Yellow Fish cruises: Day 53: Savusavu, Fiji

Today was an uneventful day, and, try as we did, it’s hard to find a lot in Savusavu about which to be overly enthusiastic. We chose to not book a ship excursion (wildly expensive) that I’m certain would have livened up our day, but we opted not to see the rainforest or the waterfall and not to do a snorkel trip by boat, the two primary excursion options. We did, however, get an idea for snorkeling from shore if we get back here again.

We were on a different Fijian island than yesterday,

the island of Vanua Levu.

Still smack dab in the middle of a lot of

South Pacific Ocean.

I was only about 15 minutes behind G this morning in getting to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast. I guess I’m adjusting to the two time changes just in time to change clocks back an hour each of the next two nights. I need to be more flexible... we’ll be doing a lot of “two hours back and ahead over the next few weeks.

Check out the new sugar dispensers on the Ruby Princess. They dispense

about a teaspoon of sugar each time they are upended. They’re nice, though a bit hard to grasp,

and should make separating paper waste from food waste easier (and I’m biting my fingers

here to refrain from typing about any inconsistencies in Princess’ environmental efforts).

Look what I got a picture of today!

Day 9 breakfast menu

After breakfast, we walked along the Promenade Deck to get a closer look at this spectacularly beautiful sailing yacht...

...when we spotted a life boat on which we suspected headwaiter Mehai might be training (yes he was; he was the man standing up in front). We were a little confused when we saw the life boat approach several locals (including a child) in a small boat. It seemed unusual that they would train with locals but especially odd that there was a child involved.

Mehai looking like George Washington crossing the Delaware

Approaching the small fishing boat

Securing it alongside the life boat

We couldn’t imagine what was going on, but Mehai filled us in tonight. This was not a training exercise. These locals were lobster fishing when they lost their engine and were drifting out to open water. They waved the life boat down seeking help. That would have even more exciting had we known what was really going on. Instead we were just interested in getting some photos of Mehai for him to share with his family. We tendered over to shore right afterwards, disembarking our tender at the 19th century re-purposed copra shed which acts as a terminal and houses the Savusavu Yacht Club.

Besides its jaw-dropping beauty, Savusavu’s primary claim to fame is its bubbling hot springs. The local legend is that a chief from a neighboring island came over to Vanua Levu with a bag carrying hot water. The local chief here threw a spear piercing the bag, and hot water flowed into the earth, but I think that the fact that the Vanua Levu is volcanic in origin might have something to do with it too.

Heat from beneath the earth's crust created a bubbling in a street...

...and along the shoreline.

We re-visited the little grocery store where G had purchased potato chips during our last visit and did the same today, and then crossed the street to the same waterfront bar for a beer. When we returned to the tender pier, the line to return to the ship was long and winding. I was afraid it would take forever to get onto a tender, but we actually waited only 30 minutes or so and were kept well entertained by a local band playing a lot of hits from the 60s and 70s interspersed with some Fijian tunes.

Making our way back to the Ruby Princess

I am an old soul, and am not a fan of the new hull art on Princess ships.

I think the rust from the anchor on the Ruby Princess makes it look like

the sea witch is projectile vomiting. Nope, not a fan.

The beautiful Savusavu Harbour

We grabbed a quick bite to eat from the Horizon Court Buffet (just veggies and watermelon for me, because I was leaving room for tonight’s dessert) and then I used the Terrace Pool and sat on the Terrace Deck enjoying the view until it was time to get ready for the evening. We met with Virginia in the Elite Lounge for some hors doerves before dinner.

Day 9 dinner menu, page 1

Day 9 dinner menu, page 2

Day 9 dessert menu
I limited myself to just salmon and broccoli for dinner, leaving

room for FOUR scoops of watermelon sorbet, my favorite

flavor by far. With as much watermelon as I consume everyday,

I’m surprised they had any left to make sorbet. ;-)

We went to the Princess Theater performance by Suzanne Prentice, not exactly sure what to expect. She was another ‘woman of a certain age’ with an amazing voice. She’s from New Zealand and was made an OBE by Queen Elizabeth. Incredible voice and a great show, and I love to see women in their 60s as guest entertainers on ships.

And that was our day. I’m finishing up this post at 10:30pm and will hopefully be asleep soon. We have certainly enjoyed calm seas this cruise, and we’re taking advantage of it to get some quality sleep. The Tasman Sea awaits in less than a week.