Hiding Away on his last day

On his last full day in the islands, I decided to take the boy to Hideaway Island. He’s been there for almost a week and he still failed to tan. So off to Hideaway we went with my brother to make a final attempt at getting some colour on this half pom, some snorkelling, lots and lots of lounging around and of course taking loads of holiday shots that we can look back on with longing when we are freezing are arses off when we are back in Australia.

Mitch

Chay

Rex

Jack and Jill went up the waterfall..

Even before he decided to come to Vanuatu, Jack has become familiar with the must-see sights in Port Vila thanks to my screensaver/slideshow that shows my adventures from last year. He’s always been intrigued by my photos in the waterfalls and my smug boasting that I prefer to climb up the waterfall as opposed to using the sissy mud paths that were made for the tourists being herded in and out of the place.

So when we went on a beautiful Monday arvo, he was insistent on climbing up the falls despite the slippery rocks, gushing water and precarious paths. Good job Jack. Neither of us fell and our cameras didn’t even fall in the water and we went up right up close to the twin falls where even I didn’t dare to go before.

The Mele Cascades is about 10 minutes drive from town (don’t quote me on that). You pay Vt1500 (about A$15) per person for entrance fee which they claim they use for maintenance and security.

Don’t be discouraged when you see the puny falls for the first five minutes of the walk. After the long haul up the rock stairs and the little trickles of streams the rock pools and Cascades await..

Don’t forget to have a photo taken in the giant bamboo poles

And climb other things that come your way for wacky poses..

Don’t be shy.. ask the American Dude to take a photo of you. He went to a waterfalls and didn’t bring bathers.  We might as well make use of him.

Lelepa Island Day Tour

We meant to go to Nguna or Pele or some other island overnight. But our schedule was tight and catching the flu and the sporadic downpours hampered those plans. I still wanted to take Mitch to one of Efate’s smaller outlying islands and going on the Lelepa Island Day Trip came highly recommended and fit snugly with the rest of our holiday plans.

The tour costs Vt7,600 (around $A76) and includes a pick up and drop off at your hotel, 40 minute land trip to Havannah Harbour, a 10 minute ferry ride to the island, snorkelling gear, a very short guided bush walk, a cave tour, lunch and morning and afternoon tea. Best of all they give you lots and lots of time to just relax in the beautiful powder white sandy beach of Lelepa Island.

Here are just some photos (out of the hundreds) we took  on that relaxing, breathtaking, perfect day.

1 of 3 ferries that took us to Lelepa island

lelepa island from the ferry

mitch meeting the shore

waiting for the tour of the scary creepy cave

Hanging Out Island Style

Mitch was booked for 3 nights at Moorings Hotel, a small boutique hotel on Lini Highway right on the edge of central Port Vila.

It’s a good sized resort, not too big that you are inundated by running children and screaming families. There are plenty of pool lounges and beach towels to go around. The room is just right, nothing fancy, but definitely adequate. Location is also ideal because the town is just a lazy 5-10 minute waterfront walk. It also has a bar & grill and a night club attached to it.

What I like most about it (and the main reason I recommended this to Jack) is that is right on the water unlike most of the smaller resorts in hotels in Port Vila.

I woke up on Mitch/Jack’s second day in Vanuatu with a flu – fever, colds and cough. The other activities lined up for the trip required leaving the resort for long periods of time or a lot of holiday energy which, in that state, I didn’t have.  So we decided to stay at Mooring’s and exploit the beautiful view and the infinity pool.

We sat on lounge chaises overlooking the Port Vila Harbour while the sky turned from this:

to this

drank Tusker and took photos against the breathtaking background

Mitch’s first morning in Vanuatu @ Iririki Island Resort

SO Mitch (who is,  for some weird reason,  called Jack in this blog) left for Sydney and then Melbourne yesterday arvo after a whirlwind week here in Vila.

These posts are post dated and will come in Gratitude Journal form because that is what this magical, indescribable week has made me feel the most: INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL.

1. Thank you for allowing us to be together in my second home/favourite tropical paradise.

Jack decided to come for a week to Vanuatu 2 days before I left. we were on a tram to St. Kilda and I was telling him how awesome Port Vila is and i said “oh I wish I you could see Port Vila!” I looked out the window, looked back at him with my puppy dog eyes and said in my sweetest voice “‘why couldn’t you go again?”

And the rest, as they say, is history

2. Thank you for the Iririki ferry that picks us up from the city harbour to ferry us to Iririki Island Resort after paying a consumable fee of Vt1500 (around $15) and that came to pick us up after a day of frolicking and fun.

3. Thank you for the beautiful weather. It was overcast and cloudy but considering tropical thunderstorms and torrential downpour was forecasted for the day we were extremely grateful for weather that allowed us to leave our hotel.

4. Thnk you for the time Jack was able to take to rest, unwind, chill and relax

5. Thank you for the opportunity to lounge around in the beautiful Pacific ocean

Port Vila Market

When I lived here last year, I would go to the Port Vila Market every week to stock up on fresh produce.

The vendors are mostly Mamas from all over Efate who come to Port Vila to sell their harvest. The Mamas (often with their small children) stay and sleep in the market for as long as it takes for them to sell all their produce and only then will they take the long trek back to their own villages.

