FUN-travel: Slow Boat to Singapore – 5th Port – Lautoka, Fiji – Day 15 —
February 12, 2016 by Susan Clarke
Tuesday, February 9th – Lautoka, Fiji – Day 15
- This was our first peak from our balcony. A mangrove protected teeny tiny spit of an island in the harbor.
- Walking off the ship felt like being hit with a furnace blast of hot air. Big Surprise! Once again we had a short 10 minute free shuttle to town. As we meandered through the streets and parks of this 2nd largest city, “Bula, Bula” was our greeting. There are no strangers here and Fijians very much appear to be a happy contented bunch. Plus, they love their music! Big speakers at store fronts blast a variety from rock n’ roll to reggae.
- The city block long Central Market was filled with more colorful exotic fruits and roots, herbs and spices. That and more stalls of woven mats, hats, baskets and bags mixed with beaded jewelry, carved wood and masi, the traditional painted bark cloth.
- Trees with massive gnarled trucks and limbs are on every corner of the city. They look like a mix of
Sri Krishna Kaliva Temple
Jacaranda and Mimosas with high canopies that spread out far and wide. And more flowers and bushes in full bloom in every color from magenta, vanilla, lilac, almost neon yellow and ruby red.
FUN-fact – Fiji is made up of 300 islands. Sugar production makes up half of the economy with tourism the other half.
More FF – There is a heavy Indian influence as they were brought in to work in the sugar cane plantations between 1899 and 1903. Fijians are considered to be people of the sea and were never required to work the land.