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Suva is the capital city of Fiji. It is located on the southeast side of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Fiji Islands. Our cruise started when we departed the western side of the island from Lautoka. Suva is the largest city in Fiji. Within view of our ship at the dock we can see the downtown area of Suva. There is a huge bus station. Most of the inhabitants don’t own automobiles so they depend heavily on public transportation. There are three large sheds, each with a half dozen parking spots for the city busses. A constant flow of busses into and out of this area indicates the thriving nature of this city. Located right next to the bus depot is a huge vegetable market. We walked through the market marveling at the amazing variety of food displayed for sale. There were vendors with tables full of fruits and vegetables. Many vendors simply had a cloth spread on the pavement with their wares displayed for sale there. Leaving the market we walked toward the larger buildings. We browsed our way through several shops and stores. This would be our last shopping stop in Fiji and the last for the cruise. We picked up a final few Fiji souvenirs at a shop which featured goods made by local artists. Louise found a shop that sold Indian garb. After selecting a few scarves for our granddaughters she tried on a sari and fell in love with it. She picked out accessories to complete the ensemble and then wore it for the evening meal and entertainment. The overnight cruise returned us to our starting point in Lautoka where we disembarked at 9:00 a.m. We had reserved a hotel, the Gateway Hotel in Nadi, for the night which would allow us to adjust for any schedule changes in the cruise schedule. Nadi is the location of the international airport and the Gateway Hotel was right across the road from the airport. The Gateway turned out to be a delightful surprise. The hotel was really nice with excellent rooms and beautiful grounds. The staff welcomed us and checked us into our room well before normal check-in time. They also knew our flight would not be leaving until late the next day and extended our check-out time to noon. We enjoyed meals and relaxing at the hotel. The extended check-out time gave us time in the room the next morning to do our final packing for our trip back to the US. On Sunday evening, June 15 we boarded a Fiji Airlines flight to Los Angeles. After flying through the night and crossing the International Date Line, we arrived in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 15, approximately 7 hours before we left Nadi, Fiji. In Los Angeles we now had a seven hour wait for our flight back to Houston and on to McAllen, Texas. We finally arrived in McAllen at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 16 and took a taxi to our house at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg. We were back home for the first time since leaving for New Zealand, Australia and Fiji on January 29, 2014. It had been one fantastic vacation.

After two days at sea we arrived at Savusavu, Fiji. The city of Savusavu is located on Vanua Levu, one of two large islands in the island nation of Fiji. There are dozens of other islands in the group of islands that make up Fiji. At Savusavu, we had a tour to Wiasali Rainforest Reserve. Billed as a strenuous hike, this lived up to its billing. There were 15 people on this shore excursion. Eleven members of our group fit into a van and the remainder of us rode to the reserve by taxi. Louise and I had the first taxi, the remaining two people had the last taxi. We arrived before the van which had stopped to fuel up on the way to the reserve. The rainforest reserve was about a 40 minute ride from the town of Savusavu where our ship was anchored offshore. Once the rest of the group arrived we were welcomed by our guide. The official language of Fiji is French and our guide was partially fluent in English. He had some difficulty translating names of plants into English. As we started down the trail we were going down into a deep valley in the rainforest. Our guide walked ahead of us pointing out orchids, palms and other plants along the trail. Unfortunately the trail was a narrow single file trail. That meant that the group was strung out for some distance. Louise and I were the second and third people in line and if we walked quickly we could hear what he was saying to the first person behind him. We asked him to stop repeatedly so others in the group could hear what he was saying but it was no use, he wanted to keep going. We tried asking questions which would allow the group to catch up and that worked sometimes. We saw a number of different kinds of orchids on the walk and heard a Barking Pigeon but never saw it. Actually I may have seen it flying but at a distance it is hard to get enough details from a flying bird to truly identify the bird to its species. The bird I saw was a pigeon and was the correct color but never having seen