Oct 20, 2015 Savusavu

Savusavu  Oct 20, 2015


We have been hearing about Savusavu ever since we have been in Fiji.  People say it is so different than Vuda, that we will love it, but they don’t really describe it.  We  finally made it and they were right.  It is very different and we do  love it.    First off, we are moored it a narrow bay amongst green hills, right in front of a charming town.  Not is a marina miles from the town. It reminds me for some reason of something out of the old west, with arched colonnades supporting a roof over the first floor shops and wooden stairs leading to the second floor.  There are hardware stores, video stores, clothing shops and Fiji crafts shops and one of the best grocery stores in Fiji with lots of hard to find items, like tortilla chips and dill pickles and drip grind coffee. but without the frantic tourist vibe of Nadi or the hustle and bustle of Lautoka.  Very laid back and relaxed.  As always in Fiji, everyone is very helpful.  We don’t have the luxurious hot showers that we have in Vuda but there is laundry service so i don’t have to spend all day doing the laundry.  The restaurants are small, funky, good and cheap; chinese food, indian food, wonderful cassava chips instead of french fries.  It is easy in and out of the marina without the major production of docking in Vuda so we can go out for a day sail any time.  If we end up staying in Fiji another year, I think we might spend the cyclone season here, rather than Vuda.

Unfortunately, it took us so long to get here, because of the weather, that Alan’s visa expires tomorrow.  We had hoped to be here a couple of days ago, so that we could check out before it expired.  However, we just don’t want to leave immediately.  We need a couple of days to regroup and wait for a good weather window.  So Alan is off to throw himself on the mercy of the Immigration officials.  Luckily, he found a sympathetic officer.  Several days later, after numerous phone calls to immigration headquarters in Suva and the payment of a substantial fee, he is legal for another 6 months.  And the of course the next thing that we do is check out of the country .  The hard won extension is useless.  It will all start over again with 4 months when we re-enter Fiji.  Very frustrating but part of the cost of sailing.