A day in the life of Tanna / Vanuatu

Typical kanu. It takes them 3 days to make it

 Kids paddling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

huge Banyo trees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alita under the palm tree

 

 

 

 

Who says there is a limit to how many people fit on a pick-up truck? Note: these „roads" are bad! Holes with rocks, horrible already with just one person driving, let alone 15!

 

 

Yasur - the last pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock'n roll - the volcano Yasur

I couldn't help but go up there again. Marcus had told me that they had seen the „eye" so I had to try to see it as well. I wanted to see the fire bubbling. 

Yippee, the wind helped us so yesterday we were allowed to go over to the other side, take a deep look into Yasur and look into his majestic eyes. Being a proud man, Yasur showed us quite some spectacle. Yasur, the wild dragon, has lots of energy and let us know when we had seen enough. He spit out magma high and far, it almost reached the people standing on the eastern side so they quickly left. I loved smelling his odor, feeling his soft heat and the danger arising from it. You don't trust him for a second and yet he's like magic and makes you not want to leave. It was love at first sight for me. I love his deep dark voice when he grumbles and shouts and like his blowing like a wild dragon who is being tamed. I could stand there and watch for hours and hours. When he finally spit into our direction as well we filmed it and left. Wohooo, what an experience!

 

 

 

 A look into his eyes

 

 

 

 

 

I could not imagine a more spectacular fireworks... 

 

 

Yasur

 

 

 

 

Volcano Yasur

Today was the day why I came back to Vanuatu. To see the active volcano Yasur. When Marcus was here 6 weeks ago it was level 3 of 4 active, they had a gorgeous view and were able to go tot he other side to actually look into the volcano where the heat is bubbling. Well today I went up in the back of a pick-up truck, and as we drove up it started raining. And it stopped when we left the volcano. Because of all the smoke that the rain caused we were not able to go to the other side and look into the bubbling. But on the other hand the smoke made it more beautiful. The noises of the volcano are an amazing experience. At first you think there is a dragon blowing out and then an incredible rumbling starts which lets you think a space shuttle starts right next to you. The whole floor is moving and let me tell you, this volcano has a tremendous bass. At last you hear the magma ash falling which sounds like a cracking fire. Just such an amazing adventure! I will never forget this. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Vanuatu

So here I am, back on Alita. My flights were good, all worked fine and on time. By the time we were supposed to land I was already left the arrivaly building with my bag. In that moment Marcus arrived with the bus so we could drive back right away. It was in that moment that I really realized that I am back. Now, 1,5 days later, everything feels like I never left. But: I arrived, Marcus got sick. Some kind of Salmonellas or other stomach/colon infection. After one day in bed with fever he is up today, but still a bit weak. Anyways we will be leaving this afternoon and heading south over night to Tanna, where Yussur, the volcano, awaiits me. Life is good. Bye bye Port Vila. 

 

Coming back to Alitania

2 very busy months have passed. A time full of family, friends, work, dance, home and home repair AND: a time with Oktoberfest. It's a different life at home, but I enjoy it. I love the work and the people there, love my home and everything and everyone around it. But I also love Marcus and Alita and the sailing life, so here I am now in Fiji - Port Denerau - waiting for my connecting flight to Port Vila - Vanuatu. In a couple of hours the three of us will be reunited - unfortunately only for 3 weeks! Then I need to finish my project before I can go back to sailing for a longer period. 

So, Vanuatu here I come! And you can look forward to pictures from Yassur, the active volcano that we'll be visiting in a couple of days. I can't wait!

Coming back to Alitania

2 very busy months have passed. A time full of family, friends, work, dance, home and home repair AND: a time with Oktoberfest. It's a different life at home, but I enjoy it. I love the work and the people there, love my home and everything and everyone around it. But I also love Marcus and Alita and the sailing life, so here I am now in Fiji - Port Denerau - waiting for my connecting flight to Port Vila - Vanuatu. In a couple of hours the three of us will be reunited - unfortunately only for 3 weeks! Then I need to finish my project before I can go back to sailing for a longer period. 

