March 15, 2015 Cyclone Pam
Most of the time I was home, the weather in Fiji was beautiful, although excruciatingly hot. but the last week I started to see warnings about a tropical disturbance building. Gradually it gained strength over the warm waters in the southern ocean. It moved a little one way and then the other, trying to decide what to do but it was definitely looking like a threat. By the time I got on the plane it was a category 3 cyclone and heading towards Fiji, expected to hit a couple of days after I landed. The in-flight movie screen showed 50mph head winds and the fasten seatbelt sigh stayed on the last several hours. A cyclone, by the way, is simply a hurricane in the southern hemisphere. The weather was cool and overcast when I arrived, a relief actually from the heat of the previous weeks.
While I was gone, a cyclone preparation meeting was held . This marina is specifically designed to be as cyclone safe as possible. The entry channel turns trice to deflect any waves and a gate can be moved across the channel to block the surge. Almost all of the boats have been turned bow out and chained front and rear. All loose gear is off the decks and now it is a waiting game. We check the weather sites several times a day. It is now big enough to have a name and growing daily but it is barely moving. Each weather service seems to have a different prediction for it’s path, The dozen or so remaining sailors gather each evening in the bar to share war stories of pervious storms and give their own predictions as to whether or not Pam will hit. . By and large, most do not think it will hit, or if it does, will not be too bad. I am not sure. It looks huge on the null school wind website. When I take the bus into town there is a lot of wind and sudden bursts of rain but people seem to be going about their business with out too much concern, although the fishing fleet is staying in port.
The barometer is dropping day by day and there is a heaviness and stillness to the air. The sea is surprisingly still and Pam it just sits there, growing and growing. At the bar we are treated to sudden downpourings of rain, causing the staff to close the shutters for an hour or so until it clears up again. Little by little it becomes clear that it will miss Fiji but hit Vanuatu. And indeed, it does slam into Vanuatu as a category 5, one of the biggest ever. Boats are sunk, home blown apart, trees uprooted and crops destroyed. People are posting real time videos onto you tube and several of the weather sites. And then it is gone, moving on south. There are a few more days of nerves until it is clear that it is so far south that it cannot suddenly turn and come towards Fiji.
As the danger passes, I find myself wondering what would have happened if it had struck here. Alan’s plan was to stay on the boat and ride it out but it would have been a wild and dangerous ride. Once the warning is given, the boats are pulled out to the center and it is no longer possible to get off. The marina has thought very carefully about how to minimize danger to the boats but as far as I can tell, very little had been done to provide safe shelter for any crew that are here. We had no back up plan, except to try to get into town and find a hotel if it started to look really dangerous. By that time the buses would probably have stopped running. None of the buildings on the grounds seem very strong. We will be here through at least one more season and next year is supposed to be worse because of the El Nino conditions. We obviously need to give this some more thought.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Mar 10, 2015 Back to Fiji
Mar 9, 2015
back in Fiji
The flight from LA was relatively uneventful although at one point i saw that we were facing 50 mph headwinds. Despite that we made good time and actually landed early although the last hour was so bumpy that they were unable to serve coffee. An overnight flight landing at 6am and no coffee! On the ground, I collected my 3 fifty pound bags and put myself into the “stuff to declare” line and finished up my last banana. Customs actually went quite smoothly. I showed the paperwork stating that I was joining a “yacht in Transit” and was waved on through. I had arranged for the taxi to pick me up before I left. I did not expect Alan to meet me since it was 6am and he never gets up before 8 but there he was with a cup of coffee in his hand. It is so good to be back. The weather is warm. People are friendly. There was a band playing fijian songs and singing as we came through customs. There is my wonderful husband and the smiling taxi driver. Life is good.
Back at the marina there are greetings of “Bula” and “welcome back” everywhere. It really feels like coming home to a small community where everyone knows you, quite different from life in the big city.
