After crossing the International Date Line on February 9, we stopped in Fiji, officially known as the Republic of Fiji. It is an island country in Melanesia and a part of Oceana  in the South Pacific. Fiji is an archipelago consisting of over 300 islands, with slightly more than 100 of them inhabited. 

Democracy in Fiji is kind of fragile. In December of 2022 the military stepped in after election results were contested and now Fiji has a coalition government. Coups are not all that unusual in Fiji — there have been several in recent years. This most recent one seems to have elicited a shoulder shrug from the citizens.  

Anyway, we visited 2 cities on the island of Fiji: Lautoka and Suva. Lautoka is famous for its orchid gardens established and maintained by  Raymond Burr, otherwise known as Perry Mason. While there we saw a brightly colored Hindu Temple on the last day of a days long celebration. In Suva, the capital city of Fiji, we attempted to go to Mass in the Sacred Heart Cathedral. No luck—it was closed. We did see an open air market though.

In truth, other than the orchid gardens and beautiful beaches that are away from the cities, there is not an awful lot to see. It’s really a place to get away from it all. 

Some photos from our visit are below. 

Joe