanding view of the harbor. Then the biggest boats in Savusavu harbor were sailboats; now we have cruise ships, this one from Hamilton, NZ. The tenders disgorge passengers all day long.
View from the front porch . . .
A couple of days later, Mihin and his wife organize an Indian dinner. Not shown is his FBI cap which we learn stands for 'Fijian Born Indian.' Last visit, the population was about 49% Indian, 50% Fijian and 1% 'other'. We're guessing that those percentages have remained constant, but the population - in Savusavu at least - appears to have quadrupled to around 4500. Noticeable absence of elder Savusavu seniors.
Food is obviously going to be a huge part of our stay here - Paul and Tim both love to cook and we talk about meals (past, present, and future) a lot!
On a visit to town, where there are now three supermarkets (there was one 15 years ago), we are tickled to see a 'Holiday Sheep Lottery'. Yes, I know, we thought 'it's a goat' - sort of - but here everyone calls them 'sheep'.
He was gone the day after Christmas. Next blog, our Christmas celebration and my birthday dinner!
Today we left Nadi (also on Viti Levu) just before 8 a.m. on a beautiful sunny day. We had a spectacular view of the whole island, then a short hop across the Pacific into Savusavu, Vanua Levu, the second largest island in the Fijian chain. We land on a proper, paved tarmac with a near proper arrival/departure building. (According to the tourist literature, Fiji claims 333 islands in the entire chain, but I'm certain 320+ of them are a couple of palm trees on a rock.)
Then we were met by Sailosi, a gentle Fijian giant of a man whom we later came to know well, and he took us by truck to our rental home even deeper in the jungle. Today, we are met by Mihin, the official 'driver' for the owners of bulavista where we will stay for 19 days with our pals, Debbie and Paul, whom we met in India. We are all thrilled to see each other!!
Tim wants desperately to get into this wee plane we arrived on and have a go!
Bulavista is up on a hill with a commanding view of the harbor. Then the biggest boats in Savusavu harbor were sailboats; now we have cruise ships, this one from Hamilton, NZ. The tenders disgorge passengers all day long.
View from the front porch . . .
A couple of days later, Mihin and his wife organize an Indian dinner. Not shown is his FBI cap which we learn stands for 'Fijian Born Indian.' Last visit, the population was about 49% Indian, 50% Fijian and 1% 'other'. We're guessing that those percentages have remained constant, but the population - in Savusavu at least - appears to have quadrupled to around 4500. Noticeable absence of elder Savusavu seniors.
Food is obviously going to be a huge part of our stay here - Paul and Tim both love to cook and we talk about meals (past, present, and future) a lot!
On a visit to town, where there are now three supermarkets (there was one 15 years ago), we are tickled to see a 'Holiday Sheep Lottery'. Yes, I know, we thought 'it's a goat' - sort of - but here everyone calls them 'sheep'.
