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Port Vila, Vanuatu

November 18, 2012 – Sunday – Port Vila, Vanuatu

2012 Total Solar Eclipse cruise

I sleep in until a bit after 8AM this morning…a first on this trip, where I have been waking anywhere from 5-6AM most mornings. After my usual breakfast of cappuccino, yogurt, and French pastry at La Palette, I go out on deck to call home to check in since there is a good cellular signal here in Port Vila’s harbour. I then go back to my cabin to prepare for my last shore excursion for this cruise “Semi-submersible and snorkel”, a short 1.5 hours long starting mid-morning. I’m expecting it to be similar to the excursion I took from Port Vila two years ago while aboard the Volendam, where we motored out to the far side of Iririki Island, which is in the middle of Port Vila’s rather large harbour. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happens. We walk from the tender dock up the street a short way, and even leave from the same dock as before. The same larger sailboat used for my previous excursion is tied up when we returned to the dock.

The “semi-submersible” we are on is basically a small boat with an underwater observation chamber welded to the bottom equipped with windows and seats. Everyone crowds down there for the first part of the excursion, while the crew show us coral formations, fish, and other underwater life. This is ideal for taking underwater photos if you want to remain dry. The second part of the excursion is what I came for: snorkelling. I am one of the first to jump off the boat and swim around observing the fish and taking photos of all the underwater life. As with my excursion two years ago, the crew feed the fish bread, so they are tame, swarming around the food morsels. This gives everyone a great show of fish close up.

After a half hour or so I’m tiring, so I climb back aboard the boat and start to dry off. One of the crew asks me to give him my camera, so he can dive down a bit deeper to “get some good pictures for your kids”. After returning to the ship and viewing the photos, he indeed did get some good shots of sea cucumbers, giant clams, and a yellow-black-white striped coral reef fish. It was a good tour for me, since it wasn’t too long, and I went snorkelling. My needs are simple. After returning to the ship and having a late lunch at Le Veranda, I have an afternoon nap in my cabin.

  • Boarding the Paradise Cove sailboat
    Boarding the Paradise Cove sailboat
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish
    Tropical fish
  • Coral
    Coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Coral
    Coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Captain Nemo type reef fish
    Captain Nemo type reef fish
  • Captain Nemo type reef fish
    Captain Nemo type reef fish
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Feeding frenzie
    Feeding frenzie
  • Feeding frenzie
    Feeding frenzie
  • Our two guides
    Our two guides
  • Viewing underwater through windows in the boat's hull
    Viewing underwater through windows in the boat’s hull
  • Clam or sea slug
    Clam or sea slug
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish being fed bread
    Tropical fish being fed bread
  • Tropical fish being fed bread
    Tropical fish being fed bread
  • Very colourful sea slug
    Very colourful sea slug
  • Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
    Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
  • Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
    Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
  • Column of yellow coral
    Column of yellow coral
  • Head of coral
    Head of coral

Later this afternoon just before we sail away, I measure the following weather conditions from the top decks of the ship: 27ºC temperature, 20kmh wind speed, 75% humidity, and 30ºC Heat Index. This is the first day on our cruise where my fellow passengers are complaining about the “hot” weather, although I would hardly call this hot personally. All our previous days aboard ship have seen mild temperatures (low 20ºC temperatures), and light breezes. There are a few light rain showers today, but it is also hot and humid, as the numbers attest.

There is a huge four-masted sailboat named Phocea anchored in the harbour. I heard a story earlier today that the owner of the boat was arrested and thrown in jail in Vanuatu for attempting to smuggle drugs and arms into the country. I wonder if the story is true? Here is a good background story to read.

Paul Gauguin cruise ship anchored in Port Vila harbour
Paul Gauguin cruise ship anchored in Port Vila harbour

Dinner in L’Etoile this evening is most enjoyable. I talk with an older couple from San Francisco are well traveled, so this is always interesting to me, and she has a sharp sense of humour. A younger couple from Atlanta are both very friendly. He is a software developer, so we have IT-related stuff we talk about. A man from Ohio joins us for dinner, and always had something to contribute to the conversation, since he is a fellow amateur astronomer I know from a few years back when we both attended one of TraveQuest’s Costa Rican Southern Sky Fiesta tours. An older woman from San Francisco who I met before is also interesting, but because she is across the table, it is hard to converse with her. She and I share the fact we both love terriers, and she tells me she once raised 26 terriers at the same time! I share that we have two one-year-old Jack Russell Terriers.

