blue lagoon

the second one we visit after port antonio, jamaica. the water is brackish and the colors amazing. this great natural pool had some coral and fish.

around efate

because we could not stay too long in this great country and sail around its islands, we decided to rent a car and see the most of efate. we had an excellent day of very pretty sights and a lovely road trip. the high price was definitely worth it!! we were amazed of the many lot developments, and also of the magnitude and beauty of the real estate. By this we mean the tourists houses of course. all the local villages, except for port vila, live with no electricity and on very primitive homes. quite the contrast between these places and the tourist fancy neighborhoods.

port vila, vanuatu

Some 600 miles west of fiji is the country of vanuatu. we were greeted into these islands by dolphins jumping and spinning for hours just in front of our boat. since we arrived in this country we have been amazed of its beauty. Port vila, the capital is a very cool town with great restaurants. unfortunately they are very expensive, as mostly everything else in vila, but the quality of the food, and stores is superb.

wilson

someone told us the movie cast away was filmed in these group of islands. when we arrived in navadra island we wondered if the movie was filmed there. this was an isolated place with only one inhabitant…: Wilson!!! no kidding we were alone walking on the beach when we saw a volleyball identical to the one in the movie laying in the sand. We had great days in this place, playing robinson crusoe, eating coconuts, swimming in the most impressive coral and exploring paradise.

exploring the south and western islands

sailing the mamanuca islands was a blast. Not only the place is unbelievably beautiful but we also had great weather all along. all the islands are protected by an outer reef so there is hardly any swell. In one of them we arrived just in time to join a regatta, which we did not actually raced but we did enjoy the opening festivities with drinks, food, dances and a great crowd, which in these latitudes is mostly from new Zealand and Australia. We are in fact quite rare. In the entire event there was only one brazilian, and us making up for the entire south american crew.

visiting the FIJI plant

From lautoka; which is the second biggest city and port of fiji; we drove to the north coast of the island some 120 kilometers through very dry landscapes and lots of sugar cane plantations and mills to visit the fiji bottled water plant. the trip was beautiful and the tour of the plant very informative. We visited a few towns and sugar mills a long the way and learned a lot about this country’s industries: from the traditional sugar cane to the most contemporary one of the world know artesian water.

Beqa

some 30 miles south of suva after sailing for 6 hours in the worse seas we have had so far, we found a picturesque and quiet island with a very nice lagoon. We encountered our first little freak wave which heeled the boat violently on its side, every single door and locker opened. Gladly the entire experience lasted only a few hours after which we entered a beautiful and very calm lagoon and had one of the best sails ever!

in this part of the world, if you wish to anchor and visit someone else’s home you must ask for permission. in fiji this is done by offering a root called cava out of which the chief and the villagers will make some awful tasting drink which makes your mouth and lips completely numb but apparently is a favorite. when we arrived in the village the chief was busy attending mass and we were invited to join in the ceremony which turned out to have an outstanding choir. a woman in the village was kind enough to lend us some clothes as women are required to wear long skirts of the kind I am certainly not carrying on board. after attending church all properly dressed, we went to the chief’s house to offer the cava and he kindly welcomed us to the island! This entire ceremony was a first for us and one of a kind. We loved it and also the villages in this island, the people, the trails, the water and almost everything else except for the strong gusts of wind which we had all the time we were there; some up to 48 knots heeling the boat drastically while anchored and flipping our friend’s dinghies…. with engine! Not ours fortunately; which says a little of how heavy our tender is. great in the water but a sure headache when we have to bring it on deck.

colo-i-suva

this is a group of natural swimming pools and cascades inside a national forest and park. we spent a day hiking around the mountain with other fellow sailors. it was fantastic. we found a rope swing and had a blast!!!!