Back on the boat the first job is obviously to up pack and stow the contents of my 3 bags. It is like Christmas for Alan as one thing after another comes out of the bag; things that he had ordered, treasures form Minney’s boat yard, goodies from the 99 cent store including 25 bard of wonderful sea salt chocolate. Of course once everything is out of the bags the boat is a mess, especially since sails, dingy, etc are stowed inside because of cyclone threats. I had figured it would take me a week to get everything put away and it does. At least the weather is cooler, thanks to the cyclone threat. One section at a time, everything comes out gets sorted and repacked,under the bed, in the closet, behind the cushions, under the seats. Three large bags of old stuff go out to be replaced with the new. Andi it all fits, better than before. All of the cabin stuff that is. We are left with a pile of tools and boat parts that need to go into the engine room, which is Alan’s bailiwick. Of course, since they are all things that he needs for the project that he is working on, they can’t be put away yet so they sit around for weeks until they are gradually used or put away as the projects are completed.
Speaking of projects, as far as I can tell very few of the 117 jobs on the list actually got done while I was gone. The two big “must be completed before we can go sailing” jobs are still only partly complete after 6 weeks. Job one is a box for the cockpit to get hold the switches and gages . We had a number of problems on our crossings because these kept getting soaked when waves filled the cockpit. After years of talking about it, Alan had actually designed the box, bought the wood and cut out the pieces before I left. It is almost put together. It will have a place to hold the iPads, a spot for coffee cups and a fold out shelf that can be used as a table. The pieces are all sanded and smooth and look beautiful and the basic parts are to gather but as far as i can tell it is going to take 2-3 more weeks to finish it. His excuse is that he was waiting for the parts that I brought back.
The other must-do project is the mizzen boom. About half way to Tahiti on our long passage we noticed that long cracks had appeared in it. Alan put a couple of clamps on it to keep it from splitting further until we could get it fixed. Since we kept hitting our heads on the clamps, he replaced them with smaller, better clamps. And there they are, all these miles later the boom still has the clamps on it. He did take the boom off the mast but nothing further has been done. It needs to have some kind of glue injected into the cracks and then be clamped together until it dries. Then it needs to be painted and put back together. So that’s one more project that will take a couple of weeks. It is starting to look like it will be well into May before we are able to go anywhere. I could have stayed home and spent some more time cleaning out the house. Although it is fairly clear that not much was going to happen as long as I was gone so it’s a good thing I cam back when I did.
back in Fiji
The flight from LA was relatively uneventful although at one point i saw that we were facing 50 mph headwinds. Despite that we made good time and actually landed early although the last hour was so bumpy that they were unable to serve coffee. An overnight flight landing at 6am and no coffee! On the ground, I collected my 3 fifty pound bags and put myself into the “stuff to declare” line and finished up my last banana. Customs actually went quite smoothly. I showed the paperwork stating that I was joining a “yacht in Transit” and was waved on through. I had arranged for the taxi to pick me up before I left. I did not expect Alan to meet me since it was 6am and he never gets up before 8 but there he was with a cup of coffee in his hand. It is so good to be back. The weather is warm. People are friendly. There was a band playing fijian songs and singing as we came through customs. There is my wonderful husband and the smiling taxi driver. Life is good.
Back at the marina there are greetings of “Bula” and “welcome back” everywhere. It really feels like coming home to a small community where everyone knows you, quite different from life in the big city.
Back on the boat the first job is obviously to up pack and stow the contents of my 3 bags. It is like Christmas for Alan as one thing after another comes out of the bag; things that he had ordered, treasures form Minney’s boat yard, goodies from the 99 cent store including 25 bard of wonderful sea salt chocolate. Of course once everything is out of the bags the boat is a mess, especially since sails, dingy, etc are stowed inside because of cyclone threats. I had figured it would take me a week to get everything put away and it does. At least the weather is cooler, thanks to the cyclone threat. One section at a time, everything comes out gets sorted and repacked,under the bed, in the closet, behind the cushions, under the seats. Three large bags of old stuff go out to be replaced with the new. Andi it all fits, better than before. All of the cabin stuff that is. We are left with a pile of tools and boat parts that need to go into the engine room, which is Alan’s bailiwick. Of course, since they are all things that he needs for the project that he is working on, they can’t be put away yet so they sit around for weeks until they are gradually used or put away as the projects are completed.
