Shelter from the Storm (Efate, Vanuatu)

This morning I was awoken by, not the gentle lapping of the waves, nor the raucous chirping of the grey-eared honeyeaters that roost in the palm outside the villa. No, this morning, dear reader, I was propelled from my bed by a rain cell that came bawling in from the north-west. Lying there in a semi-conscious state, I was aware of thinking, hmmm, the breeze has picked up. Then the rain hit. Out of bed to rescue my favourite boardshorts lest they might be picked up by the wind and deposited on a nearby island. That was about 2:15 am. Needless to say my sleep was fitful at best, after that little surprise.

The real morning came with a little more decorum, although as mentioned, the birds outside make a serious noise in contrast to their size. That wakeup call was around 4:30 am and then off to sleep again until the staff arrive at the water activities hut to set up for the day. Usually this is around 6 am. And so goes the rhythm of life. Once I was governed by bells and timetables; not anymore.

Today is our penultimate day in Vanuatu and the plan is to spend most of it snorkelling. I opted for a light breakfast, tropical fruit and coffee, with the intention of returning for lunch. The coffee machine, a form of island lotto, did not present for work today and we had to settle for ‘plunger’ coffee. There are worse things.

Last night’s storm proved to be a cleanser. The day was bright and clear, very little cloud and the sun was making its intentions felt early. It was hot and humid. The water looked a treat. Crystal clear and coloured by varying shades of blue as the depth increased or the seagrass and coral intruded on the sand.

A perfect day for snorkelling

Post breakfast brought the usual round of sunscreen application. Enough said. Then a brief hiatus to allow it to soak in before we hit the water. We snorkelled in the same direction as we did the first time, south-west toward the point to re-examine the coral and marine life there.

Although we didn’t swim directly there, we had decided to make the return swim the exploratory leg. However, that didn’t stop us deviating if we found something of interest. It wasn’t long before we did. Jayne had suggested she was glad to meet the Banded Sea Krait on land and not in water. Today, she met the snake on its own terms in the water. It looked bigger, which I assume was the magnification effect of the goggles. It was as disinterested in us in the water as it had been on the water’s edge. Still impressive and I was happy to keep my distance.

What I had supposed to be coral down on the point was a coral graveyard. The water was very shallow and there were masses of dead coral everywhere. There were also extraordinary pockets where fightback was evident. Fields of staghorn coral that looked dead except for the ends of each branch showing an iridescent blue glow. And anywhere there was a coral formation there were fish. The smaller the coral growth the smaller the fish. The bigger the reef, the more variety: spaghetti worms, eels, anemone, fish from minnows to some I would have liked to have seen in the kitchen.

The swim back was more leisurely and we ventured further out to the drop off. There were some huge expanses of coral there all shapes and sizes and colours. It is just magic. There appeared to be more fish life today, perhaps the sunshine, they do sparkle, perhaps the current, who knows? Sadly there were no turtles that we saw or dugongs. After over an hour in the water it was time to plunge into the private pool and float in a more intimate environment until lunch.

Lunch, as I mentioned previously, follows a similar pattern to dinner. An amuse bouche, three choices of entree and main and two choices of dessert. We were sipping on our aged French Chardonnay and staring out at the water when I thought something moved. A turtle I thought, there is some seagrass close to the beach below the restaurant. A few minutes later there was enough of a water disturbance to have me move to the grass for a better view. As did the lady from the next table.

It was there a minute a go

It was not a turtle but a young dugong. It was also enjoying lunch, unusually on its own. The lady that had joined me on the grass to watch said that a herd of dugong had moved through here yesterday (while we were picnicing on Moso). We decided that we would do some more snorkelling after lunch and return here. Both dugongs and turtles had been seen here now.

There is no need to describe lunch any further dear reader, it was superb. We then wandered back to the villa and relaxed into the plunge pool before resting on the lounge to do some blogging.

Then it was snorkelling time again. Sunscreen on, yuck. The tide had turned and the wind had picked up - a portent of things to come. There was nothing really to report from this excursion, no turtles or dugongs, just the coral, fish and another eel, not a moray. There was a lone jellyfish floating on the current that had to be successfully negotiated but that was it. Back to the plunge pool.

For some reason I was delayed in dressing for dinner. I can't remember why, perhaps I was still fighting the technology to finalise a post. Anyway, about the time we would normally be seated in the restaurant another storm cell launched itself from the north. Doors were hastily closed and shutters locked down, the pool was filling quickly to overflowing. We were sheltered from the storm, today's title a 1975 classic from Bob Dylan. We might wait for the rain to ease, we thought. Good move cancelling the sunset cruise.

It was much worse than this

Umbrellas unfurled we sloshed our way to dinner. There seemed to be an unusual number of people milling about the foyer. The tables were set for dinner, but lacked the usual white linen tablecloths and napkins. "Enjoy the storm?" one of the staff giggled. It was then explained that the restaurant, which is open walled to make the most of the view and the breeze, was flooded by the torrential downpour due to the fierce wind blowing the rain in. The tables and linen were saturated and had to be changed. Although they were not quite as wet as the couple that did go on the sunset cruise.

