Port Vila

Did I mention trash? What a shame, because look how beautiful this place is.

BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL

Sorry sideways, but still an interesting Post Office building.

Fri Tok or is it Free Talk?

I just thought this was hilarious. Anyone know Bislama?

Sorry this is sideways, too. But one awesome cat.

Yams in their own personal woven pandanus baskets. Nice bananas, TK.

Produce market. Doesn't everything look so appetizing?

Don't ya love the helicopter landing pad?

A typical view

The ship way in the background. I did my share of walking today!

Nice beach here at the 'Breakers'

LOVE the villas, TK is making hersel comfortable on the chaise lounge.

We could get used to this.

More from the market.

And MORE.

Scott, the IT Officer from the ship was glad to have a wahine to nap with on a hammock...

such WHITE sand

cool tree, photo taken out of the car window as we drove by. hang on to your hats (and hair!)

cute beach huts in the background

local band playing outside the wharf gates - my ears were working perfectly at this point!

one of the islands we are passing by

this is the 'sail away', passengers on the deck as we pull away from the dock.

breezy now, passing by an island with it's own version on 'flower pots'.

hopefully I can come back to Vanuatu Lucky me. I am back at a port I had the opportunity to visit nine years ago - Port Vila, Vanuatu. The islands of Vanuatu consist of 83 volcanic islands. There is even an active volcano on another island. Efate, the island where Port Vila is located is about twenty by fifteen miles and is lushly covered in plant life, with waterfalls -as are most islands in the group.

I had been able to to see the 'downtown' area of Port Vila last time, but spent most of my day on a snorkeling trip (which was awesome, by the way!). This time I ventured toward town (we were docked about two and a half miles from the city center). I decided I could use the exercise and hoofed it, taking notice of the scenery along the way. First thing I notice, and I hate to say it, is trash. Garbage. Litter. Rubbish. Seriously, these guys need to start a litterbug campaign! It is so sad to me that this beautiful island would have so much litter strewn about.

I tried to look beyond it, to the darling little islands that were just across the way. The water that was colored so many hues of blue. The yachts bobbing in the harbors. It was quite a picturesque little port town.I did a little shopping, took a few photos and walked quite a ways. I took a few pictures showing our ship in the background.

I also had to take some 'local' pictures of some signs that had things written in 'Bislama' the local language that is basically 'pigeon'. In the billboard advertising the cell phone plan, 'fri' is actually 'free' and 'tok' is 'talk'. Some of the words you can figure out, but others aren't so easy. The sign in the shop made me laugh, so I thought I would share!

I liked the front of the Post Office, too.

It seems like yachties like Port Vila (I can see why) and I saw the most awesome catamaran I had ever seen, so I took a picture to share with you. I also thought the little pontoon with the helicopter parked on it was kinda cool, so I thought I would share that photo too. Thanks for indulging me!

s a recurring theme, there was also a produce market. The goods looked appetizing and cheap!When I got back to the ship, I dropped off my wares and thought I may try to find some willing souls to hop in a cab with me and go do a waterfall hike. I couldn't find anyone willing to go (I mean really, we're talking mostly septugenarians and octonegerians here), so I opted for a cheaper afternoon, going to the beach. The taxi driver took me to a resort called 'Breakers Beach' and promised to pick me up in three hours (when I would pay him for the round trip).

It was a beautiful location. Little thatch-roofed bungalows and cottages set on a white sand beach, palm trees and hammocks....ah, paradise found! A lot of Australians frequent Vanuatu since it's only a three hour flight for them. (Many of the yachts were sailed by Aussies as well). The place was pretty quiet, but I did notice a guy who happened to have a towel like mine - one of the type they give us from the ship. I started talking to him and found out he was the IT officer - one of the few American crew members. He took a liking to Tiny Kona and invited her for a nap on the hammock.

TK and I took a little stroll near the beach cottages, where she posed on one of the chaise lounges. It ended up being a relaxing afternoon and my cab driver was there when it was time to head back to the ship.The short drive back to the ship took us by so many colors of green, little houses scattered around and a really cool banyan tree.