Speaking of projects, as far as I can tell very few of the 117 jobs on the list actually got done while I was gone. The two big “must be completed before we can go sailing” jobs are still only partly complete after 6 weeks. Job one is a box for the cockpit to get hold the switches and gages . We had a number of problems on our crossings because these kept getting soaked when waves filled the cockpit. After years of talking about it, Alan had actually designed the box, bought the wood and cut out the pieces before I left. It is almost put together. It will have a place to hold the iPads, a spot for coffee cups and a fold out shelf that can be used as a table. The pieces are all sanded and smooth and look beautiful and the basic parts are to gather but as far as i can tell it is going to take 2-3 more weeks to finish it. His excuse is that he was waiting for the parts that I brought back.
The other must-do project is the mizzen boom. About half way to Tahiti on our long passage we noticed that long cracks had appeared in it. Alan put a couple of clamps on it to keep it from splitting further until we could get it fixed. Since we kept hitting our heads on the clamps, he replaced them with smaller, better clamps. And there they are, all these miles later the boom still has the clamps on it. He did take the boom off the mast but nothing further has been done. It needs to have some kind of glue injected into the cracks and then be clamped together until it dries. Then it needs to be painted and put back together. So that’s one more project that will take a couple of weeks. It is starting to look like it will be well into May before we are able to go anywhere. I could have stayed home and spent some more time cleaning out the house. Although it is fairly clear that not much was going to happen as long as I was gone so it’s a good thing I cam back when I did.
Feb 20 Midway of Trip HOme
Feb 15-Mar 5, 2015
Half way through my trip home several impressions stand out: the plethora of things, the busyness and the noise. There is so much to choose from. 20 stores selling 30 styles of jeans each, even the thrift shops are overwhelming. Full of things that people got rid of to make room for more things. People rush from place to place frantically, rush to yoga class to relax and then rush home. People jog or power walk . No one strolls or wanders along just looking at things. And everything is so noisy, restaurants, gyms, malls are blasted with jarring music. It is lovely to be home again and see old friends and visits familiar places, but…I think I have been spoiled by long days at sea with only the wind and waves.
It has been a whirlwind trip. I feel like I have put 1,000 miles on my car. The weather has been wonderful, warm and clear and dry, perfect So Cal winter weather. I know we need the rain but I am loving the warm. Our house is the same and yet has been transformed by my son and his girlfriend with new paint, new lighting and new furniture and now it looks like there will be a further transformation as they look for their own place and we look for a renter for this house. I am once again going through boxes, trying to get rid of things. 2.5 years on a small boat has made me recognize that we don’t really need so many things. And yet, they have been collected, or acquired, over 60 years. If/when we come back to live on land again, what will we really want and what is easily replaced? Alan says to keep only those things that make me smile or are useful and difficult to replace. Much of what I had was passed to me as the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter. I loved having things that dated back 3-4-5 generations but I never felt as if they were mine. I was just the caretaker. It is time to pass them on. Audrey and Chris have already taken everything that they want. The rest can go to Steve for his kids. The things that I want to keep are quirky; my collection of chopsticks and teapots, my stained glass tools, my chinese painting supplies, the Murano glass bowl from Venice, some books but not many. almost all of my jewelry.
I am realizing that we have never really cut the dock lines. We have always had the house and all of the stuff as a fallback. It is different and odd but also freeing to think of someone else living here and taking care of my wonderful garden. Hopefully they will have as much fun with it as I did.
Half way through my trip home several impressions stand out: the plethora of things, the busyness and the noise. There is so much to choose from. 20 stores selling 30 styles of jeans each, even the thrift shops are overwhelming. Full of things that people got rid of to make room for more things. People rush from place to place frantically, rush to yoga class to relax and then rush home. People jog or power walk . No one strolls or wanders along just looking at things. And everything is so noisy, restaurants, gyms, malls are blasted with jarring music. It is lovely to be home again and see old friends and visits familiar places, but…I think I have been spoiled by long days at sea with only the wind and waves.