So, Vanuatu here I come! And you can look forward to pictures from Yassur, the active volcano that we'll be visiting in a couple of days. I can't wait!

Made it to Vanuatu

We just arrived in Port Vila, Vnuatu. The trip was a bit uncomfortable to say the least, but we made it ok no one sick. BUt we're indeed happy to lay still at anchor right now. It's raining and 3:45pm Vanuatu time, so customs/immigration/biosecurity asked us to wait til tomorrow morning for clearance. Sure, as long as we can RELAX now. In 3 days we had winds and waves from 3 directions plus a southerly swell and a period of about 15hrs where we had to morot becasue the wind was not strong enough to hold up the sail in those crazy waves. Waves with a significant height of up to 3m, topping up to 4m /12ft, a good number breaking over our boat in the back. Cross seas: standard. Cooking? Only basic. All good now, I am going to take a shower now. Yeah, just a little roll here.

My first sight of Vanuatu: not as flattened by the cyclone as I thought. But I am sure once we see the details it's devastating. Port Vila looks quite sophisticated from the sea. When we came into the bay there are lots of trees, bushes and palm trees, which obviously survived the cyclone quite well. So long, more tomorrow once we've been to town.

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Visitors

We just had visitors to say good bye. Fun!

On the way to Vanuatu

So we did it, we checked out at Vuda Point. A quick and easy process. We're on the way to Port Vila, Vanuatu.
I have good memories of Fiji now, a lot of them are funny, like this store in Savusavu, where you can buy meat and have it laminated :-)

Last days in Fiji

The weather forecast made us stay here in Fiji a little bit longer. This gave us the opportunity to enjoy the reunion with our sailing friends a little bit longer. The days and evenings here as Musket Cove have been filled with laughter, friendship, coffee/tea and lots of food and drinks on shore at the BBQ sessions or on one of the boats. we have celebrated birthdays and tomorrow we'll celebrate „good-bye". Good by to Fiji (we might leave on monday), good-bye between us, as we're all going different directions as of monday and for me good-by to the sailing life for a while, as I will be leaving Marcus and Alita for a while going home on august 9th for some work. Unfortunately I have an offer I can't decline and it makes is possible to follow our original plan to sail to Alaska next year!
Of course I am sad I am leaving, but it's only for some time, I can be back for the trip from Vanuatu to New Zealand via New Caledonia mid Oct/Nov and I will be happy to see my family and friends at home and some on the way home.
I promise I will keep on writing stories about our trip so that you don't have to miss reading the blog.

Here at Musket Cove there is a sandbank where the tourist boats come every day to feed the fish and enjoy the funny little guys. If you go there at low tide, about an hour before the boats come, you enjoy the little guys all to yourself. They even start picking on you hoping to get some bread. That is so cute! There are unbelievably many fish! I went back there every day, just to see the fish. It's like swimming in an aquarium tank full of the most colourful and playful little and bigger fish. Trigger fish, seargent fish, Nemos, squid, snapper, parrot fish, today an eagle ray and many more. Just so much fun.

Fiji - Draveuni, Mamanucas

We have only two more days in Fiji which will be filled with seeing our friends and party at Musket Cove. We're in Denerau, have done grocery shopping and Marcus is still in the odysee of trying to get Vanuatu money which we need for the immigration there. This turns out harder than it is. Most don't have the money and if they don't have it they don't want to give it to you unless you're customer at the bank or can prove where you get the cash from that you want to change and prove that you are really going to Vanuatu (flight ticket or boat papers). Marcus is now on the way on his 3rd attempt to this bank to get the money changed. We don't know if he succeeds. because everytime he gets there with what they asked for the ask for something new. I expect that we leave the dock in less than an hour, get diesel and head out to paradise. 

I still owe you the story of Faulanga, I hope I find the time to write it at night. 

Here are some more pictures of our lovely experience in Fiji: