Tuesday, February 3 – transit from Fiji to Vanuatu

My flight to Vanuatu wasn’t until 1pm; makes for a relaxing morning, especially with only a 5 minute walk to the airport!

I’m back on a Fiji Airways 737, only about half full for this 90 minute flight. I was assigned an aisle seat, but after the door closed I moved back to a window. Today’s meal service was a nice chicken-pineapple salad. And yes, I did have a glass of wine! (Reminder: These island hopping flights are kind of expensive. The fare for this Fiji/Vanuatu round trip was 439 USD).

I’ll bore you with some pictures from the flight…

This is the Vanuatu island of Efate, where the airport is located. Also where I’ll be staying.

We did a loop around for the landing.

I pre-booked airport transfers (pickup and drop off) through my hotel for a total cost of 3,000 Vanuatu Vatus (VUV); equivalent to 26 USD. It was a shared ride, but with just one other person, who was dropped off first. Still, the total duration of my ride was only 30 minutes (the airport is close to the town).

My driver, Jacob, was trying to sell me on booking him for a day tour of the island. He was pressuring me for a commitment by saying he’d be busy on the weekend because there would be a cruise ship in port. But I knew he was lying. How? Well, after seeing the ships in Tonga and Suva, I went online looking for an arrival schedule for Vanuatu. I discovered that there would be a cruise ship here today, but the next one wouldn’t be until after I left next Tuesday.

I’ll say it again: Damn taxi drivers! (needless to say, I won’t be hiring Jacob…)

When I arrived at the hotel, my room wasn’t ready. I was a little puzzled by this, because it was after their stated check-in time, and they knew when I was arriving because I booked the airport transfer with them. After discussing it a little more, they admitted that they provided the previous occupants of my apartment with a late checkout. This got me a little miffed. Sensing this, the manager invited me to the cafe next door and gave me 5,000 VUV (43 USD) to get something to eat while I wait for the apartment to be cleaned. That was a nice gesture.

Cute place

And they had a mango smoothie on the menu! Of course I had to try it. 650 VUV (5.50 USD). It was good, but didn’t match the Panda Tea version in Tonga (and this one was more expensive; which you’d expect, based on the ambience!)

Elliot, the hotel/apartment manager, suggested I get something with tuna, as it’s supplied here fresh daily. I wasn’t super hungry after the meal on the plane, but decided to go with an early dinner. This is the tuna poke bowl, 1,850 VUV (16 USD). It was very good!

After finishing, I checked back next door on the status of my apartment. They were still working on it, and honestly, I didn’t want to rush them. The housekeepers were very nice, and I’d much rather they take their time and do it right.

So I killed some more time by going across the street and exploring the waterfront.

This is Iririki Island on Mele Bay.

Eventually, around 4:30, my apartment was ready. (Vanuatu is 1 hour earlier than Fiji)

I’m staying at The Mariner Apartments. My apartment is on the first floor, far left.

156 USD/night

View from my patio (power lines again!).

(BTW, I offered to give Elliot back the change from my cafe smoothie/poke, but he declined)

Wednesday, February 4 – Port Vila

Pretty morning from the patio!

I did (just) a little bit of walking around this morning, and made a grocery run, but that was about it. I was then back at the apartment working on a rather lengthy Journal Entry (which I enjoyed!).

Steps Update: I am at the 1/4 mark of the trip, and I can confidently state that there will be no daily average step count world record this year! My current average? 11k. Not only would that not be a PB (16.4k last year); but it will fall well below my previous low point of 13.2k in the Caribbean (2023). Pathetic!

Travel Note: None of the 4 island countries I’ve visited here in the South Pacific have required a visa for U.S. citizens.

Thursday, February 5 – Port Vila

Travel Note 1: I just heard that there was an earthquake in Tonga last Sunday!! It was of magnitude 5.8, and the epicenter was about 70 miles offshore from Nuku‘alofa, where I was staying. Crazy! Thankfully, I saw no reports of injuries or casualties. (Thanks for letting me know Chuck)

This is the view looking out my patio door this morning. It hasn’t been raining. It’s the condensation caused by the (very) humid outside air meeting the air conditioned inside air!

Kind of another boring day, I’m afraid. I need to get my Laos and Japan plans finalized soon. I did book a couple things today, but still have more work to do. I’m having a rethink on how much time I’ll spend in Japan, for a few different reasons – personal and financial. Thailand and Laos are so inexpensive, and Japan is not. I may skew the durations to favor those Southeast Asian countries. Hopefully I’ll have a better handle on this before I head to Singapore in a week.