It has been a whirlwind trip. I feel like I have put 1,000 miles on my car. The weather has been wonderful, warm and clear and dry, perfect So Cal winter weather. I know we need the rain but I am loving the warm. Our house is the same and yet has been transformed by my son and his girlfriend with new paint, new lighting and new furniture and now it looks like there will be a further transformation as they look for their own place and we look for a renter for this house. I am once again going through boxes, trying to get rid of things. 2.5 years on a small boat has made me recognize that we don’t really need so many things. And yet, they have been collected, or acquired, over 60 years. If/when we come back to live on land again, what will we really want and what is easily replaced? Alan says to keep only those things that make me smile or are useful and difficult to replace. Much of what I had was passed to me as the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter. I loved having things that dated back 3-4-5 generations but I never felt as if they were mine. I was just the caretaker. It is time to pass them on. Audrey and Chris have already taken everything that they want. The rest can go to Steve for his kids. The things that I want to keep are quirky; my collection of chopsticks and teapots, my stained glass tools, my chinese painting supplies, the Murano glass bowl from Venice, some books but not many. almost all of my jewelry.
I am realizing that we have never really cut the dock lines. We have always had the house and all of the stuff as a fallback. It is different and odd but also freeing to think of someone else living here and taking care of my wonderful garden. Hopefully they will have as much fun with it as I did.
Feb 1-10 WSA convention and Santa Anita
WSA and Race Track
Feb 1-10
Arrived in Burbank On Wednesday afternoon. The kids have done a great job with the house. It is open, airy, with all of our junk cleaned out. The living room is freshly painted in blue and white. Molly’s antique furniture looks wonderful. The cats come to meet me, not sure if they remember who I am. It is so nice when one of them comes to sleep with me at night. It is just impossible to have a cat on Rhapsody, but I miss it. Chris old room has been turned into a charming guest room and it does not take me long to have stuff strewn all over, presents, stuff I need to get rid of, clothes, electronics, boxes of stuff that we ordered for the boat with all of the accompanying packaging. Need to get out the clothes I left here so I have something warmer to wear. It is not really cold but definitely not Fiji warm.
And there is my little red car, ready for me to drive. Friday morning I take off for the beach. The woman’s sailing convention is on Saturday and I have been invited to spend the night with Holly Scott and KC on Mahalo. I am so excited. Last time i came to this convention was almost a year before we left and I had hardly ever sailed anywhere. Now I am a certified blue water sailor, all the way to Fiji. All of the members of the Facebook page “women who sail” are to meet at the yacht club bar Friday evening. Meanwhile I have some shopping to do. First stop in Minney’s, beloved nautical resale shop in Newport. I have a list of what we need but mostly it is a matter of wandering and digging through bins to find some important and valuable thing that I did not know we needed but is obviously important. After an hour or so of happy digging I have assembled a pile of possibles. Alan (still in Fiji) had been warned to be on standby for a call. iPad in hand I placed the FaceTime call and there he was, in Fiji. One by one I moved the camera over my assemblage of treasures and he said yes or no. From there is was off to West Marine except that, surprisingly, they do not have wifi so I could not call and consult. Treasures stowed in the car, I headed down the road to the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, hosts of the WSA Convention
So much fun. Old friends, new friends, facebook friend who I now get to meet in person. Beginner saiilors and master captains. All there to support and empower women sailors They could easily support 3 days of classes but it is only one day, Saturday, a day packed full of classes and sailing and meals and drinks and fun and meetings and conversations.
After a full and exhausting day, I headed to Audrey’s. Even though it was late, the boys came staggering out in their pjs to give me hugs. I haven't seen them for a year and they have grown so much. Before dawn the next morning we bundle into cars and head for Santa Anita Race Track. Breakfast and morning workouts has been an Audrey birthday tradition for about 30 years. The horses pass, walking, racing, in ones or groups, prancing, skittish, several red lights and horns for loose horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, bettors all mingling as the sun rises over the San Gabriel mountains, the air warms and the day begins.
Feb 1-10
Arrived in Burbank On Wednesday afternoon. The kids have done a great job with the house. It is open, airy, with all of our junk cleaned out. The living room is freshly painted in blue and white. Molly’s antique furniture looks wonderful. The cats come to meet me, not sure if they remember who I am. It is so nice when one of them comes to sleep with me at night. It is just impossible to have a cat on Rhapsody, but I miss it. Chris old room has been turned into a charming guest room and it does not take me long to have stuff strewn all over, presents, stuff I need to get rid of, clothes, electronics, boxes of stuff that we ordered for the boat with all of the accompanying packaging. Need to get out the clothes I left here so I have something warmer to wear. It is not really cold but definitely not Fiji warm.
