Efate

We left Erromango at first light, endeavouring to cover the 80 miles to the anchorage in Efate in time to drop the anchor while the sun was still up

Last nights anchorage was little more than a small cove in the coastline

There is something special about making one’s morning tea with  this view from the kitchen windowa couple of hours out and the fishing lines were zig-zagging all over the place.

we had a multiple hook-up of decent sized mahi mahi

We (read I) managed to get 3 onto the boat, but only one stayed on the boat. I was too use to mackerel which after they are left on the line for 10mins, don’t have any fight left in them. Mahi mahi, do the opposite and go totally nuts….I’ll know for next timeIt was probably a good thing to have happen

Mahi mahi are good eating, but Spanish Mackerel are a couple of steps up in eating quality fish.

there is 5 good feeds in this girl (females mahi look different from male)and room in the freezer for any Mackerel or Wahoo, that feel suicidal in the near future.

The breeze came in, allowing us to make good time

dropping the anchor in Mele Bay, Efate, just as the sun was setting, for a feed of Mahi Mahi and chips

Then the music coming from behind the trees on the shore, went up a few notches and continued blearing until the wee hours

Port Villa, the capital of Vanuatu is on Efate, as is the international airport, so we were now in package holiday resorts, country. One of which was just beside the anchorageso we SUPed over for our morning coffee at Hideaway Island ResortThen continued the SUPing around the island

The explanations for the nocturnal loud music was not a nightclub as feared, but a week of festivities, before the 38th anniversary of Vanuatu gaining independence.

So we were anchored 100mts from the beach, and then another 100mt walk to unlimited street foodcoconut tree climbing competitions, foot racesboxingkava drinkingand soccer these guys don’t have PlayStations and social media, like the youth back home, so they spend a comparable amount of time kicking a soccer ball around.

The Beach Bar, on the shore opposite the anchorage, has a fire show, every Friday evening. Everyone who had seen it raved about it. So it was woodfired pizzas and beer on the sand, while we held our spot at the front and waited for night to fall, before the show started at 7pm

now we are raving about it.

The next day we moved down to the Marina at Port Villawith a drawbridge, as opposed to the timber plank, we had to use last yearthe mooring was right beside the restaurant and barback to “civilisation” with traffic congestionbut it was still Vanuatu,

this is the money exchange place. Unlocked front door, no security guard, no cashier behind bars, and thousands, (probably 10s of thousands) of dollar in the desk drawers.

and the exchange rate was way better, than the ATM.

Tannis and I got in a SUP, around the resorted island in the middle of the harbour

past the moored yachts and the wrecking yard produced by Cyclone Pamthe water temperature is noticeable warmer here, compared to Aneityum for Tannis’  last supper, before flying back to Canada, we walked up the hill to the Blue Marlin club.for G&Ts as the sun setthe next day was Vanuatu Independence Day, so we walked up the hill, to share  in the celebrations

get food from the food stalls

drunk drinking coconutsTannis joined the locals with a Vanuatu flag in their hair then it was time for Tannis to get a taxi to the airport, for her mammoth journey back to Canada———————————————–

as you have probably noticed from the photos over the last few months, my girth has been growing

my cruising lifestyle is one endless holiday, with the associated eating and drinking that one normally associated with a holiday. Normally the extra passive exercise from sailing the boat, snorkeling etc, cancels out the extra calories, but not this time. The Frazza and sharing the cooking, of dinner party quality meals with Rehab, rather obviously has more calories going in, than I am burning.

So time for a big head-shake rethink

I am 3/4ers of the way through an alcohol free week, to let my body reboot its thinking on alcohol. And at the same time I am eating salads and lower calorie foodit seems to be workingthe weight is falling off

as it says at the bottom of my new shirtVanuatu is “the friendliest place in the world“

all the smiling, laughter and enjoyment of life by the locals is contagious, as you have seen in the growing size of our smiles, in the personal photos in my blog posts