Monday 30 May 2011

Sunday 29 May 2011

Anniversary in Aore

The 21st of May is our Wedding Anniversary and so we crossed the Segond Channel and stayed at Aore Island resort. www.aoreresort.com


                          

It is lovely resort with about 10 beach front bungalows and about 5 garden bungalows. The bungalows are spotless, simple, comfortable and well appointed with a small veranda in front. The pool is beautifully kept but we hardly used it as the sea is so close with lovely warm water and beautiful snorkelling.
               




There was a wedding party from Australia (the bride had visited Lonnoc Beach a few years ago and said if she ever got married she would like to be married there!) who had been to Lonnoc, tied the knot and came back to celebrate. We sat on the sidelines and enjoyed a lovely bottle of Chilean wine with delicious food, curried prawns and then poulet fish.



















    









On Saturday there was an island night with an excellent buffet and then island dancing. (I have recorded these details in order to entice a few family or friends to come and visit us. You will not have to rough it and the next blog shows the beautiful snorkelling)






The abductor comes!
Annie being abducted
 
The tiled floor detracts a little but we had not seen any custom dancing and these lads from the Torres Islands did very well with excellent rhythm and lots of energy. They had performed in the Expo in Seville so were well choreographed.

Sunday 15 May 2011

Pacific Partnership part3


 In  addition to the medical team in the hospital they had 5 teams going out to various far flung health centres. (Although their blog said one was only accessible by helicopter the NiVanautu seem to go by a plastic canoe with outboard motor or walk.)
Again the Eye team and the dental team did great work providing expertise and equipment in the way of glasses that are not available here. There are in fact 4 dentists in Luganville , two local and two Chinese but it would take them a fair amount of time to extract 1000 teeth and there are plenty more in need of attention.



I went with Nwarikar and Annie and a couple of the US health team to Tata School about an hour away. They seem well organised, again under a NSW Aussie GP this time from near Lismore. The eye group were particularly enthusiastic.


 People queued up in an orderly manner and waited patiently.


 The dentists did great work with two working with their assistants on either side of the hut.
Annie looking very harassed

 Even the men were vaguely interested.


The two happy US health people came for the ride and had a look around, not sure what they did.


Dr Torrin has great style.
 At Port Olry the island ladies organised lunch which some tucked into. Others stuck with the tried and tested dehydrated rations!


Back at the hospital these appeared which look great and I am sure will be put to use over the next year or so. It was a pity that our Physiotherapist was away helping the Vanuatu football team come third in the South Pacific league.






At the end of the day many people have better teeth and better eyesight. But the Circus has moved on and we are back to normal. If it helps people from richer countries to understand the needs of poorer countries that is a good thing but the contrast that the music and hardware represent to the rather perplexed bush folk is my memory.