And there is my little red car, ready for me to drive. Friday morning I take off for the beach. The woman’s sailing convention is on Saturday and I have been invited to spend the night with Holly Scott and KC on Mahalo. I am so excited. Last time i came to this convention was almost a year before we left and I had hardly ever sailed anywhere. Now I am a certified blue water sailor, all the way to Fiji. All of the members of the Facebook page “women who sail” are to meet at the yacht club bar Friday evening. Meanwhile I have some shopping to do. First stop in Minney’s, beloved nautical resale shop in Newport. I have a list of what we need but mostly it is a matter of wandering and digging through bins to find some important and valuable thing that I did not know we needed but is obviously important. After an hour or so of happy digging I have assembled a pile of possibles. Alan (still in Fiji) had been warned to be on standby for a call. iPad in hand I placed the FaceTime call and there he was, in Fiji. One by one I moved the camera over my assemblage of treasures and he said yes or no. From there is was off to West Marine except that, surprisingly, they do not have wifi so I could not call and consult. Treasures stowed in the car, I headed down the road to the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, hosts of the WSA Convention
So much fun. Old friends, new friends, facebook friend who I now get to meet in person. Beginner saiilors and master captains. All there to support and empower women sailors They could easily support 3 days of classes but it is only one day, Saturday, a day packed full of classes and sailing and meals and drinks and fun and meetings and conversations.
After a full and exhausting day, I headed to Audrey’s. Even though it was late, the boys came staggering out in their pjs to give me hugs. I haven't seen them for a year and they have grown so much. Before dawn the next morning we bundle into cars and head for Santa Anita Race Track. Breakfast and morning workouts has been an Audrey birthday tradition for about 30 years. The horses pass, walking, racing, in ones or groups, prancing, skittish, several red lights and horns for loose horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, bettors all mingling as the sun rises over the San Gabriel mountains, the air warms and the day begins.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Home and Texas
Jan 26, 2015 Home and trip to Texas
The end of January was filled with thoughts of going home. It has been a year since I saw the grandkids and the rest of the family and all my friends. This time I am giving myself lots of time, since there is nothing going on in Fiji except waiting for the cyclone season to be over. With me out of the way, Alan should be able to work full speed on all of the projects. He won’t have to worry about cleaning up and putting things away every night.
I go shopping several days in a row, Need to be sure Alan has enough food to eat while I am gone since he hates taking the bus to town and shopping, if he runs low he will just eat out. I pack and repack and pack again. Just when I think I am done, I read the small print on the plane ticket and discover that Fiji Airways wants one 50 lb bag instead of the two 25 lbs ones that I have packed, so I need to repack one more time. Eventually it is done. The taxi is scheduled and I head to the bar to wait. When the driver shows up there are “good-bye”s and safe journey”s for everyone and I am off. Headed home for the first time in a year.
I am going from Fiji to LAX and then straight on to Texas to see my brother and his family for several days and then back to LA. The flight is not full so I can stretch out and sleep. Customs is easy and I am checked into Southwest with time to spare. I land in Houston on time and am soon waiting at the curb for Steve to pick me up. I had emailed my flight schedule weeks ago and confirmed it just before I left. I don’t have a phone but my iPad will pick up email messages in the airport. After waiting over half and hour I check my messages and discover he is waiting upstairs at departures since he thinks there is less traffic there. He had actually suggested this earlier but I had declined, seeing that I don’t know my way around the airport, and tired and have a VERY heavy duffel bag without wheels. I message him to tell him I am waiting downstairs and he sends back that he is upstairs. I am not going to try to figure out how to get up there with these bags so I wait. Eventually he shown up. It is almost midnight and there is no traffic. When he lifts my bag into the trunk he is surprised by how heavy it is. My point exactly.
