12th February 2008, Fiji
We had previously decided to do a Rainforest Walk in Fiji on the second visit and this may not have been the best of choices. We went on a ship's tour to Cola-i-Suva Forest Park a dozen or so kms from the capital - along with three coach loads of fellow cruisers. We hate big tours - it takes the edge off the trip and slows us down to the speed of the slowest. The walk was ok. Essentially, we followed a stream down a valley in the rainforest past a dozen or so locations where the stream was dammed to form waterfalls and smallish rock pools, in the last of which it was possible to swim; we didn't but 20 or 30 did! The trail was busy and somewhat littered and this, too, took the edge off the trip. We were through by 11.30, but then had a walk back to the buses. We were then taken to a lodge for a soft drink and cakes and to be treated by local people - notionally Melanesians in traditional costume - to tribal dances. This was a farce as it was necessary to pass the dancers to gain entry so progress was snail's pace. We quit the queue after 20 minutes and went round the back to the poolside veranda. All very touristy, but for no obvious advantage as there were no commercial outlets. It was also a waste of an hour or so as we didn't get back to MSVG until around 1.30.
Had lunch on the ship and in the afternoon we posted our blogs. Having not done this for quite a while - since Manta - there were a lot to post. We also needed to make contact with our friend in Sydney - Andy Spencer - and book flights for Oz and Car Hire for NZ and Taz. So, this took up a couple of hours. Having been round Suva extensively on the previous trip we were not inclined to repeat the exercise so went back to the ship around 5 and ate onboard.
In the evening, the same dance troupe as we had previously seen came on board for a repeat show. We gave this a miss as there was only one showing and the lounge gets very crowded if there aren't two shows; it's too small to cope. Afterwards, though, there was a Fiji Deck party. This got off to a bad start as it was absolutely pouring down. But, the rain soon stopped and the party going. We wore the same garb as last time and the usual exhibitionists went in a parade for the best costume. Not a bad end to the day. Fiji is ok, but I'm not sure we'd rush back.
