Today we arrived at Vanuatu, former location of one of the Survivor reality shows. We arrived a bit early and were greeted by huge crowds of taxi drivers on the other side of a chain link fence all shouting at everyone to use their taxi service. It was a little overwhelming as a small group of us all stood on the opposite end of the fence wondering who was going to go out first. The rates for taxi hire were posted (for approximation) and the several of the numbers were helpfully rubbed out so they could really charge about what they wanted. Pete is great with this stuff so I let him negotiate with someone and we got a cab for the entire day for $150 (vs the $250 that was posted. Peter: I think I could have done better but I’d read online the going rate was $100-$150 and we started at $100 for only 2 hours).
Our first stop was this Mele Cascade Waterfall swim. Because ridiculously early Peter had us off the boat before anyone else we were actually the first people to the Waterfall. I knew it was a small hike in but had no idea we’d be hiking through tons of little streams. Parts of it looked a little more daunting than it was but the pay off of getting to this insanely stunning waterfall was so worth it. Henry loved being the “Diego The Explorer” of the group. He led the way and point out all the dangers! Being the first people to arrive we were there a good 30 minutes alone in our own little private paradise. Coming up the waterfall you felt like you were in the opening credits of a travel or nature video. Again, no camera could capture the beauty that your eyes witnessed. The water seemed pretty cold at first but after about 5 minutes I could have stayed there all day. Henry and Grant were champs the entire way there and back climbing and clambering through all the rocky terrain through smaller waterfalls.
We came back to find our cabbie waiting for us to go to Hideaway Island. Hideaway Island features the world’s only underwater post office. We of course had to buy a couple of underwater postcards to mail to the boy’s classrooms. After writing them out Grant and I had to swim out to the post box and dive down with goggles in order to put them in the underwater mailbox. It wasn’t very deep down but it actually took us a good 7-8 tries before we could actually get it in the mail slot. Snorkeling we found a huge octopus right off the shore that was fascinating to watch. We swam a bit more and had some fish and chips on the beach (and Peter enjoyed a couple of the local “Tusker” beers) and then headed back through some markets and back to the boat. We’ve prepped the boys with endless talks about different cultures and being respectful but it still doesn’t stop Henry from wondering out-loud “WHY DOES THIS STORE SMELL LIKE FARTS???”. Always a work in progress. Also, an interesting note, on the way back we ran into some friends from the boat that told us about their crazy excursion on a longboat yesterday in Fiji that capsized in the rapids! They lost 2 iPhones and a camera. They did ok otherwise but a number of the more elderly (the vast majority on the ship) had quite the scare! While sometimes I may complain about all the additional equipment we bring with us, I’m so glad Peter is uploading our photos nearly nightly. I’d be so upset to have lost them all.
Another really cool day that makes me really appreciate sharing this amazing adventure with my guys.
Mele Cascade Waterfall….
Hideaway Island and the Underwater Post Office – Grant and Henry posted post cards to their classes here….
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