Right before I went into the dock area, there was a local bunch of guys playing some music for us. (There were also a number of vendors under tarps and canopies, mostly selling the same 'stuff'.) I went up on deck to watch the ship go out of the harbor area. I knew I would want to take lots of pictures because there were so many islands we would be passing. I decided to go way up to the tip top of the ship. I had a book I was reading, so was getting some reading time in before the ship set sail. Here's where the craziness begins... I guess the captain wants to let everyone know that departure is iminent, so he blows the ship's horn (a few times).

Let's just say that I can't hear out of my left ear any more. Seriously! I think they need to give us some kind of warning. It scared the crap out of me, which wasn't fun. But the fact that I am now half deaf really sucks. I think I'm gonna have to learn sign language now...

Enjoy the departure pictures. I think there are some awesome vistas we passed.

TINY KONA'S TRUSIM of the Day...what? speak up - I can't hear you!

Meet the tablemates...

Then say GOODBYE!

This is MaryAnn and Jim. They have been our very fun tablemates since the beginning of the cruise. The sad news is, they are getting off the ship in Sydney. And the really sad news (at least for them), is that it's cold back home in Michigan!

They only planned for half the cruise since they have a new grandbaby and numerous grandkid's birthdays coming up. We are going to miss their pleasant faces and quick wit!

One fun thing we had going was calling Jim, 'James Bond'. Of course, he IS James, but the connection was, their suite number was 007 - hence, Bond, James Bon was sitting at our table!

He wore a tuxedo every night and we called MaryAnn Mrs. Moneypenny. Ya shoulda been there! (he really didn't wear his tux EVERY night)

Aloha from all of us (Tiny Kona included - and she's wiping a tear away as I type...)

FIJI

shoe store

Fijian weavers

Christine (doesn't that name seem odd for this lady?)

busy street

government building

rugby dudes

big ben?

bus with roll-up shades

tropical gardens

cool tree

the rudder from the Bounty

see? I wasn't making that up!

Photo in the background is Fletcher Christian and other mutineers sending Capt. Bligh (in his jammies/undies) along with his cronies, off in their launch. Both sides of the story are truly amazing!

river canoe that delivers goods

some BIG oars

three different outrigger canoes

some crazy carved SOMETHINGS

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts

a plethora of pineapples

wow! look at all the bright colors!

this guy was way better than the taxi drivers I met

thatch roofed hut in front of the port of Suva building, I think it's just for show...

listening to the police band

these cops like TK, she likes the skirt uniforms













The image I have in my mind of Fiji happens to be one of far flung islands with white sand beaches surrounded by the best didving anywhere. I really hoped to see this part of Fiji, but since I was going to be docked in the big port city of Suva, I knew I better put that out of my mind. Instead, I decided I would concentrate on historical stuff and the feel of the city.

A little bit of background (I will skirt around the cannibalism issue) on the islands. First of all, there is a large population of Indians (as in people from India) living in Fiji. As a matter of fact, the comprise more than half of the population. They were brought to the islands years ago to help with the sugar cane plantations. I don't blame them for wanting to stay.

Poor Fiji, though. They've had their share of cultural and governmental problems. Things seemed okay, but I got a bad 'vibe' from these Indians. I'm sure most of them are generations removed from their actual heritage, but the demeanor between the Indians and the indiginous Fijians was quite noticable.

Let me 'splain...I had already decided I was going to take a walking tour of Suva, with the help of my trusty 'Frommers' guidebook. There was a map and descriptions and it was all very accessable from the ship. I was by myself (mom having been sick for DAYS at this point and hanging out in the cabin) and I was wearing my walking shoes.

