Flipping starfish!!!!! day two – part two

We finally decided after sitting around and doing nothing that we would wonder off into town. So off we go, asking the going price for a ride into town. In Vanuatu you have a couple methods of transfer into town, one being a “bus” which really constitutes a van with the letter “B” in its number plate that zap everywhere over Port Villa. Then there is taxi in the true word of taxi. The bus in the far cheaper option and they come along every 10-15minutes so logically you’ll take this mode of transport. Of course it’s a bit of pot luck as to the quality of van you get into but generally they aren’t too bad. So the bus is usually $200vatu and the taxi is $500vatu.

So we step out of the hotel and wait for a bus to arrive, unfortunately I thought the man waving to us was a bus, but no he was a taxi as djd so gently pointed out to me…whoops we don’t want a taxi. He gets into his car and backs up to us all smiles and I ask how much to town,,,$500vatu….oh…well we’ll wait for a bus…thanks. Oh it is such a terrible feeling having to turn somebody down but still why would you pay 500 as opposed to 200….then the next thing is another taxi arrives, I think they had a taxi conversation about us!!…he says I take you for $300…I turn and say no the bus is only $200 we’ll wait….”ok $200” ….that took us a bit by surprise as bargaining isn’t something that you are meant to do in Vanuatu…so yeah ok. His name was Jonus and he had been to Christchurch but didn’t like it too cold!! He obviously was heading into town anyway as he dropped us off outside the bus stop and went off and made a phone call. And the price difference between 200 and 500 well actually its $3 kiwi….$1.25 to Americans $2 to Australians and 1pound. Its so easy to forget the “real” money in a country that has an exchange rate so much lower than your own that $1000vatu is a whole $15 dollars in your own country!!

So hot and humid in town. The town is snuggled up against a beautiful looking harbour.

We will be back to do more exploring and take a trip across the harbour to an island called Iririki and others . We stopped and had a meal at a café called the el gecko which I had remembered from our last visit some 7 years ago. In fact the place has not changed that much and I remembered most of the lay out of the town well its not hard when its really only a main street…..much to djds amazement that the Alzheimer’s hadn’t quite hit home with me yet. After our drink of bush lime, the most delicious drink of crushed ice with lime juice squeezed into it hmmm ummmm, we strolled up the water front and watched some kids jumping into the water, all very happy to wave to us and have a picture taken.

We have also spotted snorkling gear so we will be back tomorrow to get this so we can go snorkling in that beautiful lagoon on our doorstep.

We wondered down into the market where there is just so many smells, and sights to even imagine we could describe to give anyone an idea of how it really is. From the smiling woman who are all to ready and happy to say ‘hello’ to the men who wont even look you in the eyes to the kids who just are hanging out for you to take their pictures. We love this place, there is so much to it.

What a lovely bunch of coconuts you have!!

 Nothing like a good root!

Time to head back to the resort for a snooze and a chill out before dinner.

Time for our pre dinner drink so off to the bar we wondered, had a “special” cocktail made for us by a very happy barman who laughed so naturally when Djd mentioned coconut milk was not good for the figure, patting his tummy at the same time. I guess the bar man may have been laughing so freely due to the fact he looked like he had drunk a few coconut milk drinks himself!!

We thought we would go for a quick drink before dinner and even after I looked at my watch before we went, I was out by an hour and a tad early for dinner….so we moved onto another area and watched the gecko’s that were on the ceiling and watch the abseil man set up. Abseil man in a hotel lobby….yeah it is rather unusual isn’t it, however he was doing a demo to drum up business for his abseiling trips down waterfalls etc and there are some rather high open rafters which he hooks his ropes over and people can then climb up all of 3 meters’ to the top of the rafters. Lucky for him and unlucky for us an Australian n

ewly wed couple appeared and the new bride (well she had to tell us all that they were newly wed!!) with a rather annoying high pitched voice disturbed our peace and convinced the hubby to climb….it took him longer to get in the gear than to actually do the climb and when he got to the top he says “is this as far as I am going?” ah yeah…..unless you want to cut a hole in the roof and keep going!!!

Then off to dinner and another band playing bamboo sticks and bottles and guitars, singing all kinds of well known songs like “stairway to heaven” etc

Back we wander to the bungalow, sipping a vodka and watching the lightening flashing in the distance….having one of the housekeepers creep up on us and nearly scare me out of my skin. This was John and he didn’t know when his welcome was outstayed and when to leave. Don’t get me wrong he was not an unpleasant person he was rather chatty and interesting but sometimes you just want to be on your own. He eventually leaves when a security guard wonders over (yes this resort has security guards on the grounds and at the gates yet we don’t feel unsafe).

 
Its been a long day so off to bed we go.

Oh the flipping starfish!!!! well………

As we are right beside the lagoon with our little bungalow we stood and peered over the edge to see the most wonderful starfishes in the water and as djd stepped in and hesitated ever so slightly due to the rather “prickly” looking starfish on the sea bed the closer you looked the more you realised that the whole sea bed floor was teaming with starfish, some the same colour as the sand and so hard to pick up with first glance.

Of course curiosity got the better of Djd and he had to turn one of them over just to see it flip itself back over.

Star fish acrobatics Djd says……cruelty to the brainless I say!!!

Till next time diary