Steve moved last year into a beautiful house on a lake in Houston but it needs a lot of work and he has been too busy to take care of it. So Sharon, who is getting married first, has taken charge and is determined to whip it into shape by her wedding day in March. Both girls are getting married this year. Since I can’t be there for the weddings, this is my chance to meet the boys . Everyone shows up for dinner Saturday night and we have a wonderful time. Elisa’s fiancé is a wonderful cook and makes a delicious baked salmon for dinner. We end the evening in the hot tub under the stars
When I cleaned out the house before we left home, I sent a lot of the family antiques and heirlooms to Steve for the kids. Now that they all three have their own homes, I was interested to see how they had divided it all up. Turns out, no one had even opened the boxes. They were just moved from Austin to Texas and stuffed into the closets. There were two sets of good china that should go to the girls buried n there somewhere. Meanwhile, Steve is using stuff that he got from the thrift shop. So I spent much of my time there cleaning out closets and sorting the good stuff from the junk. I found my mother’s good china which Steve had had since mom dies and did not know that he had. Also found my grandmother’s Havalind china set. Boxes and boxes were set aside for the thrift shop by the time I left and the good family heirlooms were displayed in the china cabinets instead of being hidden in boxes in the closet. And the kids know where stuff is when they are ready to move it into their new homes.
The end of January was filled with thoughts of going home. It has been a year since I saw the grandkids and the rest of the family and all my friends. This time I am giving myself lots of time, since there is nothing going on in Fiji except waiting for the cyclone season to be over. With me out of the way, Alan should be able to work full speed on all of the projects. He won’t have to worry about cleaning up and putting things away every night.
I go shopping several days in a row, Need to be sure Alan has enough food to eat while I am gone since he hates taking the bus to town and shopping, if he runs low he will just eat out. I pack and repack and pack again. Just when I think I am done, I read the small print on the plane ticket and discover that Fiji Airways wants one 50 lb bag instead of the two 25 lbs ones that I have packed, so I need to repack one more time. Eventually it is done. The taxi is scheduled and I head to the bar to wait. When the driver shows up there are “good-bye”s and safe journey”s for everyone and I am off. Headed home for the first time in a year.
I am going from Fiji to LAX and then straight on to Texas to see my brother and his family for several days and then back to LA. The flight is not full so I can stretch out and sleep. Customs is easy and I am checked into Southwest with time to spare. I land in Houston on time and am soon waiting at the curb for Steve to pick me up. I had emailed my flight schedule weeks ago and confirmed it just before I left. I don’t have a phone but my iPad will pick up email messages in the airport. After waiting over half and hour I check my messages and discover he is waiting upstairs at departures since he thinks there is less traffic there. He had actually suggested this earlier but I had declined, seeing that I don’t know my way around the airport, and tired and have a VERY heavy duffel bag without wheels. I message him to tell him I am waiting downstairs and he sends back that he is upstairs. I am not going to try to figure out how to get up there with these bags so I wait. Eventually he shown up. It is almost midnight and there is no traffic. When he lifts my bag into the trunk he is surprised by how heavy it is. My point exactly.
Steve moved last year into a beautiful house on a lake in Houston but it needs a lot of work and he has been too busy to take care of it. So Sharon, who is getting married first, has taken charge and is determined to whip it into shape by her wedding day in March. Both girls are getting married this year. Since I can’t be there for the weddings, this is my chance to meet the boys . Everyone shows up for dinner Saturday night and we have a wonderful time. Elisa’s fiancé is a wonderful cook and makes a delicious baked salmon for dinner. We end the evening in the hot tub under the stars
When I cleaned out the house before we left home, I sent a lot of the family antiques and heirlooms to Steve for the kids. Now that they all three have their own homes, I was interested to see how they had divided it all up. Turns out, no one had even opened the boxes. They were just moved from Austin to Texas and stuffed into the closets. There were two sets of good china that should go to the girls buried n there somewhere. Meanwhile, Steve is using stuff that he got from the thrift shop. So I spent much of my time there cleaning out closets and sorting the good stuff from the junk. I found my mother’s good china which Steve had had since mom dies and did not know that he had. Also found my grandmother’s Havalind china set. Boxes and boxes were set aside for the thrift shop by the time I left and the good family heirlooms were displayed in the china cabinets instead of being hidden in boxes in the closet. And the kids know where stuff is when they are ready to move it into their new homes.
