Blue Lagoon and Octopus, Yasawa Islands , Fiji

We arrived in a downpour so quickly left Nadi on the Yasawa flyer, a very slick operation, that leaves at 8.30am distributing tourists at 20 odd resorts, turns around at about 1pm and then redistributes them on the way back, arriving back in Nadi at 6pm.

                 

                                           

We stayed for 3 days at Blue lagoon beach resort, a lovely resort if a bit overpriced, on Yacula Island. The sea was suffering from Cyclone Yasmin and there were showery squalls. But we still had  lovely day when we went for a walk over the hills.
The film was made over at Turtle island (seriously expensive) but the whole area is beautiful.

We then left for Octopus Resort on Waya Island. This is a more comfortable, better appointed resort. The reef started just off the beach and extended across the bay with lovely snorkelling. We met some very interesting people from all walks of life.

We have run out of Picasa web album space so wait awhile for update!!!!!!

Port Vila

We arrived down (or rather bumped down) in the tail of Cyclone Jasmin.
It was a busy time of closing bank accounts, saying good bye and preparing to fly to Fiji.

 



We called in to see the great work Emma (VSO nutritionist) had done at Wan Smolbag www.wansmolbag.org. Amongst other things she has created this canteen run by young people learning catering with appropriate wall messages.

We said goodbye at VSO office. They had bought us a chocolate cake and remembered Annie's Birthday was soon.

Unfortunately VSO is withdrawing from Vanuatu and they have said it will close by 2015.
A great pity and we hope AVA takes up the work.





   

We wonder whether we will ever have another chance to visit.
We certainly will not be able to recreate the life we led!
We feel we made a small difference and helped to consolidate the work that was already being done. We have met some wonderful people.
We are very grateful to have been given the opportunity and are very glad to have spent a year in Vanuatu.





This rainbow came out one morning just before we left. I was filled with awe and ..........

Departure

It has been a busy time. We are trying to imprint some of the wonderful experiences on minds.

                                                                                                                   

Morning time on our balcony.
The traffic has not started and some people are walking to work.
The sun is rising to the left and catching the trees on the right.
We have been wonderfully lucky.

We have been saying goodbye to friends, sometimes several times over, and giving things away. Here are a couple.

Pepe is a Samoan Kiwi and has been going great work with preschool teaching as a Kiwi volunteer with VSA. This is just outside the Post Office. She has beautiful lilt in her voice which we later found was typical Samoan.

Tony and Sue are an inspirational couple who have been in Santo for over 20 years. They are of the Baha'i faith and started a school for a few children and now have over 300 pupils. They teach the children respect and tolerance. if only the rest of the schools of the world would follow their example. Tony is solid Yorkshireman who still has a passion for cricket.

Cyclone Jasmin was doing its worst out in the Coral seas but our last morning was beautiful. They had flown all the planes to Santo and we spent all day in the airport before eventually leaving at 5pm.

 

 This gave Annie an opportunity to nip back into town to say goodbye to those she had missed!



A contingent of loyal supporters came from NCYC to see Annie off.

The last few days

It is time to go, our 12 months are up and we leave on Saturday 11 February.
It has been a time of tidying up, getting reports written and arranging handover notes for the next volunteers.
We sold the 'truk' on the wettest day so far. The day before, I drove through a puddle and the central locking went into overdrive clicking on and off randomly. A change of a fuse and drying out in the car port cleared the problem.

The weather is cyclonic with very heavy rain followed by clear sunny days. There are three lows in the region at the moment. Today was a beautiful sunny day but suddenly at 7pm the wind arrived and we will be in for a noisy night. just seen the tracking map
http://www.meteo.gov.vu/TropicalCyclones/TCTrackMap/tabid/173/Default.aspx
which predicts it to arrive at Vila on Wednesday, the day we fly! Ho Hum!



















There has been a farewell evening with Vanuatu Family health and a lunch with Wan Smolbag youth centre with lots of emotional speeches about why are you leaving us so soon and showing their appreciation of the help that Annie has given. The banana (plantain) laplap was cooked at home and brought in wrapped in its banana leaves parcel with a few hot stones inside. It was unwrapped to show the spinach/cabbage and chicken inside and Jeven squeezed the coconut milk on. It was delicious.

 We had a lovely 'bring and share' farewell supper with our friends. There was a huge plate of sushi from the Natangora cafe (run by a Japanese chef), a massive home made pizza, vegetable curry and a mountain of profiteroles supplied by Francois of Le Jardin de Saveur. A good time was had by all and we were given a splendid send off.

Graduation

Today was graduation day -- fourteen nurse practitioners and nine midwives.
They are all experienced nurses who have taken 10 months out of their lives, leaving families behind to sleep in dormitories and having to learn a huge amount from malaria to dental problems to how to run a budget.

Now they are finished and are having a celebration to commemorate the event. They designed their own gowns and had them made up by a tailor. First they gathered to wait for the Minister of Health. He arrived, was given his salu salu and led in by Pentecost custom dancers. He was in Santo for 2 weeks and had a huge entourage of chief advisory assistants to the assistant chief advisor.

Speeches were mercifully short and we soon came to the presentation of certificates. It was an excellent mixture of formality with the formal presentation by the Minister and then the relatives crowded round to put salu after salu on their good boy/girl. Some even got dusted with the customary baby powder. There were many bright dresses and the younger woman were wearing more fashionable dresses.

Then came the individual prizes with Steven Nako getting the academic prize (he finds it difficult to take praise), .... and Lolita getting the prize for most improved. (She had been a nun and had worked in an old peoples home in France  before taking up nursing. A joyous bubbly person who needs just a little of Steven Ns organisation!) Seven then gave a blistering speech about the poor living conditions, the lack of supervision and the desire to have more doctor input and more time. He was completely right nut not a man to make friends!

Later came the team photographs (with all kinds of unimportant people in the front row)

Congratulations!
We wish you luck and happiness in your future work.