Ile de Pins

My last port day was today, and after our Halloween party last night, it took a huge effort to get out of bed and make it to the island early enough. It was awesome, and I am so glad that I did! The weather was beautiful and I snorkeled around the whole sacred rock “Kanemura”! There were plenty of fish, and I borrowed an underwater camera from the ship, so I was able to get cool photos! I saw a sea snake slithering on the sand, which was a little frightening, as they are poisonous and very prominent on Ile de Pins. The island is a French islet discovered by Captain Cook in 1774 and is called “Kunie” by the local Melanesians! Later we strolled around and I enjoyed my whole coconut that a native chopped for me with his machete so I could drink from it! Yummy! It was a perfect day to end with! Only 2 more sea days until Sydney! Hooray!

Ouvea, Loyalty Islands

There are beaches, and then there are beaches… but the island of Ouvea has quite simply some of the most beautiful beaches anywhere in the world. I was very lucky to get off today. I jumped off with Andrew first thing in the morning, but shortly after the captain announced crew could no longer tender, as two of the boats were not working, and there was a back-up of passengers! So most of the crew was stuck on the ship, which would have driven me mad! Anyways, we headed to Mouli beach, where the gleaming sand is talcum powder soft and the water crystal clear! I brought by big camera today and took heaps of photos! There were barely any people, I felt like I had the beach to myself. So thankful for the weather, after yesterday’s never-ending rain I was a little worried! We probably walked 2 hours to reach the end of Mouli beach where we had an amazing lunch at a beautiful resort, saw some huge spiders, and then headed over the bridge to find more sand. The turquoise waters of Ouvea are breathtaking, and literally untouched! Later Andrew, John, and I jumped off the bridge. I was scared at first, but it was great, and decided to jump 3 more times! Ouvea is by far my favorite island in the South Pacific! It is no accident that Ouvea, in English, translates to “the closest island to paradise”!

Vila's Waterfalls!

Spent the day in Vila at the beautiful Cascade Waterfalls! They were amazing, for once I was not dissapointed by waterfalls I had too high of expectations for! The rain poured, and after swimming, we were soaked while we hiked back down, but it was well worth it! Rainy days are sometimes surprisingly the best!

My rainy day in Sydney

Had the whole day off today in Sydney! The weather was crap, but Candice and I still walked all the way to the Opera house and then up George Street to do a little shopping! I ate McDonalds (not the same), and got a Starbucks! I really felt like I was in Vancouver, as I walked with my coffee in the city, with the rain pouring down, and the people hurring back to work from their lunch breaks! Only one cruise left to go, and then I will be coming home! Hooray!!!

Isle of Pines!

Spent the morning on the Isle of Pines, it was a beautiful although the weather could have been better! The beach had amazing sand and clear blue water. It was kinda windy, so hopefully next cruise when we stop there, it will be warmer and I will snorkel!

It's a Mystery...

Vila!!!

We had a big crew drill this morning, so for two hours we were exercised in our emergency duties. I was extremely tired from staying up late the night before, but I finally made it though! A big group of us went for burgers at Jill’s American diner in town; we then took a cab to a resort with nice pools and swim up bars. I drank Tusker, Vanuatu’s own beer! Vila has the largest population in Vanuatu, so there are lots of things to see and do and plenty of resorts to check out!

Back to Wala island!

Back in Wala for the 2nd time, and the weather was beautiful! Candice and I snorkeled and relaxed on the beach! Wala is one of my favorite places, always sunny and very pretty!

Luganville, Vanuatu

I was scheduled for a tour today but the weather was too rainy so all tours were cancelled. A group of us hired a Vanuatu native to drive us around and show us Luganville, the 2nd largest town in Vanuatu. We drove by 4x4 to different beaches and over bumpy terrain through villages. We went to “Million Dollar Beach” where the beach is covered in remains from World War II. You can see it all washed up on the beach, very cool!
Later our driver took us to a little resort on the water where the owners created a platter lunch for us all to share. It was yummy, curries, spring rolls, rice, and salads! The rain withheld most of the day, John, Clair and I rode in the back of the truck, it was a lot of fun!

Still at Sea with P & O

Mystery Island...

Enjoyed sleeping in, ate a full breakfast, and then headed out by tender boat to the small island. Since it was my second time here I mostly just relaxed, read my book, and went for a little walk! A nice day!

Vila, Vanuatu

Vila was beautiful! This is where Survivor Vanuatu was filmed! In the morning I went on a great tour of Ifira Island where there is a small village of about 200 of the Ifira people. We paddled over to the island in Outrigger canoes, and then were served fresh mangoes, coconuts, bananas, and grapefruit, all grown on the small island! We were then taken in small boats out to the reef where we snorkeled for about an hour. I saw so many fish, the water was so clear and the viewing was spectacular! We later had a walking tour of the island, all the kids were adorable, waving, and giving out flowers! It was so interesting to see there homes, literally a whole different world from what we are used to. Later when back at the port, I met up with some others and we spent the afternoon at Iririki resort also on a private island, only accessible by boat. We swam in the pools, drank some cocktails and ate lunch by poolside. The resort was so nice, and had many bungalows perched out on the water!