Port Vila, Vanuatu

Flag of Vanuatu 

 

We landed in the independent nation of Vanuatu this morning. Port Vila is the capital and it’s on the island of Etafe, one of 83 islands that make up the country. All the islands are tiny specks in the Pacific where 200,000 souls call home.

 

 

 

Like all of the islands around here, this one is lush with greenery, flowers and palms and papaya that seem to grow out of nothing.

Blue Lagoon

Wild Papaya

Two years ago a killer cyclone devastated this group of islands, and wiped a few of them bare, yet now there are trees and grasses in abundance. What does not regrow quickly are the works of man that take time to recreate. The homes and streets were destroyed and they are still being rebuilt. Today the capital  city is being repaired, a convention center is being built;

Parliament has been restored;

some streets are getting paved.  They are even expanding their port facility another 200 meters.

 

The people are a friendly group; more than willing to host haoles from the ships that visit about 3 to 4 times a month. While there are not stores per se, a thriving tent market opens with a ship is in town.

 

Housing covers the gamut from fancy

to basic.

Our guide did not have electricity and running water, yet when I asked if she wanted to live in one of the fancy houses, she said NO! She explained that it was too easy and folks needed to work to make a living. 

 

The people are water babies. Our guide said her 2 year old swims like a fish and does not want anyone to guide him. She said all the kids are like that.

 

Not all is heavenly in this island paradise. Unemployment is high at about 50%; wages are low, 1.60-1.80 and hour. A person can have a maid working for them for less than ten dollars a day, and that’s a good job. 

Beach combing

Jet surf board?

Local star fish

Clear water lagoon with star fish

Fancy Resort

Ordinary house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suva, Fiji

 

We landed in Suva this morning. After breakfast in the room, we ventured outside into the humidity and heat. Even with a nice breeze, both were righteous! We left the ship and were immediately assaulted by vendors selling taxi rides, as well as various sightseeing trips lasting from 1 to 4 hours. All of the vendors boasted busses with air conditioning, which is absolutely necessary. 

 

We walked through the gauntlet, took a deep breath and ventured out into the streets. It was the same but not quite as orderly. That’s when we decided we really did not need to see Suva again. We were here several years ago, and I doubt the basics have changed. 

 

What has changed is the Chinese presence. I’ve been reading that the Chinese are offering “foreign aid” to these little island countries.

Fiji is poor—China has cash—so China is offering projects to enhance the island and Fiji is taking the money and letting the Chinese build. 

 

 

The China Aided Project for Stinson Bridge and Vatuwaqu Bridge in Fiji

The writing is on the wall...if China decides that it wants to push it’s dominance in the region, all it has to do is put their people on these little islands they are quietly usurping. I’ve read that this is happening, but seeing it is different. The big story with Fiji and the other islands in the area is Chinese development ...and I do not think that bodes well for the west!

 

Fiji is a huge archipelago of islands

The hillsides are covered in greenery—enjoying the heat and humidity

 

 

Pago Pago, American Samoa

 

I think it’s October 10, but I’m not sure as we are going to be crossing or we have already crossed the dateline. I do know we are in Pago Pago instead of Apia, which is what it says on the itinerary. Pago Pago (pronounced Pango-Pango) is tiny, green, lush, hilly, tropical, hot and pretty. 

 

It’s the dry season right now, so there are not as many flowers as there would be in the wet season, but the torch ginger, mati, hibiscus and bougainvillea are definitely in bloom. Mati is a new flower to me. It’s a series of pink flowers that grows in a cone-shape.

 

Like all tropical islands, it’s green and lush. The vegetation grows everywhere...on buildings, cement beams, as well as on the ground. All homes look dirty, even when they are freshly painted, as the mold stains everything, forever. The homes are made of cement block or poured cement. There are a few wooden homes, but they don’t do well in the humidity or the typhoon winds.

 

The waters around the island are blue and relatively calm...at least today they are calm. The surf rolls in over a reef making for a riptide. Also there are not many sandy beaches, at least where we were.