Despite the delay, dinner and the service were as excellent as they have been since we arrived.

To bed and that majestic view and soft slapping of the waves for one more sleep.

Until next time.

All through the night (Efate Island, Vanuatu)

As you would have read in the last post, my dear reader, we had much rain overnight and again in the morning. Hence today's title with a nod to the great Cyndi Lauper and her She's So Unusual album of 1983. Goodness, it seems like yesterday. As does the rain. It poured through breakfast and we lingered waiting for a break in the rain. In the end, we gave up, unfurled the industrial sized resort umbrella and puddled our way back to our villa.

The outlook is still delightful, even with the rain and we sat on the (interior) day bed and watched the rain fall. At some point, I decided it was time to evict Sebastian, our crab visitor. I could see him, but encouraging him out from his hideaway was something else. In the end I dragged the daybed out from the wall and tried to prompt him to leave via the door by flicking my computer cable in his general direction. No luck. He reared up and snapped his little claws at me. Hardly intimidating - he's not big enough to hurt me and I was trying to save his life. Surely he must be missing the moisture of the shoreline and a regular food source? A couple of attempts saw Sebastian scuttle back underneath the daybed to the protection and darkness it afforded.

Always a risk of thunderstorms. The view from the deck.

The rain had started to ease off so we ventured out to the water sports hut to secure some snorkelling equipment, should the clouds clear. There had been someone stationed there since around 6am but with the torrential rain they didn't see much business. Equipment in hand, we looked to the sky, east and west (we have no idea where their weather comes from) and hoped for a similar afternoon to yesterday.

A single chain. Well it is unattached.

With the rain lessening we opted to walk the beach heading away from the resort, at least as far as where the beach kicked back around and we couldn't see any further. Who knows what lies beyond there? The warning to wear reef shoes at all times was good advice. There were sharp pieces of broken coral everywhere, not to mention glass and rock. The walk to the point was uneventful as was most of the walk back. We passed another couple from the resort who asked had we seen any snakes. We thought they were taking the piss. Apparently not. They'd seen a small snake on beach the day before. Harmless they were told.

Not more than 50 metres later I almost stepped on a snake. It was about half a metre in length, the body was banded black and white with a yellow mouth. A Banded Sea Krait. Harmless? No. Venomous? Yes. Fortunately not aggressive and rather docile. It just kept snaking along (see what I did there?) the shore line, doing whatever it wanted to do. I waited for a while for it to catch a wave back into the water, to no avail. It's not our first encounter with a sea snake but it's certainly the first time on land. Apparently these snakes breed and lay their eggs on land. Google it.

The Banded Sea Krait

The god of weather smiled on us. While we watched other brave souls make use of stand up paddle boards, pedal boards and hobby cats, we sat on the deck and cooled off in the plunge pool, as required. Around 1pm the clouds cleared and the sun smiled down at us and said, sunscreen. We didn't need to be told twice. Slathered in that slimy disgusting substance, we grabbed our goggles and flippers and headed for the water.  Coral always looks so much better in full sun.

Pawpaws grow wild. Everywhere.

We were not disappointed. There was an amazing display of a range of corals in brilliant colours from iridescent purple and pinks to yellow. They grew in clumps, on their own, covered the seabed en masse, and in single formation. Large areas had been damaged, I assume by anchors, but there was as much regrowth as there appeared to be death and destruction. There were also lots of trepang (sea slugs), huge iridescent blue starfish and tropical fish of all colours and sizes. The two most interesting sightings, from my perspective, were numerous pipefish, members of the seahorse family and a crown of thorns starfish. We spent around 45 minutes in the water and it was the best snorkelling we have experienced for quite a while. Fiji does not compare, well, not where we were, earlier this year.

Looking back to the villa from the beach.

Après snorkelling, it was back into the plunge pool and then to lunch. Not really. I can't imagine how anyone could eat a cooked breakfast and then a three course lunch and a three course dinner. I swear I'd explode. No, we went to the restaurant in the hope of something small and were confronted with a three course menu. Sensibly we both opted for the 'starter' of Vietnamese paper rolls to tide us over until dinner. That and a French rosé. Then, yes dear reader, you guessed it, back to the plunge pool to watch the passing parade on the beach and in the water.

Despite the forecast storms, the sun remained shining. And we remained close to the pool. People returned from snorkelling and sailing, the sun started to dip, the sunset cruise departed and life continued. Until dinner. Inevitable and delicious, I feel I need to do more to justify the food.

But first it was time for Sebastian to go. I was concerned that he might come out when we were not here but be unable to make good his escape. Armed with the strongest of weapons, a hand towel, I moved the day bed. As Sebastian scuttled along the wall, I threw the towel on top of him, scooped him up and delivered him safely to the garden. Mission accomplished.

Dinner. Still very good, although we preferred the previous night's fare. An amuse bouche of kumara chips with coriander yoghurt and a balsamic reduction. Tasty. Tonight's entrees: crab bisque and prawn salad, the mains were pan fried fish and spicy chicken breast followed by a nougat glacé and a cheese plate. Somewhat different to the buffet we didn't enjoy in Fiji, every night.

The sunsets were more spectacular in Fiji.

Another days ends. Until next time.