Suva, Fiji - August to November 2007
As time ticked on we left for Fiji, again we had good winds but there were many islands to negotiate during this 3-day leg. We arrived at our home for the next 11 weeks, Suva harbour. An extension to our home was Suva Yacht Club, a rather run down version of a once thriving club, but nevertheless we mostly enjoyed it. Lisa learned to walk on these premises, and we bought an Optimist dinghy for not a lot from the defunct dinghy side of the club. Finally time to teach Daniel to sail - and he is getting on well.
The second extension to our home was Suva Private Hospital. As the cheapest private medical care around we took full advantage of it for this that and the other minor ailments, and of course for antenatal visits and having the baby. We would highly recommend this hospital for the care and prompt treatment available at very reasonable cost for visitors.
We made arrangements with friends on another boat for emergency babysitting, and had a standby local lady on shore too.
When the day arrived our new baby was born within a few hours, we had another boy! The staff were very good. The next morning when Nigel brought Daniel and Lisa to see the new baby they were thrilled, and we decided on the name George.
Suva city was a good place to be as people are friendly and many things are very cheap, such as fabrics, eating out, and the massive fruit and vegetable market. The population is half and half Polynesian / Indian.
Nigel built a solid top for our spray hood to mount our three large solar panels, as their position outside the rails was too exposed. He came across many local businesses, and found that local labour and materials are cheap, however if you rely on others to work on your boat then Fiji is not the place, as the quality of work is generally poor.