Nomads Moorings Hotel Port Vila

... room to change my mind.<br><br>A group of 10 crew members climbed into a cab and headed in to town for some sightseeing. The rest of the group headed to a local island, by water taxi, to go swimming in a resort pool. I had no aspirations for swimming today, I've been having fun capturing images for all of you for these blog postings.<br><br>I wandered around the bustling town for probably about an hour to an hour and half ...

... give me a ride to Santo! So tomorrow morning at 3am I will be sailing out of Vila! We'll take about two weeks to get to Santo, just in time for the approximate arrival of Fifth Season. First we are going to sail up to Malakula and then along the eastern side of Malakula, before heading farther east to Ambrym for a festival at the end of the month. I don't really know much about the festival except that it's supposed to be pretty amazing to see. Anyways, after the festival they ...

... would take you and you never waited more than 5 minutes for one. The local people are incredibly friendly. What I found sad is that the government does not pay for schools - so if a child's parents cannot afford the annual 12,000 vatu - then they simply do not go to school. These kids do not have much hope and many dream to go to school. If you do go please try and take some pencils and paper - greatly appreciated. The one school we went to in a ...

... guy had built a house in a tree just like a movie he had seen. He intended to live there but tourists kept asking if they could stay so he turned it into a bungalow. We got a free tour of the famous shark bay, where they come and live whenever his dad turns a certain stone in a certain direction. We were now in the land of witchcraft. No matter how much of a rasta our host was, there is a Australian-built hotel going up on their land, lets hope they don't ruin the ...

... some unknown reason. I stuffed myself silly as usual and took a big nap by the beach. The training ended at 3:30p and some of us went snorkeling right in front of the 'classroom'. Absolutely awesome snorkeling. I guesstimate the visibility at more than 50 ft. There is a slight reef drop off 20-30 meters out. The underwater landscape is just gorgeous.

... felt very alone. After watching my home videos on my ipod to lift my spirits (it worked by the way), it came to me. The people around me (the locals) don't have much money &amp; they seem to just, well get on with it, so why can't I. The trips I wanted to go on to meet local people would cost too much, so I decided to make them up for myself. Today I walked 16k north to Cascade falls. My journey took me through villages &amp; on tracks through the jungle to ...

... Cove. Despite the grey weather and the fact that the snorkel masks let water pour in, we are happy to see so many fish. I wish I knew more about them cos to me, they were all just "fishies" even though they were obviously different species. Oh well, at least I was out there snorkelling like a good lil' tourist. That night we venture out in a group to have dinner in a restaurant, this one specialises is ribs so that's what pretty much everyone gets (except ...

... in the morning and then finish school and start their weekend. They live for the weekend when they can play with their friends in the sea, run about and help around the home. Most of them are responsible for looking after the animals at home, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats etc. On hot days the classrooms are stifling and it is very difficult for the children and the teachers to concentrate for longer than a few minutes let alone 2 hrs. There are normally two types of day ...

... Stop worrying, I have FOUND LOTS OF NEMO'S and they are fine. The color on the fish is just as bright as the cartoon. Apparently the ladies thigh is close enough to porn here so long skirts are a must and all those shorts I have won't do me any good at all but the market has sarongs pretty cheap so its cool. I hope this gives you a picture but it is all soooo different from home and Cayman. I'll write after the boat trip XOXO Sloane

... and just chilled out for a couple of nights. Managed to meet up with a bunch of medical students doing their elective - they seem to get everywhere in the South Pacific but apart from that it was pretty uneventful and very relaxing. Overall, Vanuatu has to be one of the most unspoilt places I've been to. There are loads of pristine white sandy beaches, the sea is the most ...