Bargaining (and tipping) are not part of the Ni-Vanuatu culture so don’t even bother.  My very Asian mum finds this hard to fathom and still try to no avail to bring the prices down.

The market doesn’t offer a wide variety of fresh produce. Often, it’s a hit or miss kind of experience. One week the market is full of mud crabs, carrots, and lettuce; the next week there is none to be found at all. But that is the beauty of going to the markets every week, you’ll never know what you will find.

bananas and young coconutsMama arranging her stacks of pechay

There’s an empty chair here. we guard it closely.

Hello from sunny Port Vila!I haven’t really been up to much. Still finding my feet in this sandy place.

However,  I did manage to

• help mum move from our lovely house with this view

view from Villa 5 of Sea Side Villas

to an apartment at The Melanesian Resort with this view

from Unit 28 of The Melanesian

• Be my obnoxious local self exploiting resort facilities without paying a single Vatu while bonding with my brother

Rex & Tusker @ Le Lagon

• Catch up with beloved old friends and hear the gossip about the colourful characters in this city

Will & Poli, Rusty for lunch at La Tentacion

• and even out my tan

Le Lagon

I hope i had more exciting news.. but alas.. the island makes me lazy.

But he’s coming on Wednesdays and adventures will be had then!!

I

WE CANNOT FRIGGIN WAIT!!!

Ale Tata! Lukim yu!

(that’s Ok bye! See you! in Bislama)

Aaaaaaaaaaand.. I’m back..

In Port Vila, where I spent half of last year. This place is and will always be the place that shook me to my very core, where I have learned so much about myself and that caused me to shift my paradigm,.

This is against my nomadic nature, to come to a place where I have already hunted and gathered. I am one to move on, never coming back because I’ve already harvested the thoughts, lessons, and experiences I could from a place. But having said that, I acknowledge that  I am what I am today because of the nourishment that this beautiful paradise so generously offered me.

But I think this is going to be good for me. I see now that coming back,  allows me to reap the benefits of the seeds that I sowed last year. The friendships have bloomed but stay rooted to where it was planted, lessons are still waiting to be picked from the tree and acres of adventures still await.

That is not to say that it has been without difficulties. There is something both painful and overwhelming in the realisation that the place where you breathed, talked and lived has evolved without you. The place itself has changed. So many new buildings, shops, cafes that did not exist last year have popped up all over the place. In such a transient place such as Vanuatu, many of my friends have gone and those that have remained are somehow  different. And of course there’s me. I am not the same lost little girl who didn’t know what to do with herself. To come here knowing that Melbourne is now home gives me a whole new perspective.

The changes are refreshing and yet a bit off putting. I long for the familiar but the difference that a year can make is encouraging. I left this place with a heavy heart with threads that flopped in the wind, which slowly unravelled me. But leaving allowed me to  pick up another piece of me and weave myself another life in Melbourne – one that is proving to be a beautiful tapestry of experiences. In my three weeks here I hope to tie up the loose ends I left here, finally hang what I have woven on my wall to look at every once and a while so I don’t forget.

it’s a sign

Often times in Vanuatu you are walking along, minding your own business when suddenly you are confronted by a hilarious sign or graffiti that would make you smile, laugh and nudge your companion so you can both have a giggle.

Here’s just some that made me whip out my camera.

“Love is like an ice cream LINK it before it melts.”

Oh indeed.

Rex & I can’t stop giggling when we saw this.

Whitegrass International Airport; Tanna Island, Vanuatu

“You stole my heart when you say you love me. You break my heart when you say you gonne leave me”

Rex & i loved the poetry.

Whitegrass International Airport; Tanna Island, Vanuatu

you want my WHAT?! checked by security?!

ummmm.. spell check anyone?!!

Whitegrass International Airport; Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Filos in Vila

My first week here I confined myself to our house – watching endless movies and TV shows and devouring the books I brought from Australia. I got to know our house girl Lorina and the different security guards that came to sit outside our house 24/7. I ventured into town twice. Once to do the grocery at Au Bon Mache. And the next when I had a sudden craving for beer and walked to find the first pub that would serve me a cold one. I didn’t mind going about it alone for a while. I needed to wrap my head around the place first by myself. But after a week I was getting a bit antsy and was looking for company I could talk to.

Good thing mum aranged for me to meet the Filipinos around my age. They picked us up, took us to dinner at the fabulous L’houstalet and then drinks at the Waterfront. I finally met people I could hang out with! Michelle, Ron, Jom & Kuya Rolex were awesome company! They were funny and they drink!!! There’s nothing like being around Filipinos in a foreign country.

After that first night, they’d always pick me up from the house and helped me adjust to the Port Vila lifestyle. We exploited the facilities of swam and played table tennis at Le Lagon. Went on night outs to Voodoo and Waterfront. And they gave me amusing running commentary of the characters here in Vila.

Here’s the people who gave me back my sanity on my first few weeks.

with my beloved friend michelle @ honeymoon beach on easter

mum & i at Waterfront on our first night out with the filos.

kuya lex, jom & ron after swimming at le lagon

i love these 2! my yosi buddy ron & michelle my partner in crime