The Melanesian Port Villa Port Vila

I successfully kept from being eaten by cannibals today in Vanuatu, but did have a great cultural experience.<br><br>Starting my day in Port Vila proved a bit stressful. The cabbies in Vanuatu reminded many of the guests of being in Jamaica...very pushy and in your face to get your business. That first impression didn't sit well with me, but thankfully I don't often let first impressions rule my overall opinion. I always ...

... on the water. We crossed the finish line first, but with the handicap ended up in second place, not bad. Anyways, today I was stuck dealing with the realities of yesterday's email from Fifth Season. It seemed my only option would be to fly up to Santo and wait with Natalie for the arrival of Fifth Season, an expensive option. So I came up with a new plan! Do you remember that nice couple that I said knew the people on Fifth Season and had been to Pepperell, well they offered ...

... in Vanuatu!) - beautiful scotch fillet and veal below $10 a kilo that you would pay over $30 here. Not much in seafood line and this was very expensive I also loved the local bus transport - 100 vat for town trips and 200 for out of town - half price for kids. Amazing value but also amazing fun and a great way to meet the locals. I simply loved the fact that you got a sight seeing tour every time you took a bus - you never knew the way back home ...

... where it was and prepare lunch. The next day we tried the French bungalows which were in our bay and much less risky. This time the lady had no ingredients since her generator was broken. She said she would go and buy some, but when I aksed how much it would be and said that it had better be good for that price, I think she changed her mind. It turned out for the best though, we had a great salad for lunch at half the price. The last place was at the treehouse - a ...

Today we had our first day of training in mangaliliu. The first 2 sessions were language and they were pretty useful. The highlight was that the training was conducted outdoors right on the beach! We were literally 10 ft from the water. What a class room setting. For lunch all the mamas prepared dishes together for the group. We were all starving ...

... all, but the travelers cheques &amp; 200 American Dollars in my emergency fund, in my bag. From here on in I will be officially known as skint. Panicing &amp; not knowing what to do as I still have 3 weeks to go, I went to &amp; fro from my room trying to work out a new plan. Part of me wanted to call it a day &amp; come home. That night I was fed up &amp; hit a real low point on my trip. I had said goodbye to my friends a few days earlier &amp; with having no ...

... pool... not a bad life really. Day Four A cyclone is heading our way and while the sky isn't as clear and the temperature isn't quite as hot, it's not raining yet so I feel blessed. Now that we're on our last day I figure I can splash out on a few trinkets for people... back to the shops and markets to buy a couple of pirated DVDs and some typical island souvenirs. Today is also the day that we venture out kitted out in snorkel gear to explore ...

... All classes must pray before their lunch and they sing a song to thank God for their food. It goes something like this... "Before I eat my food, I like to stop and say, thank you God, thank you God for this my food today. Amen" They come back at 1pm and continue lessons until 3pm with another short break in between. Sometimes they will play sports in the afternoon instead of lessons. School is Monday to Thursday all day and then Friday they play soccer and ...

... phrase book and are trying to muddle through. We don't need it in every situation but it helps. We finish the course tonight with a BBQ (others in this course are locals and Peace Corps volunteers) And then we are sailing tomorrow for a five day cruise to the outer islands. Awesome opportunity. The snorkeling has been amazing and I can't wait to dive it. I saw a starfish that was so bright a color of blue I thought it was rubbish ...

... will die within their first few hours as they find their way to the beach. This way, a much larger number should survive - well that's the theory anyway. Baby Turtle at the turtle sanctuary, Moso Island Next I spent a couple of nights at the Erakor Island resort which was quite an upmarket resort but they had a backpacker dormitary - there was ************e there so I had a room to ...