I, of course, expected the usual peddlers, taxi drivers, ect, however, considering that this is an English speaking country, no one really knew the meaning of the word 'NO'. I must have been asked no less than three hundred times if I wanted a taxi. There was even one guy who drove by me and pulled over to ask if I wanted a taxi (he was actually going in the opposite direction), my reply being a firm,'no, thank you'. Then the guy turns around and pulls up beside me and asks me AGAIN. I give the same response. After the FOURTH time, I guess he finally learned what the word 'no' meant. I have to say it was quite annoying.

As I breezed into some of the handicraft marketplaces, I found the shopkeepers were pretty much the same. Many of them had carved stuff I have no interest in even LOOKING at, but man, they were SO pushy!

There were some Fijians, and I tended to gravitate toward their booths. They were nicer and I even had some of the ladies pose for a picture with Tiny Kona. They were busy weaving something...I did enjoy the tapa cloth that was dispayed everywhere, and some of the kava bowls were cool. By the way, I didn't try kava - and neither did TK.

After walking past the governemnt buildings and other buildings, I eventually got to a botanical garden called Thurston park. It was covered in lush trees and plants, but seemed pretty deserted and a bit neglected. I took some pictures though. After winding my way through, I ended up at the museum I had planned to see all along. It has lots of history located within it's small area, namely part of the rudder from the Bounty! There were also historic sailing canoes of different sizes and shapes.

I would have to say the creepiest items dispayed in the museum would have to be the human meat 'forks'. I just couldn't bring myself to take a photo of an eating utensil made for the sole purpose of eating human flesh! Yikes! (TK was hiding her eyes as I read some of the exhibits about some poor unfortunate missionaries and explorers that made up some native Fijians feast back in the 1800s -and later!) A quick description of the carved wooden 'fork' - about ten or eleven inches long, with four tines in a square configuration with a bigger/longer tine in the middle. TK is saying 'ENOUGH, ALREADY!".

As I walked back to the ship I came across a local rugby team practicing. I didn't have a good angle to take a picture, but maybe you can see that there was a line of guys, each with a teammate on his shoulders. They did some ritualized movements, then swithced places. The guys all seemed pretty skinny, so TK and I were pretty impressed. It was also fun to listen to their chants while they were doing their thing.

I meandered through the busy downtown area for a bit. I did a little shopping (I even found some fabric) and took a few more photos, including one of a tiny little hole-in-the-wall shoe store - I know it's hard to see in the picture. I also had to capture a picture of a city bus - it has no windows, but rather, roll up 'shades'. It was really busy on the streets with lots of cars and people, so I was energised somewhat, plus I didn't have the tourist chasers when I was with the 'Suva-ites'.

Right across the road from the ship was a huge produce market. The proper name is Suva Municipal Market. Virtually everyone shops there during the week some time. I was quite the beehive of activity and the pictures truly don't show the colors and excitement. The bundles of coconuts were priced at two, three, four, five and six dollars, depending on how big the pile was. They were all strung together in these awesome arrays. Oh, and the little pineapples - there muct have been THOUSANDS of them! And I kid you not when I tell you that the celery stalks were 24 inches long! The colors, textures, smells and vareties of fruits and vegetables were amazing!

One thing I want to mention is something my tablemate Jim told me at dinner that night. He and his wife had gone on an excursion that took them away from the city, to more idyllic jungle-type areas. As far as he was concerned, he thought it was a true taste of polynesia. He was able to go to a waterfall and saw lots of the more 'removed' life of the locals. I was really glad to hear his take on what he got to see.

Anyway, getting back to the ship, I met a couple of local policemen, who were kind enough to let me take a picture of them with TK. (Wouldn't it be awesome to see some U.S. motorcycle cops wearing jagged cut skirts?!)

I dropped all my goodies off in the cabin and headed to the gym for a workout. I heard music coming from outside, so I went out on the deck and saw that the police band was playing for us. The photos were taken from the eighth deck, so it's hard to see, but they looked and sounded great!

Forty-five minutes later we had pulled away from the wharf and were swinging out of the harbor, on our way to Vanuatu.

TINY KONA'S TRUISM of the Day...Be careful when you are invited 'for' dinner