Month: November 2013

November 21, 2013 Departing Suva Fiji for Opua, New Zealand

New Zealand Pizza here we come!  That’s a Holiday Inn pizza from Suva and it’s something we’re really going to miss.  In fact, we’ll be missing all pizzas for the next ten days or so as we’re minutes away from departing Suva for New Zealand.  We’ll try to post along the way.

November 20, 2013

To review a bit, we’d survived our freshman year of cruising which included making a long passage from Los Angeles to the Marquesas before cruising the islands and atolls of French Polynesia. After that we made another passage to the western South Pacific, starting with Samoa before heading south through the islands of Tonga; then made yet another passage south to New Zealand.

In spite of our previous cruising experience (to Hawaii and Mexico), this first season was physically and emotionally challenging. Thankfully we met the challenges, survived the nerves, and even though we lost our footing a couple of times we hung in there and managed to have a successful first season full of all the magic and wonder we’d hoped to find. After a much-needed period of rest in Opua (New Zealand), we did some pretty extensive cruising around New Zealand’s north island and got lots of practice.

After then making a successful passage to Fiji, we felt pretty confident about the start of our sophomore year. Unfortunately that didn’t last long as our “school” had some difficult new challenges to throw at us. The main difficulty with Fiji was the lack of a good cruising guidebook. Yes, there were a couple of very outdated guides, but they weren’t useful. There were also sites on the internet, but they didn’t take the place of a cruising guidebook. The lack of a Fiji guide was confounding because every other place we’d gone had at least one good cruising guide (Hawaii, the Sea of Cortez, French Polynesia, Tonga, and of course New Zealand. OK, not Samoa but with so few practical anchorages, they really didn’t need one.) Fiji is a large area and one of the world’s major cruising grounds. Not having a cruising guidebook here felt like not being able to find a travel guide for New York City!

To make matters worse, we’d attended two seminars with less-than-helpful, even harmful, information, the second of which was held in Savusavu, Fiji. Once again, we lost our footing, but thankfully we were among friends. It was this camaraderie that helped us figure out where to start, then where to go from there. This season, more than any other, is one where we relied on sharing information with other cruisers. It was helpful that we made Viani Bay our first stop (after an overnight in Fawn Harbour) because we were able to benefit from the knowledge of the cruisers passing through. We also started a small radio net, another good source of information. And finally to help fill in the gaps was the Fiji Compendium created by the cruising boat Soggy Paws. This gave us the waypoints we needed to visit to the anchorages we’d learned about. (Thank you again, Soggy Paws!)

I will say learning about Fiji this season was like walking through a fog. We’d start out and everything would seem murky, but as we’d get closer things would start to become clear. By the time we left Viani Bay, we had a good idea of what we should see in the cruising grounds of northeast Fiji.

Life became more challenging again when we decided to go to the Lau group of islands. Information about Fiji’s anchorages was sparse as it was, but the Lau islands were newly opened to the public; so there was even less information! Cruisers who had gone to the Lau early in the season were truly pioneers, and the rest of us relied in their waypoints (being passed around the fleet) to get around. Once again we had the challenge of figuring everything out, but it was more than worth it–the northern and southern Lau island groups were both fantastic. It did help immensely that we had friends with us much of the time. Once again, camaraderie to the rescue.

One of our best decisions that season was to realize just how big Fiji was and decide we’d be much happier and more relaxed if we focused only on cruising the eastern half of it, then return another season to do the west. We also realized the value of having a hub that we could return to as often as necessary to re-provision, rest, and sort out our next plans. Savusavu was our hub, and what a great hub it was! We’d meet up with friends, enjoy eateries, do any needed repairs, refuel, shop, get laundry done, research and plan our next destinations, and just have a good time in general. By the time we’d head out again, we’d be rested up and more than ready to tackle another round of cruising.

When the time came to head south, we continued to benefit from the advice of other cruisers. From them we knew where to find the snorkeling in Koro Island, to seek out the giant clams in Makogai, and to stop at a very small island gem called Leleuvia that we may have otherwise overlooked. Ending the season in Suva turned out to be a lucky decision in that it was still comfortable while the rest of Fiji was getting pretty hot.

