Faces of Fiji

Our next stop was Suva, Fiji.  We did not arrange for any tours but chose to wander around the city by ourselves.  Rich had a mishap with his camera when we were walking around in Pago Pago--it fell out of his backpack, which was not zipped up, and the "regular" lens broke.  The camera was okay but the lens wouldn't click into place any more.  He was not pleased since this was fairly close to the beginning of our cruise!  However, on this day in Suva, he learned to love his telephoto lens for more than just landscapes.  Suva was so colorful and vibrant and full of life!  We had a great time walking for miles, even when it started raining.

Suva is the capital and the largest city in Fiji, with a population of about 85, 691.  Including independent suburbs, the population of the Greater Suva urban area was 172,399 at the 2007 census, according to Wikipedia. 

 Happy police officers

 Grotto in front of a Catholic Church

 Cute little kid on a bus

I was asking this young man if the building across the street was a jail.  There were busloads of people arriving, then walking through the gate with a guard on duty.  I thought they were all visiting their family members in jail,  but he said it's a police station and they were just coming to do business.  That made me feel better.

  Beautiful women

We were surprised at the number of individuals from India who live in Suva.  It was a festival day and they were all dressed in beautiful attire.  The most widely spoken language is English, but Fijian, Cantonese, Hindustani, and other Indian languages are also spoken here.

 Musicians on the street

Of course,  we had to find a coffee shop and check out the internet!

These guys were selling bananas to the people on the bus when the vehicle came to a stop.

 The Bad Dog Cafe

 Anyone for a mutton pie?

 Back at the ship

 Please don't arrest me!

Ship workers

It was a quick stop but an enjoyable day.  Although we did not experience what people most imagine Fiji to be like (beaches and rain forests), we loved our interesting and multicultural stroll through Suva.