A Market Trip to Lautoka

After only a half-day of work, we put it down and hopped the bus to Lautoka, commercial and administrative center of western Fiji. It was wonderful to do something else for a change and visiting a bustling city was just the thing. We learned a lot about what we can and cannot find here, making provisioning much easier.

This is our little bus from the inside, if one can call it that. There are roll-down covers for the sides, but I'll bet it's a wet ride in rain.

This is a view towards the interior of Fiji, looking across sugar cane fields. Sugar cane is a major crop here, and sugar and rum are major exports.

Several passengers embarked on our bus from their homes since the bus is a "whistle stop" affair. This mother and child were waving to an older woman who got aboard here.

This is the front gate of our resort and the only photo that we have of it. If you get to Fiji, we recommend this place.

This is the Vuda School District headquarters, with the motto, "Education Liberates." We agree.

Kava root, ready for purchase and preparation. As we mentioned in our blog, the root is pounded to power then an infusion is made with cold water. Kava is a traditional ceremonial drink. The men are wearing traditional "sulu" skirts.

River mussels for sale sit in the sun. We decided that retreat was the better part of valor on this delicacy.

Lautoka street scene near the bus terminal shows a "second world" city. There are cars, lots of cell phones, American pop music, all next to grinding poverty. Lautoka has Catholic church, Methodist church, Greek Orthodox church, Muslim mosque, and Hindu temple. So far, Fiji seems to have peaceful coexistence among the various religions.

New World grocery store, near the entrance and bakery. It was air conditioned but the front was open.

The press of people at the bus station shows how busy the city is.

This is how our bus appears. Its design keeps riders cool.

We passed several little villages and each has its own little stores.

Ve-see-see, as it's pronounced, primary school has a wonderful motto. Ain't it the truth...

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