one before and not having a guide book to consult, I can’t claim to have seen a Barking Pigeon. Hearing it was enough to be able to say that this bird had an appropriate name, it really did sound like a barking animal. Reaching the bottom of the valley we paused for a few minutes along a small stream and enjoyed the view and the cool air near the water. Our guide lifted a long leaf submerged in the water and stirred up a crawdad-like animal in a pool in the stream. Then we began our climb back to the top of the hill. The trail was a loop trail so this was new territory. The trail was as steep as the trail down with many steps, some normal size and others being twice as high as a normal step even a few that were larger. They were at least constructed steps and we weren’t climbing up rock steps which can have uneven surfaces and be a challenge to find the best place to step on each step. Since we were trying to keep up with our guide we didn’t have much time to look around as we climbed the hill. Again we managed to stop him with a few questions. Louise and I decided that we would think seriously about just doing these explorations on our own. This particular shore activity was fairly pricey and we could have easily hired a cab and taken our time exploring rather than getting the trip that we did. So we put that in our memories. We aren’t the kind of people who like tours. I like having the freedom of not being on a schedule and having to rush through things. Likewise I like to be able to pause and look at things that interest me, take some pictures and then continue on the trail. When we returned to the town we had some time to walk around and explore some shops and vendor booths before we returned to the ship. The theme for the night was dressing as Fijians so we both got a good warm shower and put on our finest souvenir Polynesian clothes for dinner. We skipped the show for the evening and went to our room for some rest after a stressful day on shore.

We had two sea days on our way from Noumea, New Caledonia to Fiji. Both Louise and I enjoy the enforced relaxation of the sea days. There is plenty to do on the ship not the least of which is to just relax. Louise enjoys playing cards and I enjoy relaxing in the sun or shade of the upper decks. Our stateroom is on the lowest passenger level located mid-ship which is our preferred location. Being both low and in the center of the ship, we experience less movement than almost anyone else on the ship. Louise experiences motion sickness and this was a special concern on this trip. We are on the Pacific Ocean which can be anything but pacific. The Paul Gauguin is a small ship for a cruise ship. I equate ship size with stability and minimal motion. The Paul Gauguin surprises us because it is more stable than we expected but the Pacific Ocean is performing as expected, it has at times been a rough ride. Despite being on the lowest passenger deck, our stateroom is quite comfortable. It is larger and more luxurious than any stateroom we’ve had before. We have a full bathtub, good counter space in the bathroom and a regular European style toilet. There are two closets plus drawer space for clothes and plenty of other cabinet space for our belongings. What looks like a window in the photo is actually two portholes just above the waterline so we have a good look at the sea any time we want! We have a fridge stocked with soft drinks and beer. All meals are included in the tour package as well as all drinks including the minibar in the room. Room service is also included, no charge. Three restaurants operate during meal hours. There is no buffet open all day long. This is fine with us, snacks are available at any of the bars. The food has been excellent and the service is fantastic. As with most cruise ships there are plenty of on-board activities, performances, games, bars and casino. The entertainment has a decidedly Pacific Island twist with both the on-board band and the performers being from the area. Louise formed a bond with the group of bridge players the first day at sea and they play on sea days regularly. We've met no end of friendly people on board. Most of the passengers are from the US or Canada with a few from Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

This is the cruise that started the whole trip to New Zealand and Australia. We signed on for the cruise and later decided to make it part of a longer trip. Now with our exploration of New Zealand and Australia behind us we are exploring another part of the world. Our cruise started in Fiji on Saturday, May 31 in Lautoka, Fiji. Leaving Lautoka at sunset we sail for a day and a half to the island nation of Vanuatu. Once known as the New Hebrides Islands, this group of many islands is sparsely inhabited with many small villages on each island. We visited three islands starting in the north at the island of Ambrym and traveling south to Efate and then Tanna. At Ambrym we were stationed offshore near a small village. Known as the Black Island for its practice of black magic and its black sandy beaches, Ambrym has a population of 8000 on an island about 20 miles in length. There are two volcanoes on the island and we were planning to visit one of those volcanoes in a driving tour and hike to the volcano rim. That tour was canceled so we missed our chance to visit the island. There was one tour that did go ashore for a welcoming ceremony which included a native dance which features custom made masks. Those who were on the tour said it was quite an impressive ceremony. At the island group known as Efate, we put in at Port Vila, the capital of these islands. These islands are like a state in Vanuatu. This is a commercial center for the islands and has shops and stores that you would expect in a poor nation. We signed up for a tour that included a visit to the Hawksbill Turtle Sanctuary on Tranquility Island. We were driven in vans through the city to a small harbor and transported by small boat to a larger sailboat. From there we were transported across Havana Harbor to Tranquility Island. On the way across Havana Harbor we are told that the harbor hosted many Allied warships during WW II, serving as a servicing and replenishment base for those ships. The harbor was named for the British warship, of the same name. During our visit to the Hawksbill Turtle Sanctuary we learn about their mission to prevent the extinction of these beautiful turtles from this part of the Pacific Ocean. We were served a barbeque featuring local fruits, vegetables, breads and meat. Following lunch those who wanted could snorkel the reef just offshore of the island. We took the boat ride to the reef and spent a half hour snorkeling an amazing reef. It wasn’t huge but it sported an amazing array of coral and a wide variety of reef fish. Tanna was our third and last island in the Vanuatu islands. As we continue south the weather gets cooler. This is after all the southern hemisphere and we are weeks away from the beginning of winter. The voyage from Port Vila to Tanna had been a rough ride with the ship rolling constantly. At Tanna we were not in port but were stationed off shore with service to the shore on tenders. We had signed on for a beach day with tender transportation to the beach. That tour was canceled due to rough seas. Operation of the tenders for the remaining tours was very slow due to the high swell. Even with two tenders running it took until noon to get everyone who had a scheduled tour to the shore. Shortly after noon one of the tenders broke down so the entire effort was shifted to getting everyone on board. We spent the day relaxing on board the ship.

May 29, Thursday, we bid farewell to Australia. After three months our Australian adventure comes to a close. A van to the airport, check in with the airlines and proceed through security and we’re on our way. Of course it just doesn’t happen that quickly. We awoke at 5:00 a.m. to catch a shuttle at 5:30 to the airport. By the time we’ve checked our baggage, it is 6:30. We’re given an exit card to complete to clear customs and immigration as we leave Australia. We stopped for breakfast and this gives us a table and time to complete the questions on the card. Louise picked up several books (3 to be exact) because you just can’t find books everywhere anymore and it is a long flight to our next stop in Auckland, New Zealand. Five hours later we were in New Zealand. It really wasn’t five hours in the air, there is a two hour time change between New Zealand and Australia. The country has a wonderfully familiar look. We were here four months ago! Our hotel was near the airport and we got a shuttle to take us to the hotel. A nice room with a Jacuzzi greeted us and we both got our money’s worth from that Jacuzzi! Our night was short again, we were up before 7:00 a.m. to be ready for the airport shuttle at 7:30. Grab the bags and run – that’s our motto. We got cards to clear customs and immigration in New Zealand and then on the plane we got arrival cards for Fiji. The flight to Fiji is a short hop, 2 hours and 30 minutes straight to the north of Auckland. We arrive shortly after 2:00 in the afternoon. Transport to our hotel in Lautoka just 20 miles away is quickly arranged. We are sharing a van with another couple and their two children. They are from New Zealand on a winter vacation to Fiji. The ride to Lautoka is an awakening. We are in a genuine third world country. For all its romantic image, the nation of Fiji is a very poor country. Poverty is evident everywhere. Our hotel, the Tanoa Waterfront Hotel is a quality hotel and our room is very nice. The food at the restaurant is excellent. After two early mornings we slept in late. Check out is 11:00 a.m. and we have three or four hours after that until our cruise boards. We got lunch and then relaxed in the lobby until time to get a cab to the docks for our cruise. It is a five minute ride to the dock and then a half hour wait with the rest of the arriving crowd until we are able to board.