Suva, Figi

Suva is Fiji's capital - it’s the largest city and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Oceania. Population here is approximately 86,000. A bustling and highly multicultural regional center, Suva has everything you’d expect from a large city – trendy shopping malls and farmers markets, restaurants, entertainment, and a huge range of cultural activities. A fairly modern city which still has many buildings dating back to the colonial era, Suva offers parks, gardens, museums, & outdoor activities. What seems to be a lively and dynamic city, we were both impressed by Suva’s incredible mix of cultures and range of things to do. What impressed us the most…very friendly people – each time our bus passed a group of people, regardless of age, they waved at us and  often shouted “Bula Bula”…which is “hello & good health”. Our sail-in was gloomy with rain & fog, yet we were greeted at the pier with a very enthusiastic & talented 25-member band…probably one of the most entertaining receptions we’ve ever had. There was also a smaller group of musicians inside the terminal building – they were so good we thought it was recorded music…beautiful voices & great instrumentation. We could’ve listened for hours.

Suva (soo-va), the heart of Fiji, is home to half of the country’s urban population and, as the largest city in the South Pacific, it is an important regional center. Swimming in the urban milieu is the influence of every island and background, a vibrant Indo-Fijian community, university students from around the Pacific, Asian sailors on shore leave, and a growing expat community of Australians and New Zealanders. The city itself is on a peninsula about 2 miles wide by 5 miles long, with Laucala Bay to the east and Suva Harbor to the west. Most of the peninsula is hilly, apart from the narrow strip of land on the western edge of the city where we found Suva’s main drag, Victoria Pde (which holds many of the city’s restaurants, shops and clubs), as well as the market and wharf. The suburb of Toorak tumbles up onto the hill east of Suva Municipal Market. Originally Suva’s posh neighborhood (named after one of Melbourne, Australia’s exclusive suburbs), it has fallen from grandeur but leads ultimately to the desirable residences of ridge-top Tamanvua.

Downtown is as diverse architecturally as the populace is culturally. A jigsaw of colonial buildings, modern shopping plazas, abundant eateries and a breezy esplanade all form the compact central business district. Small passages transport you to a city somewhere in India with curry houses, sari shops and what I like to call ‘bric-a-brac’ traders. Bollywood and Hollywood square off at the local cinema and within the same hour you’re likely to see politicians in traditional Sulu sharing a few shells of Kava (a ceremonial drink) and denim-clad youth heading to the hottest clubs in the country. Beyond downtown Suva, there is a string of pretty suburbs dribbled along the hills that crowd the capital’s busy port. That said, if Suva is indeed Fiji’s heart, there are signs that it may be ailing a bit, and I say that because of the very poor settlement camps of tin sheds on the city outskirts that go on for many many miles. Our tour to see the famed ‘Firewalkers’ took us through the city and out through the countryside about 60 miles. There were a few nice homes but represented a very small minority – the majority of dwellings were without windows & doors. When you consider the average rainfall here is 120 inches annually, the scanty & underprivileged living conditions only magnify. But again, everyone we passed was smiling and greeted us with a friendly wave!

Hosting the Firewalkers show was the Cultural Arts Center, truly a beautiful facility with ponds, lush gardens, fashionable shops & boutiques. We’ve never seen firewalkers in any of our travels, and this experience was billed as the only authentic demonstration in the world. We had two busloads of folks…so about 120 of us, seated in an outdoor theater. In front of the bleacher seats was a lagoon roughly 20 feet across and on the other side, a small island where the firewalkers actually performed. It began with a short story about the history of firewalking and then the ceremony, which lasted nearly one hour, began.  When we entered the theater area, the large stones were already being heated by several logs…flame & smoke very visible (& smelly). As we were told, the logs had been burning since 7:00 that morning, about 5 hours before the performance started. I can’t tell you whether the actual firewalking was legitimate or not. By all indications, it appeared to be authentic, but when that portion of the ceremony concluded they covered the ‘hot’ stones with bamboo branches. The warriors then started another tribal dance routine away from the fire area, and I kept waiting for the bamboo leaves to start smoking…or start wilting…or start withering, drooping, sagging…ANYTHING!! The show itself lasted at least another 30 minutes with tribunal dances & chants…but I seldom took my eyes of those bamboo leaves. I was waiting for any kind of a sign that would convince me that the stones were actually hot. I didn’t want to ask our local tour guide if it was all genuine for fear of offending him, but I seriously have my doubts and so do many other guests.

Wedding vows renewal date: Now confirmed…December 4^th, 7pm. Here comes the bride! Stay tuned!