So, in looking back, I can see several themes for our sophomore season:

1. Figuring Out Confusing Stuff: It’s a shame that we (and everyone else new to Fiji) had to suffer through this. But sometimes, as the saying goes, “With great effort comes great reward.” Neither one of us had Fiji on our bucket lists; but after a season here we felt it was bucket-list worthy! Fiji is full of scenic wonders, both above and below the water, and we had so many magical moments. And by the end of the season we could look back and be very happy with the way our itinerary worked out.

2. Diving and Snorkeling. It’s amazing how little snorkeling we did during our previous year’s crossing of the South Pacific. There just wasn’t enough time and opportunity to do more than a handful of special places. Fiji, though, was an underwater wonderland; so what better time for me to learn to dive? Thanks to friend and fellow cruiser, Helena on Merilelu, I was able to do so. This gave both Rich and I an entire season of not just wonderful snorkeling but incredible diving. I love being a diver; the only downside is it adds a lot to the “see and do” list.

3. Feeling more “Comrades-in-Arms” with our fellow cruisers, especially our class of 2012 (the group of us who crossed the South Pacific that year). Cruising is a very social activity, but it can also be competitive, especially during times when there are not enough resources (namely anchorage space or marina space) for everyone. French Polynesia was particularly challenging in this way, especially with a 3-month time limit for foreign yachts. Thus, while we made good friends that season, stepping back we’d often see the group, in its entirety, more as competition than as some on-going party.

But not this 2013 season. This season we relied on each other for information, and Rich and I felt much more bonded with the group as a whole. Especially being that there was a bit of an attitude among people with previous experience of “If I had to figure out myself; then so should you.” (In other words, the class of 2012 was kind of on its own.) Naturally, we not only cemented existing friendships, we now shared a history with people who had only been passing acquaintances the previous year, thus making a sort of automatic kinship—you see a boat a few times and well, you know them even if you don’t know them.

This would be a good spot to take a moment and acknowledge a few special friends this year, people whose presence made a difference and still come to mind whenever I think back on our 2013 season in Fiji. It meant a lot spend time in Savusavu and Viani Bay with Gato Go, Lady Bug, Morning Glory, and The Rose. I feel like we all shared such a special time together, and it was great going on all the outings with them. And we’re so grateful to Helena and Kari on Merilelu who, as well as being our friends, taught me how to dive and added to our cruising experience in ways I could never had imagined. And last, but never least, we’re so grateful that we had our besties on Bright Angel with us through most of the season. All the challenges were so much easier and more fun, and the rewards even greater, when we got to share them with Bob and Linda.

I will also mention that some of our friends weren’t in Fiji this season. For various reasons, several of the cruisers we knew took this season off, but nearly all planned to go to Fiji the following year. This would end up being the instigation for a surprising new chapter in Rich’s and my lives. Born out of frustration at the shroud of mystery that seemed to surround Fiji cruising and wanting to spare our friends some of the hurdles we faced, Rich and I created the Fiji Cruising Information pages. (And it has continued to grow ever since.)

In all, we had some bumps long the way, but in spite of that we both agree, without a doubt, that our sophomore season was truly much easier than our freshman one (and we suspect it’s that way for most cruisers). Last year we had some wonderful times when we’d ask each other if it could get any better than this. Apparently the answer was yes because it did get better. We think this came from being more experienced, confident and competent at cruising.

Our sophomore season in Fiji had been an amazing one. We fell in love with Fiji and were so happy that we’d be coming back the following year to see more of it. Below, a last-chance gallery of photos that didn’t quite make the cut for previous galleries, taken throughout the season. (You can click to enlarge and scroll through them.) –Cyndi

November 18 – 21, 2013

We got online to check out Bob McDavitt’s Weekly Weathergram and were very excited when he mentioned a possible weather window (for a New Zealand passage) arriving in the next few days. It wouldn’t have much wind so would be for those of us who didn’t mind motoring (those who did mind would have to wait a few more days.) Well, our motto is: “We have an engine and we are not afraid to use it!” (This was actually Lisa Kay’s motto but we’d borrowed it). We wrote to him immediately saying we were interested.

During the coming days the weather window continued to look good. We bought an extra fuel jug and were prepared to motor most of the way to New Zealand. The only drawback: we’d have to contend with some squally conditions. The thunder and lightening these can bring gave other friends of ours enough pause that they decided to wait for the later window. We decided we’d rather go now in spite of potential squalls rather than wait for a window that could easily disappear.

On the 20th, we woke up to a particularly beautiful morning. All our hatches were open, and the early morning air felt cool and refreshing, just like an early-summer morning back home in California. The light from the rising sun was reflecting off the water, making wavy patterns on the ceiling. Looking outside, the sky was half dark with clouds and half sunny, a frequent sight in the tropics and a sign that we might get some rain.

We got an email in which Bob gave us the go-ahead to leave the next day as planned. We spent the day provisioning and getting ready. In the evening we had quite a lightning show in the distance, something I always enjoy, but this evening I also felt some trepidation. Tonight we were watching from the safety of the harbor; tomorrow night we’d be out on the ocean and possibly in something like that. It didn’t help my nerves when the storm came over us, now with thunder, near-constant flashing, and visible bolts of lightning. We did sit outside for awhile to watch, calming our uneasiness with some rum, then headed inside when it came too close.

No, this would not deter us from leaving the next day, but it was a reminder that opting for squalls over wind and waves would bring its own risks. The next morning we checked out as planned, did some last-minute shopping, and paid for our mooring at the marina. At this point, in 2013, the mooring wasn’t very expensive and to us was worth the expense for the feeling of security that came from being on it.

We then headed to the boat, got everything stowed, and dropped our mooring at 1:30pm, pretty much at the 3-hour time limit for leaving after checking out (Fiji’s policy at the time). Below, some random photos of the harbor under Suva Skies at all times of the day and night. (You can click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through them.)

And a couple of cool photos Rich took of some Chinese fishing boats in the harbor.–Cyndi

November 10 – 20, 2013

The Galley Restaurant: Located at the Royal Suva Yacht Club, this was this season’s winner for our favorite restaurant in Suva. We loved their breakfast burritos, the tacos basket, the tostadas, the fish burgers, and the cappuccinos. In fact everything we tried was terrific. It was a comfortable place to sit and eat inside, but they would also bring food out to the bar area, a real plus during those beautiful evenings when we’d sit at a table overlooking the lawn, Fiji Bitters in hand.

Ashiyana: This little Indian restaurant in downtown Suva had some of the best Indian food in Fiji. We especially loved chicken masala, chicken ragata, dum aloo (a potato dish), the garlic naan (a flat bread cooked with garlic), the rotis (much like a tortilla), and a few other things we got to try. We would love to have gone through the entire menu but we’d pretty much have to live here to do that.

Bati ni Wai: This eatery was located at the upscale Holiday Inn Suva and featured a wood-fired pizza oven in a little shack next to the pool. Unless it was hot or rainy, we most enjoyed this pizza at one of the umbrella-covered poolside tables. From here we had a view of the pool, a line of tall, shore-side palm trees, and a beautiful area of Suva Harbor. It was the most scenic seat in Suva, and the pizza was delicious.

Pizza King: This pizza had a wonderful thick crust and reminded us of a favorite, and long gone, pizza place we had loved in Los Angeles. We haven’t found anything like it since, at least not until now. Finding this was like being reunited with a long-lost loved one, and once we discovered this we came back as often as we reasonably could (although unfortunately we didn’t have much time left in Suva at this point).

(On a sad note: the restaurant has since—we assume–changed hands and the pizza is not the same at all. I guess we just have to be glad to have had pizza like this back in our lives even if only for a short time.)

Icy Drinks: We had two favorite spots for cold refreshing drinks. One was a popular coffee chain from down under, Gloria Jeans. They made ice-blended drinks, our favorite being the Very Vanilla which actually had a nice coffee flavor. Our other favorite spot was Republic of Cappuccino as they had excellent chocolate shakes. What a nice treat these drinks were on a hot afternoon.

Note: Except for Pizza King, these are all still favorites of ours, but of course we’ve added some eateries over subsequent seasons, some favorites being Maya Dhaba, Grace Road Kitchen, Snowy House, Joji’s Noodles for chili chicken and Mamacitas. For a more up-to-date list, see our Suva Guide in our Fiji Information Pages.

I should mention here the Hare Krishna Vegetarian Restaurant.

This wasn’t a favorite of ours and you won’t find it on our map, but I mention it because a few cruisers loved the ice cream here. It is different, sort of gooey and creamy and icy-textured, and I think that’s what people liked about it. We favor a thick, chewier-textured ice cream, but this was interesting to try. Would we recommend it? Well, we won’t be back, but anyone with some time to kill in Suva might want to give it a try as those who loved it, really loved it! –Cyndi

November 14 – 20, 2013

Our hoped-for weather window to New Zealand was not panning out; so we focused on getting to know the city better, trying some new eateries and revisiting the ones we liked so far. We also treated ourselves to another movie, this one a documentary about Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Everest. It was a slow movie, but the cold snowy scenery was refreshing during a warm tropical afternoon.

Of course we kept a constant eye on the weather. The photo below shows our usual lunchtime ritual: order food; then study the weather situation on our phone. Weather changes all the time, but patterns do emerge. We wait for a favorable pattern then check on it with increasing frequency–morning, afternoon and evening–as it gets closer. Here we’re at Ashiyana, a little Indian restaurant that had become (and remains) a favorite eatery in Fiji.

We also checked out a few new places, the first being a must-do for provision shopping: Cost U Less. It’s a relative of Costco in the United States and very similar, including carrying some of our favorite American food brands. We’d run across this store in American Samoa, but this one was bigger and better. In coming here to shop, we discovered a vibrant and interesting new area in Suva: Damodar City, a large open-air mall and entertainment complex.

Damodar City is very much part of Suva but separated from the main city (which lies on the west side of a thumb-shaped peninsula) by a hill ridge; so getting there involves a cab ride up and over the ridge. Perched on the slopes of the hill are scattered small business and houses; then down on the east side of the peninsula are lots of industrial-park sorts of businesses plus Damodar City and the neighboring Cost U Less. Below, a map:

Because of its cinemas, eateries, electronics stores and a rather nice grocery store, Damodar City attracts a lot of young people and feels especially vibrant in the evening. Since we discovered this area near the end of our 2013 stay in Suva, we didn’t spend much time here other than to provision at Cost U Less. But we’d be making many visits here in future seasons which is why I feel compelled to mention it now.

In midtown Suva we also checked out the Suva Curio and Handicraft Centre, a building that houses businesses selling souvenirs. It might have been interesting if anyone had let us look around in peace, but the merchants were all over us like ants to a picnic. We ended up having to flee the building before we got to see much.

Finally, we visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It wasn’t the cathedral itself that interested me so much as one of its trees. I’d read about it in Lonely Planet, which called it, “a showcase of pacific plants with cacti and ferns making themselves at home in its branches.” That sort of thing is right up my alley and did not disappoint. I wouldn’t say it’s right up Rich’s alley but once there, he was as impressed as I was with this large, beautiful tree, its branches cradling many tropical plants just as advertised. Below, a photo of the cathedral and a bit of the tree.

During our time in Suva we did get to put into practice some advice we’d been given: If any strange man comes up and tries to start some friendly-seeming conversation, generally starting with asking where you’re from, always answer, “Savusavu.” This is a way of telling them you have local knowledge and know their scam, which is to get your name and quickly carve it into a cheap wooden sword souvenir, then claim you have to buy it as they’ve personalized the item for you. At this point they get quite aggressive and often succeed at cowing unsuspecting tourists into buying these pieces of junk. It’s a terrible scam that seems to endure, but saying we’re from Savusavu never fails to work as these jerks literally wave us off and stalk away in disgust. “Savusavu” is truly the magic word.

In the evenings we always enjoyed the yacht club’s bar and restaurant (a tacos basket and beer are an excellent combination). We even got to attend one of their rare movie nights and see an independently-produced movie on the lawn’s big screen. The movie wasn’t very good, but the night was fun and festive and we met some very nice people.

Our most memorable evening took place on the boat. We’d come back early under a particularly beautiful sky and decided to sit outside and enjoy it. The clouds were dramatic, catching the evening light as the sun got low, making large swaths of pale yellow mixed with white and gray, a swirling mass of cloud formations against a blue sky. And what a blue sky it was! I’ve never seen a sky with such beautiful blues, distinctly going from a lighter shade near the horizon to a darker blue higher above. It was the sort of thing I would expect to see at a very high altitude, not at sea level next to a big city. Below, I tried to capture these blues in photos as best I could. (You can click to enlarge/scroll through both photo galleries to follow.)

We stayed out and watched this evening deepen, the sunset colors making a spectacular cloud show. After it got dark, the lightning came with surprisingly constant flashes of light. Since there was no thunder, we weren’t worried and just enjoyed the show. Then the rain started, squall after squall, giving the boat a nice rinse. It was a most dramatic and memorable evening. –Cyndi