Easter Weekend

Two years ago we had a memorable Easter weekend with Sandra, Sara, Stefan and Edel on the shores of Lake Victoria and this year we spent the weekend with two other VSO Volunteers Lucy and Jackie on the east coast of Santo.
Lucy is a sexual health nurse who is working in the Torres and Banks Islands in the north. It is challenging what with the rats eating into everyone of her 12 cartons of milk we sent her and into her food cage, the apparent lack of vegetables especially as she is a vegetarian and the large amount of travelling she has to do in small open boats with outboard motors. Fortunately vegetables are now coming in since she put the word out.

Jackie is working in Governance with the local Councils in Port Vila and which council wants anyone looking over their shoulder. So finding it challenging to engage and wondering how long it takes to be accepted.

So off we went up the East Coast road recently built by the Americans with the help of the New Zealanders to Lonnoc beach resort.
The views are lovely, the beach front delightful and a lovely place to relax. Food was somewhat basic with an especially requested vegetarian option producing an omelette with a very runny centre that needing reheating.

Richard Lo a Vanuatu /Chinese /Australian owns the best supermarket in town and runs several other businesses. His daughter Isobel was marrying an Australian Ryan Gerathy and they were taking over the resort for the next night.

So next morning we had to move out but were able to witness the preparations as food was prepared, flowers arranged and garden swept. Cooks were bought in from the South of the island and lorries arrived with booze or flowers or food. We heard it was a great success.

We stopped at Oyster Island for a snorkel over beautiful plate coral and then an hours paddle in a canoe up the river to a 'blue hole'. This is where an underground river comes to the surface and forms a pond about 50 metres across with an intensely bright blue colour. Next day we went out to million dollar point  ( see previous blog) and had our Easter day picnic. Later it was home to a cup of tea and a patisserie from the French Restaurant.
That evening we went to Le Jardin de Saveur. We had warned the chef about two vegetarians and he had said 'No worries, we will see what we have in that day!'. We were a bit anxious but he produced an excellent spread of about six different vegetables cooked in different ways with different flavours and Annie and I half wished we had made that order. The creme brulee that followed was something that memories are made of.

Next day there was a VSO gathering and here is the evening in the Chinese Restaurant after a hard days work. Clockwise from Annie is Helen (Uganda) Sexual health on Malekula, Marty (Phillipines) Governance in council on Santo, Lucy (UK) Sexual health Banks islands, Colenso (Nivanuatu) her partner, Nwarikar Annie's partner at Vanuatu Family health, Jenita (Nivanuatu) VSO in Vila, Lemarco Annie's partner in NCYC, Neil (UK) IT in local council, Whelma (Phillipines) VSO Country director but started life as VSO volunteer in Iringa in Tanzania  and Julius (Kenya) Laboratory specialist. Missing is Eric (Kenya) Sexual health on Ambae who could not come as they cancelled the flight and next flight is Friday.