Lautoka, Figi

Not many photos today & limited commentary. I was up until after midnight posting our previous two ports in New Caledonia & consequently, we slept through the Fiji sail-in this morning. We were having breakfast as the ship was going through final docking procedures just before 8am. We hadn’t booked any formal shore excursion for the day and probably should have. Instead, we caught the shuttle bus into town and were dropped at Jack’s, one of the larger department stores in the city. From there, we wandered for only a couple hours before returning to the ship. It got quite warm with high humidity, and we were constantly approached by street vendors trying to sell their goods or services. You can’t blame them, as annual incomes are very low – I would describe the environment & demeanor of the people (at least in the city) very much like some of the poor ports of Mexico. I’m sure many of the ship-sponsored tours visited much nicer areas than we did on our own so again, I blew this one today. I was saddened with one comment made by a fellow passenger who was within earshot of some local folks…he said, “why would Holland America bring us to a port like this?” I immediately shot back, “It’s not so much looking at what they don’t have compared to America, but what they DO have to offer”. To me (and us) it’s all part of the overall experience – the world is big, and just because most places aren’t westernized with the glitz we enjoy back home, it doesn’t mean the people are any less significant than we are as human beings.  

Legend has it that within the bounds of today’s Lautoka town there lived two tribes each with a chief. As a result of an argument one day, a fight broke out between the two chiefs at a spot which is now known as “Farquhar’s point.” As one chief speared the other he screamed “LAU-TOKA” meaning “spear-hit” to ‘hit to win”. And so, Lautoka acquired its name.  Lautoka is sited in the western side of Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji, with a population of approximately 70,000. The city is surrounded with the blue Pacific Ocean on the western side and green gold sugar cane together with pine trees on the other sides. Many folks describe Lautoka as the sugar city. Sugar cane is the major industry of Fiji and Lautoka is the base…and in fact, the main processing facilities are located at the pier where we’re docked. Here, one finds the industries, headquarters, the largest sugar mill, central sugar bulk, modern loading facilities and a large wharf. We inquired about a tour but the mill is currently in full seasonal production as is off-limits to tourists. Lautoka itself seems to have decent roadways, almost all sealed, proper drains, well-planned subdivisions and buildings constructed to the local building standards. From what we were able to see, the streets all have lighting and there are a number of public toilets and parks all over the city. It's a relatively clean city - it has a wonderful botanical garden and a number of children’s parks. The main street of the city, Vitogo Parade, has been decorated with the planting of royal palm trees on one side and is quite a unique feature. The island experienced an earthquake back in 2009…8.3 on the Richter scale…and was quite devastated we’re told. They’ve done a pretty decent job with their rebuilding efforts the past few years, but still have much work ahead of them.

As you’ll see in the photos, the city’s municipal market, which has a floor area of about 58,000 sq. ft., is another attraction from both outside and inside. It’s by far the largest ‘market’ we’ve ever visited, and was surprisingly clean. The only negative was lack of air conditioning – it was quite humid in the market and only around 10:00. We stumbled upon a funeral service at a local catholic church & was able to capture a couple photos of a coffin wrapped in a very unique tribal cloth. The retail outlets have basically all items such as food, clothing, duty free items, sporting equipment, medicines, tailoring, drapery, video rental, liquor outlets and many more. There are all types of restaurants catering dishes such as Chinese, Indian, Italian, Fijian, European, Korean, vegetarian, etc.

Tomorrow, Suva, Fiji. Very much looking forward to our tour…it’s a visit to a small village and ceremonial demonstration by firewalkers…the real deal! Can’t imagine how anyone could possibly walk on a bed of hot coals without serious injury. Will try to capture as many good photos as possible.