(I literally spent all day reviewing different travel scenarios. I’m exhausted!)

Travel Note 2: Speaking of earthquakes, one occurred here in Port Vila on December 17, 2024. Fourteen people died, while 265 others were injured. Extensive damage occurred here in Port Vila and the surrounding areas. I’ve seen some evidence of it as I drove from the airport and walked around town. You can read more about it here.

Forgot to mention, this was given to me as part the check-in to the apartment. Very good!

Friday, February 6 – Port Vila

I decided to book a full-day (well, 6 hour) island tour today. I know it goes against my philosophy stated in previous Entries, but I felt kind of guilty about the amount of time of I’ve spent working in the apartment the last couple days.

I used the website Viator. I’ve utilized them in the past, and have had good experiences. Plus, I can pay with a credit card via their website, which is more convenient than if I had to pay a local tour operator in cash.

Today’s itinerary included the following:

• Crystal Blue Lagoon
• Turtle Sanctuary
• Rarru Cascades

I was picked up at my apartment at 8:45am, and there were only three of us on the tour (low season benefit!). The other two were a young woman from Sydney, Australia, and an older gentleman from Brisbane, Australia. And the poor guy was in rough physical condition; he could barely walk, and hear. I give him credit for making the effort though (both on the tour, and to travel here from Australia).

Our driver/tour guide’s name is Junior.

Our first stop was to take on some fuel. Perfect opportunity for a…

…Fuel Price Check: 166 VUV/liter = 5.37 USD/gallon

I tried to get some pictures as we zoomed along to the Blue Lagoon…

The Blue Lagoon, or Blue Hole, is a 45 minute drive from Port Vila. It’s a popular spot for both tourists and locals (less busy during the week, especially during the low season).

We ended up staying here around 90 minutes. Very relaxing. I nice spot.

Our next stop was the “Turtle Sanctuary”. This was a disappointment. It turns out it’s run by the company that organized this tour. It has iguanas and a coconut crab on display in cages. And they have about 40 baby turtles housed in a man-made concrete pool. The tour guide stated that the turtles were taken “in the name of conservation” as they hatched on a beach located across the island. Why not just let them hatch and go into the ocean as they normally would? Obviously they’ve done this to attract tourists. And they also have two more mature turtles located in a fenced-in area of the surf where visitors can feed them tuna for photo opportunities. I did not participate. I must admit I was surprised that as I asked the guide about their practices with the turtles, he admitted that they have had warnings issued to them by the Vanuatu Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation; to the point that they were threatened with being shutdown. Not surprised.

We also had lunch provided here, and I have to admit, it was pretty good.

This is a pretty setting. Lunch was served under the canopy off to the right.

Barbecue beef, sausage and wings; fries; grilled onions; papaya; banana; and pineapple. All very good, but the pineapple was amazing!

Our last stop was the Rarru Cascades.

Located on the Rentapao River, the cascades are a series of rapids and waterfalls.

There’s a nice path along the riverbank leading to the waterfall.

Only a 10 minute walk to the falls.

This was a fun stop. Very pretty and relaxing.

I was back to my apartment by 2pm. So, what did I think? This probably could have been done instead by hiring a driver (not Jacob!) to take me to the lagoon and cascades, while skipping the “turtle sanctuary”. Not as convenient though. But most likely less expensive (the cost of the tour was 107 USD).

Have I become too down on the touristy stuff? I mentioned this previously. Maybe so. I’ll try to develop a better attitude!

Saturday, February 7 – Port Vila

A rather low-key day planned. I’m just going to take a walk along the Port Vila waterfront (starting right across the street from my apartment!).

Down the road from my apartment complex.

I’m now at the open air market; mainly produce, but also these beautiful flowers!

The price on those pineapples is equivalent to 45 cents.

Along the waterfront path…

There’s a nice path running along the edge of the bay, heading north from my apartment.

I thought this was an interesting monument…

…celebrating the invention of the rain gauge in 1441, in Korea! The last sentence reads “Hopefully, the old Korean wisdom of water management can be used to solve water challenges in Vanuatu and other countries as well.” Let’s hope!

Yes, there is a casino here. (no plans to enter)

The Vanuatu Parliament House. The government was established in 1980, upon Vanuatu’s independence from France and the United Kingdom.

The final stop on my walkabout is the grocery store!

A beautiful day for a walk, though pretty hot, as typical.