Blog copy 4, Fiji, posted in Tauranga New Zealand

Blog copy 4, Fiji
Another day another country. A couple of days ago, February 9th we arrived in Fiji and even at 8 in the morning it was very hot and humid, though we were greeted by the local police band who entertained enthusiastically and turned up again to send us off at teatime.
We went ashore with a couple of friends, Sally and Tom, to explore this country which none of us had ever visited before. We were somewhat surprised to find everything intact as we knew from BBC News that they had experienced a near hurricane a few days earlier, but it turned out not to have struck Lautoka where we were moored. We took the free shuttle bus into the nearby town but to be honest it wasn’t much of a place, rather scruffy. The locals were friendly enough all calling out greetings of welcome as our bus passed but most of the businesses were run by Asians and there were quite a few mosques in evidence. Most of the locals are employed working in the sugarcane fields, that’s the principle source of money here. We visited the internet cafe to post our blog and caught the bus back to the ship for a cooling beer, then it was into a local taxi to find the nearest beach.
Saweri Beach was the closest, a palm fringed paradise which was also a bit scruffy but it looks pretty and the sea was like a warm bath. No lifeguard on duty and John was worried about sharks. Sue and Sally were quickly offered as bait and as they were not eaten or attacked by any marauding fish John and Tom joined them for a pleasant dip. Soon after this, a local man turned up to ask if we’d like a fresh coconut. Once we gave him the nod he was up the tree like a monkey and tossed a couple down to us. In a moment he produced a giant machete and hacked off the tops so we could enjoy the wonderful milk, then he deftly chopped off the outer husk and showed us how to get at the coconut flesh. It was a great treat and that was our lunch. John managed to paint a little watercolour of the beach and our taxi driver drove us back, rather sunburned to the ship to set sail for New Zealand.
Next day the passengers were offered a double dose of John as he had a lecture to do then he and the other lecturer, Guy Caplin had to appear in the ship’s theatre in a chat show with the cruise director, Nigel Travis. No relation to Dave Lee Travis as far as we could see. Any way you can see them on stage in the picture. More news to follow.