I’m now in Suva, the capital of Fiji. I took a mostly harrowing bus ride over here from Nadi on the only paved road in the country, but arrived safe and sound. Suva only has a population of about 350,000, but it is still not considered the safest place to visit after dark. It is also a city ringed by armed checkpoints. Guess they’re watching out for the next coup d’etat.
I chose to stay about 20 minutes out of town, in a rainforest area, at a wonderful lodge with rooms overlooking lakes. I went on a wonderful hike through a rainforest park to a deep swimming hole with a great rope swing this morning, then came into the city to see the sights this afternoon. Went to the Fiji Museum and learned all about cannibalism today. Lots of nasty-looking cannibal forks and other cannibal tools on display. They seemed to shy away from some of the more controversial aspects of Fiji history and played down the cannibalism as something that exists in all of our histories — with even a portrait of Jeffrey Dalmer and other recent cannibals (which seemed to offend just about everyone I know who saw it). Although Indians make up half of Fiji’s population today, they were only mentioned in an exhibition in a small upstairs room.
