For special occations, a meal will be made in a lovo - earth oven. It takes a while to prepare and to cook the food, and Sala says it is like the BBQ because it is the men that do all the cooking. The luvu is outside, and different leaves are used to wrap the food and cover the oven. The men went out to the reef to fish, and they caught a tuna and a turtle. The turtle was first supposed to be Friday's supper, but then they decided that it would be a nice pet. Th...

I went to Silana - a traditional village on the north side of Ovalau island to spend a few days. I stayed with a family that lives on the outskirts of the village. It is the residence of the Chief, but he is a doctor in Suva, so Seru, his nephew lives there now with his family. They welcome visitors (as tourists are called here, everyone else is a local) to stay in their house, and one is given an insight into traditonal Fijian life. I was picked up by Sala and...

At the train station in Suva a friendly man said Bula! Are you going to Levuka? I said yes, and then I was taken under a new wing again. Tambaki works in the museum/library in Levuaka - a very small town (only one street long, with surrounding settlement and villages) on the island of Ovalau, east of the main island of Fiji (Viti Levu). There is a lot of history connected to the town: It was the first capital of Fiji, and there was a large European settlement he...

Last day in Suva today, and very ready to move on. I'm picking up my passport and Indonesian visa tomorrow, and then I travel to some smaller islands, and FINALLY get som sea and sun! Can't wait! I have been a good girl and applied my sunscreen, so no tan whatsoever. Must do something about that. Was a bit lonely today, but it passed. Had some retail therapy, and also realized how much more at home I am here and how I manouvre through the town and it's people m...

Had a four hour bus ride from Nadi to Suva yesterday. My landlady was nice enough to give me a lift to the bus station, and I got there just five minutes before the bus was due to leave. Perfect. As I was waiting with the other passengers there was the usual exchange of Bula - the Fijian greeting - and there was a family of five that was interested in were I was from and so on. Having relayed this story many times a day, I told them too, and the father of the fam...