Photo credit to Norman.
We arrived in Port Vila to a pretty mild afternoon. The welcoming musicians were amazing. It really gave a great feeling to the place. The airport was reminiscent of our little airport here in Palmy, not surprising considering Port Vila is smaller than Palmy. We had a short wait to go through customs. A hint for getting through customs quickly…have something to declare…the line is always faster, in my experience.
Once outside we found a taxi…or should I say a taxi driver found us. To my surprise he said he could fit 4 adults, 2 children and ALL our luggage into his sedan??? Because the law’s in Vanuatu are very lax! No seat belts required, and you can cram bags in and tie them down pretty well. That was the beginning of our experience with transport in Vanuatu with many more interesting experiences to come.
Our 1st night was pleasant, not too hot and our 1st meal was OK. We had a smorgasbord meal joining with a team from an Auckland Presbyterian Church leaving for home the next day. 6 of our team had been in Vanuatu for 2 days already and had spent some time with this other team.
The next morning was an early one, rising at 5.30. We were leaving Port Vila to fly to Espiritu Santo Island for our week in the village. This morning gave us our 2nd experience of transport in Vanuatu. The day before Pamela had booked 2 taxis to take the 10 of us to the airport. When the Gregory’s arrived at the front desk we could see frustration on our friends faces while a couple of them were trying to tell the desk people to ring and get more taxi’s because none were coming! Finally ONE yes one taxi arrived!!! So we thought it most important that the moderator andher husband and the 2 eldest others go in this taxi. Then after a while another taxi arrived. But get this, it was the size of a Nissan Micra and was supposed to fit 4 adults 2 children and luggage? Uh-uh, not going to work! So the Gregory’s waited and hoped that something would turn up SOON! In the end Steve went out and waved down a van, as we were loading the van our taxi arrived, LOL, but we went with the van anyway!
When we arrived at the airport the queue was LONG and not moving fast! As it turned out the computers were down, LOL. And most people nowadays have computer generated tickets. Are you getting a good picture of Vanuatu’s systems? Definitely Island time in all it’s glory. Finally we were checked in and had our hand written boarding passes. Andthe call came to get on the plane. As we enter the rear of the plane an overwhelming scent hits us…Island body odour…thankfully our seats were right at the front!
After an hours flight we descend into Luganville, a new looking airport surrounded by Palms. As we disembark we are hit by the heat! I guess it is a little like going from Palmy to Auckland, an hours flight and quite a different climate. We entered the building and were greeted by some of the staff from the area we were going to. We waited for our luggage to come off the plane. It was passed through a little window, no conveyor belts here. We took our luggage out to our waiting vehicles, hoping it was a better experience than earlier in the morning. They had a Ute and a van waiting, YAY. All our luggage and the Moderator andher husband were loaded onto the Ute. Though I am not sure Pamela would like to be referred to as being loaded onto, LOL. The rest of us went in to van and made our way through Luganville, stopping to stock up on essentials such as WATER and a few other things for the boys to eat. The road was initially nicely sealed but it wasn’t too long until it was NOT. Dirt roads and lots of pot holes made for a very bumpy jerky 45min ride. Even with the bumps Isaac still managed to fall asleep. When we got to Talua Ministry Training Centre, our home for 5 days we were greeted by Roy wearing his snorkel gear hoping to get a good reaction out of Isaac and that he did!
We arrived at around 11am and were welcomed by the secretary of the centre. We were told to sit and chat with each other andlunch would be served around 12.30. So we had to fill in a couple of hours. After about half an hour the children from the pre school emerged andmy boys started to kind of make friends while kicking a soccer ball and climbing a frangipani tree.
After lunch we were told where we would be staying…finally! Although Mama Lynda approached me before telling everyone because they had made a mistake with us. Despite being told numerous times that we were a family with a 10 and 2 yr old they didn’t realise how young our kids were. The billeting arrangement they had was that Steve and i would be with one family and the boys next door with another. Clearly that wasn’t suitable with Isaac so she thought Isaac could go with Steve and I and Tobyn on his own with the next door neighbours. In the end I had Isaac and Steve went with Tobyn. We were billeted with Ministry Students and their families. Our families both had 2 young children, 6,3,2,2. And they were awesome people, so welcoming and giving! In fact they gave us their master bedroom and the parents went in with their children and they all slept in the floor! The houses were very basic, though I think better than in the villages with thatched roofs andhouses that might not stand up to some storm conditions. But they were 2 bedrooms and a study with a small living/kitchen/dining. Cold water only and no cooking facilities in the house. The students lived in groups of houses, 3 to a block and our billets were right beside each other so that was good for us!
One big plus for me was the toilets! Men and woman toileting and shower areas were separate. Sadly for the boys their toilets were quite a walk away, and Tobyn got caught out a couple of times in the night 😦 I was expecting a long drop, but yippee we had flush toilets..but wait…visitors even had their own toilet which had the only working door. BUT…the flush did not work, so we had to fill a bucket with water and slosh it down the toilet. The showers were communal and COLD. I wasn’t looking forward to showering Isaac or myself in those showers. We were lucky to be able to use Pamela and Roy’s facilities. Being the moderator and husband they got special treatment and had private sleeping area with ‘ensuite’. So when it came to showering our family it was communal, much faster and easier!
OK, do you think that is enough for one post? I do. Hopefully I can keep other posts more succinct, but somehow I don’t think my waffly nature will disappear too quickly.
Read Full Post »
A Woman and her Boys 