When I return to my stateroom, I organize everything I need for packing tomorrow night. The daily newsletters which I have accumulated during the cruise make a good record of the activities aboard ship and the ports of call, but weigh too much to lug home, so I photograph each page and then throw them in the recycle bin. I even recycle the nice Solar Eclipse booklet TravelQuest gave everyone when they boarded ship, since I have a pdf version of the booklet.

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Port Vila, Vanuatu

Port of call on a 2010 South Pacific Cruise from Vancouver to Auckland aboard the Volendam

Oct 15, 2010 – Friday – Port Vila, Vanuatu

It is cloudy again today in Vanuatu as we pull into the dock in Port Vila right on time. I take another shore excursion this morning to Paradise Cove, which is only a short distance on a motor sailboat from the main town. The underwater wildlife in this area is nothing short of amazing. I see more varieties of fish, coral, and other creatures in the hour and a half we have to snorkel than all my other snorkelling adventures combined. Too bad my underwater camera is hooped; however I get a copy of someone else’s underwater photos, so at least I have a record of what I saw.

  • Boarding the Paradise Cove sailboat
    Boarding the Paradise Cove sailboat
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish
    Tropical fish
  • Coral
    Coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Coral
    Coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Captain Nemo type reef fish
    Captain Nemo type reef fish
  • Captain Nemo type reef fish
    Captain Nemo type reef fish
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Tropical fish & coral
    Tropical fish & coral
  • Feeding frenzie
    Feeding frenzie
  • Feeding frenzie
    Feeding frenzie
  • Our two guides
    Our two guides
  • Viewing underwater through windows in the boat's hull
    Viewing underwater through windows in the boat’s hull
  • Clam or sea slug
    Clam or sea slug
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish and coral
    Tropical fish and coral
  • Tropical fish being fed bread
    Tropical fish being fed bread
  • Tropical fish being fed bread
    Tropical fish being fed bread
  • Very colourful sea slug
    Very colourful sea slug
  • Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
    Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
  • Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
    Yellow, black & white striped tropical fish
  • Column of yellow coral
    Column of yellow coral
  • Head of coral
    Head of coral

Port Vila is much more prosperous than Luganville, and is such a pretty location, with the harbour surrounded by a series of small islands. There are lots of upscale resorts and homes built around the harbour, and some very exotic yachts are to be found in this harbour. As with yesterday, it is nice to return to the comforts aboard ship after our shore excursion. Hot showers, good food, air conditioning, clean surroundings, and warm greetings from all the staff make for such a welcoming home-away-from-home.

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Luganville, Vanuatu

Port of call on a 2010 South Pacific Cruise from Vancouver to Auckland aboard the Volendam

Oct 14, 2010 – Thursday – Luganville, Vanuatu

I go on my first shore excursion this morning. We are driven to a nice private beach, however it is pouring rain. I go snorkelling anyway, as do most of the other people…after all, how wet can you get? I take some photos of a small WW II aircraft that is sitting on the bottom just offshore in a couple of metres of water. The old WW II US airfield is only a short distance away, so obviously the pilot didn’t make it! After taking a few photos, my underwater camera packs it in. I try to get it going again, but no joy.

Our next stop is a Blue Hole, which is an upwelling of fresh water over limestone. This causes dramatically blue coloured water. Several in our group go swimming, however I don’t bother since it is raining again, and the water is not too warm. We drive past the nearby abandoned WWII US airfield, which can still be picked out despite being seriously overgrown.

We drive through Luganville on our way back to the ship. This is not a particularly nice looking place…in fact it is a rather run down little one street town. The ship is docked at an industrial wharf which is covered in oil. The passengers tramp all this gooey stuff throughout the ship. The poor cleaning staff spend days cleaning the carpets aboard the ship!

My friends and I go casual for dinner this evening aboard ship, dining at the Lido buffet restaurant. I have a New Zealand salmon dish that is really nice – tartar sauce, veggies, and rice complete the meal.