Rainforest on Fiji
Colo-i-Suva
We are into the rainy season and where have been intermittent showers all day as we leave Suva and head up into the rainforest for our last night of this trip. We climb up out of town, experiencing the usual frustrations of not having a map, one way streets and not being able to see street signs. The buildings spread out and we pass several embassies and schools. This does not look like a road into the rainforest but there are not very many roads out of town so this has to be it. Suddenly all buildings disappear and we are into the rainforest. Thick trees, lilies and orchids and other colorful flowers growing wild. Barely 5 miles up the road, there is a cluster of buildings on the left and we have reached our destination, the Colo-I-Suva Rainforest Lodge. (I never did find out what the name means) There are only a couple of other cars in the parking lot and very few other guests. Perfect for us.
It is absolutely stunning. One of the best places we have stayed, not for luxurious accommodations but for the beauty of the grounds and the way the buildings nestle into the landscape. There are maybe a dozen cottages scattered around with stone paths connecting them. Our room is in a lodge with 5 other rooms, 3 to a side. When we open the door we are looking straight out onto a beautiful lily pond and across to dense forest. Our room is very bare bones, just a bed, a nightstand, pegs for clothes, a small fridge. the bathroom is down the hall. But we almost don't notice the room. We go straight to the sliding glass doors which take up the whole wall and step out onto the covered porch set over the lake and there we spend the rest of the afternoon, just drinking in the beauty. It is cloudy, overcast and and cool. when it rains, it comes down in sheets, so dense we cannot see across the pond. the rain sheets off the roof and gathers along the paths, overflowing the ditches. It is all perfect. Between rain showers we wander the grounds admiring at the beautiful flowers
Eventually we head for the dining room, set over the other end of the lily pond. They offer a fixed price fijian dinner but I opt for the kokoda instead. this is Fiji’s equivalent of ceviche. A lovely cold soup made with raw seafood marinated in coconut juice and lime. Interestingly, the weighted does not like it, and in fact, does not like any fish dishes. Dinner and breakfast the next morning are goo, not fabulous but certainly good. Turns out the restaurant has just changed hands after going downhill for several years. The new owner used to be a chef and is doing his darnedest to turn the place around. It is beautiful, close to Suve and inexpensive. If he can improve the kitchen and keep good staff he should be a success. We wish him well and plan on coming back again next season. Meanwhile, we will refer all of our friends.
Next morning we drive off into the jungle to fine the waterfalls and swimming holes we have heard about. Once again, the maps we have been given are grossly inadequate but after wandering for a while we finally come to a cleared area that seems to be a parking lot with a trail leading off into the jungle. It is not raining this morning and as we climb up hill and over roots we are soon hot and sweaty. Tucked here and there among the trees are benches and small huts that are either bathrooms or changing rooms. Just about the time I am sure we have taken a wrong turn, we come around a bend in the path and there is a wonderful waterfall spilling down into a deep, wide pool, and below it another and another and possibly more down lower where we cannot see through the trees. There is not another soul around. it only takes a minute to shed our clothes and plunge into the cool water. Once again, we are in paradise. blue sky between the thick trees, ferns and flowers in every nook and crevice. It has been “improved” only enough to make it safe with steps carved into the hillside mud and handrails on the steepest parts and a cement dam with a path along the top separating the various pools. We spend and hour relaxing and enjoying. We could have spent days but we have to get back home tonight.
We are into the rainy season and where have been intermittent showers all day as we leave Suva and head up into the rainforest for our last night of this trip. We climb up out of town, experiencing the usual frustrations of not having a map, one way streets and not being able to see street signs. The buildings spread out and we pass several embassies and schools. This does not look like a road into the rainforest but there are not very many roads out of town so this has to be it. Suddenly all buildings disappear and we are into the rainforest. Thick trees, lilies and orchids and other colorful flowers growing wild. Barely 5 miles up the road, there is a cluster of buildings on the left and we have reached our destination, the Colo-I-Suva Rainforest Lodge. (I never did find out what the name means) There are only a couple of other cars in the parking lot and very few other guests. Perfect for us.
