It is quite lovely here too, though not as lush and green as the eastern side of Fiji. The vegetation is more sparse with dry hills. It’s also the dry season, but it’s the place where most tourists go as it’s very sunny this time of year. It’s also very busy, at least for Fiji. We did make it out to another island that many ‘yachties’ go to, Musket Cove, for a couple of days. There are some nice big resorts there and lots of tourists, even the anchorage was full of boats. They’re getting ready for a yearly rally, so many more boats will show up. It was fun too because they have a barbecue area and bar on a small little island connected to the main resort where everyone gets together in the evenings. Met several interesting folks there, some headed in the same direction as us. We could also use the pools, showers, etc, as if we were regular guests, so that was nice.
We didn’t stay there as the snorkelling/diving wasn’t as good as we like. Guess we are spoiled, but there are too many people there and the waters are loaded with algae, etc. My solar panels showed up yesterday on the ferry from the main island, so spent this morning switching them out. I was impressed that Kyocera sent them along quickly, no questions asked, even paid for the shipping. That’s a company I’d support.
So, the normal trade winds have set up about a week ago and still look good for this next week, so we decided to pull the plug and head for Vanuatu while we can. Next weekend it might fall apart again, so we’ll take the best we can get while we can. So, we came into Lautoka to do the check out in the morning and make another grocery run before we put back to sea. If all goes well in the morning with the ‘officials’, we’ll be well beyond the barrier reef before sun down tomorrow night. It’s a new moon, so we’ll have lots of stars to guide our way and 15-18 knots of trade wind sailing on the port quarter to push us along. At least that’s the plan J. It should take about 4 days to get there.
We’re going to try to put into the island of Tanna to the south of the island chain. It’ll be easy to head to the northern islands from there and we won’t miss much that way. Tanna also has a very active volcano, Mt Yasur, that we can go look down into, provided it isn’t too active. But apparently it is very active most of the time and rumbles under your feet, spitting molten lava into the air all the time. So, we’re excited to see/feel that one.
Anyway, my good internet access is about to end and we’ll be back on ‘text-only’ Sailmail. Vanuatu isn’t nearly as sophisticated as Fiji. There’ll be a few internet cafes here and there, but no mobile broadband like here. So, until next time, be well, be happy.
That’s the news from EQ, where the winds are fair, the seas following and the crew content.
J
Here’s one of Alene, Sally and me and ‘Equanimity’ awaiting our return. We’re sitting on the dragons head of Namena. J
