Two At Sea

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:

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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

November 2013

Here are some handy things we learned in Suva.  The map is interactive – zoom and drag as you please. You can also switch between map and satellite views. Click on a listing below to show location on map. We hope this is helpful.

November 13, 2013

Now it was time for some comfort food at McDonald’s before heading to see Dr. Singh at Stewart Street Dental. It’s always nervous-making to see a new doctor, especially in a third-world country. It turned out we needn’t have been concerned, and in fact Dr. Singh would turn out to be the best dentist we’ve ever been to.

First we sat in the outer office waiting for our appointment, and it was quite nice. When Rich’s turn came, we were ushered into another office with its own waiting area. It was beautifully done and well-air conditioned. I had the option of going into the dental office with Rich and decided to do so. I was impressed—I think it was the nicest dental office I’ve ever seen with paintings on the wall and a beautiful painting on the ceiling for the patient to contemplate. We met Dr. Singh and his assistant and they both seemed very nice (as were the nurses we’d met already in the office).

And so began Rich’s exam, which started with a general exam before a special camera was used for the problem area and tooth, providing a close-up display for a large monitor mounted on the wall. This monitor was there so Dr. Singh could show the patient what was going on. The unintended consequence was that any guest sitting in there could see it, too. In this particular case, it looked pretty gruesome. Here, a photo that sums up my experience as the photo unexpectedly appeared on the monitor before I could turn away…

Now came a discussion about what was going on. There was a lot of decay yet no pain because the tooth’s nerves had retracted. We’d been hoping Rich previously had a root canal on this tooth (he’d had a couple over the previous decade), but he hadn’t. So the next step would be to go to the X-ray room for a better look. This room had it’s own waiting room and included a desk with a monitor and seating area so the results could be shown to the patient. A separate X-ray room contained a machine the likes of which we’d never seen.

For the X-ray, the patient uses a chin rest and then bites down on a plastic thingy placed near the front of the teeth. The machine takes over from there, rotating to x-ray the entire skull including the jaws and the teeth. It all happens in a few seconds, and then that’s it. No more X-rays, no painful plastic inserts in the mouth, nothing to do but go sit in the waiting area for the photos to “process” which doesn’t take long. When it was all ready, we sat at the desk and looked at the photos of Rich’s teeth and skull, which could be adjusted to be viewed from any angle. Remarkable!

The good news: the area wasn’t infected. The bad news: Rich may need a root canal (Dr. Singh would have to do a more thorough exam to assess this) and definitely a new crown. Normally we would have gone ahead and done all this, but we thought we might be leaving over the coming weekend. Dr Singh had a suggestion: he could clean out all the decayed area, cover it with a temporary crown, and then we could come back next season to get the possible root canal and permanent crown. Since we were already planning to come back here; it was an easy decision: yes! So we made another appointment to get this initial process done the next day.

I didn’t get any photos of the office or the procedure as it didn’t seem polite to do so, but another time Rich got a photo of me getting a cleaning.

Tooth taken care of, we headed back to the yacht club and celebrated with beer and tostadas. Below, a few day and evening photos of the yacht club (click to enlarge and scroll through any photos below).

We did return for our appointment the following day, and I settled in for what I figured would be a long wait; so what a surprise when Rich was done in half an hour! Dr. Singh used a laser to clean out the decay in Rich’s tooth; so not only was it fast, it required no novocaine. He then put on the temporary crown and we were good to go.

Now all we needed was a weather window as the one were hoping for was starting to look pretty iffy. –Cyndi