It is absolutely stunning. One of the best places we have stayed, not for luxurious accommodations but for the beauty of the grounds and the way the buildings nestle into the landscape. There are maybe a dozen cottages scattered around with stone paths connecting them. Our room is in a lodge with 5 other rooms, 3 to a side. When we open the door we are looking straight out onto a beautiful lily pond and across to dense forest. Our room is very bare bones, just a bed, a nightstand, pegs for clothes, a small fridge. the bathroom is down the hall. But we almost don't notice the room. We go straight to the sliding glass doors which take up the whole wall and step out onto the covered porch set over the lake and there we spend the rest of the afternoon, just drinking in the beauty. It is cloudy, overcast and and cool. when it rains, it comes down in sheets, so dense we cannot see across the pond. the rain sheets off the roof and gathers along the paths, overflowing the ditches. It is all perfect. Between rain showers we wander the grounds admiring at the beautiful flowers
Eventually we head for the dining room, set over the other end of the lily pond. They offer a fixed price fijian dinner but I opt for the kokoda instead. this is Fiji’s equivalent of ceviche. A lovely cold soup made with raw seafood marinated in coconut juice and lime. Interestingly, the weighted does not like it, and in fact, does not like any fish dishes. Dinner and breakfast the next morning are goo, not fabulous but certainly good. Turns out the restaurant has just changed hands after going downhill for several years. The new owner used to be a chef and is doing his darnedest to turn the place around. It is beautiful, close to Suve and inexpensive. If he can improve the kitchen and keep good staff he should be a success. We wish him well and plan on coming back again next season. Meanwhile, we will refer all of our friends.
Next morning we drive off into the jungle to fine the waterfalls and swimming holes we have heard about. Once again, the maps we have been given are grossly inadequate but after wandering for a while we finally come to a cleared area that seems to be a parking lot with a trail leading off into the jungle. It is not raining this morning and as we climb up hill and over roots we are soon hot and sweaty. Tucked here and there among the trees are benches and small huts that are either bathrooms or changing rooms. Just about the time I am sure we have taken a wrong turn, we come around a bend in the path and there is a wonderful waterfall spilling down into a deep, wide pool, and below it another and another and possibly more down lower where we cannot see through the trees. There is not another soul around. it only takes a minute to shed our clothes and plunge into the cool water. Once again, we are in paradise. blue sky between the thick trees, ferns and flowers in every nook and crevice. It has been “improved” only enough to make it safe with steps carved into the hillside mud and handrails on the steepest parts and a cement dam with a path along the top separating the various pools. We spend and hour relaxing and enjoying. We could have spent days but we have to get back home tonight.
cost-u--less
Cost-u-less
Another one of our reasons for this trip is to stock up on groceries. A number of the cruisers have mentioned Cost-U-Less as a good place to shop, so on our way out of Suva we made a point of stopping there. As the name suggests, it is very much like Costco, even carrying the Kirkland brand for many of its products. It was a delight to find things that had been a problem in Lautoka including coffee, pickles, long fire lighters, nuts and dried fruit. We even found a cockpit chair for Alan. Unfortunately, because of our lack of refrigeration, we cannot take advantage of all the frozen meats or produce. But even if had been just the same old things, it is a treat to go shopping with a car and not have to lug things back on the bus so I stocked up on everything heavy that I could find.
I understand that they deliver to the marina. Now that I have been here to see what they have, I might take advantage of that.
Another one of our reasons for this trip is to stock up on groceries. A number of the cruisers have mentioned Cost-U-Less as a good place to shop, so on our way out of Suva we made a point of stopping there. As the name suggests, it is very much like Costco, even carrying the Kirkland brand for many of its products. It was a delight to find things that had been a problem in Lautoka including coffee, pickles, long fire lighters, nuts and dried fruit. We even found a cockpit chair for Alan. Unfortunately, because of our lack of refrigeration, we cannot take advantage of all the frozen meats or produce. But even if had been just the same old things, it is a treat to go shopping with a car and not have to lug things back on the bus so I stocked up on everything heavy that I could find.
I understand that they deliver to the marina. Now that I have been here to see what they have, I might take advantage of that.
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