 

We took a local taxi ride for 3 hours. We saw the “flowerpots” which are gumdrop-like formations in the ocean covered with vegetation. 

Then we drove some more and found the blow-holes in a black lava stone beach. I tried to take a picture of the water blowing thru the hole, but my timing was off.

I did see a shorebird picking at the lava. There are the requisite boonie-dogs and chickens, but it’s rare to see a cat in the tropics, I don’t know why?

 

The island has all the mod-cons. The LBJ Topical Medicine Center, an International Airport, Post Office, Consulate, Ace Hardware, Napa, McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. There are lots of mom-and-pop stores that sell just about anything from water to bingo supplies. 

 

 

 

 

We had a nice time on the island. Next stop is Fiji...keep watching this space.

Local Teachers taking a lunch break

Our ship, the Maasdam from an overlook

Our Guide — look at the carved and painted tree...it’s cleverly done

Our driver in a traditional lavalava

Local Police in uniform

 

US Flag, American Samoa Flag...and the McDonald’s Flag

 

 

 

Stuff To Do and Not To Do

Life on ship is easy. There’s stuff to do, and stuff to ignore. We seem to be doing a lot of ignoring. We had formal invitations to two soirées only to forget to go to them. One was a “meet and greet” with the officers, the other was to receive a medal saying we’ve sailed with Holland America for 100 days. I brought my invitation to the front desk and they were nice enough to give me my medal. While the invitations are nice,  we don’t need more opportunities to eat.

 

Regarding “stuff to do” I have been crocheting. I finished another teddy bear blanket and I gave it to Karen, the acupuncturist on the ship. She was delighted. We’ve also been reading, looking at movies and eating. 

 

 

Our next port of call is Pago-Pago (which is pronounced Pango-Pango) where I think we are going to visit an American National Park.

PS: this teddy bear blanket is buttery yellow

 

 

Honolulu, part 2

 

 

 

Our second day in Honolulu. It’s been a nice respite from sea days. We’ve not done much here except go ashore to get some stuff that we needed. When I took my walk this morning at 6:45, the clouds were incredible. By noon, the clouds disappeared and the day warmed...

 

 

Then the clouds returned about 4 and we were treated to a rainbow. It’s called the “land of rainbows” for good reason.

 

 

 

 

Hawaii is also a huge container port, so we’ve been seeing lots of traffic outside our window. This afternoon a Matson container ship passed by, and all but two of it’s containers were Matson. That’s a rarity.

Honolulu Images

Honolulu with the Aloha Tower

The Maasdam in Port

Aloha License Plate...the land of rainbows

Gotta go to Walmart...there’s a free shuttle here which we did NOT take

A cloudy day which is very nice...not too hot, not too humid! 

We are here for another day!

 

Another Blanket

Another Teddy Bear Blanket has been completed. I started the blanket when we were in Canada in the summer...then I fell and discovered I could not work a crochet hook without causing shoulder pain! So I stopped crocheting, which I was not happy about, but there was nothing I could do about it, except heal. I guess I’ve been healing, because now I can wield a crochet hook with the best of them!

 

I laid the blanket out to take this picture, when a nice lady said I was a gifted crocheter! She “oohed and aahed” about how pretty the blanket was, so I asked her if she knew of a baby on the way and she did, so I gave it to her! She was shocked! She asked if she could pay for it, and I told her to give a donation to her favorite charity. Pay it forward...so there’s a new baby blanket out there spreading joy in a couple of ways. Does it get any better than that!

Recognize Diamondhead?

 

 

PS: we just docked in Honolulu. We’ll be here for 2 days.

PS2: I don’t know why the photo of the blanket looks like it’s been stained with coffee...it is a pure white blanket!

Life on the Maasdam

We are getting into a routine on the ship. We order breakfast in the room between 8 and 830. A neatly dressed waiter rolls our goodies into the room and our day begins. It’s always a nice way to start the day with a yummy breakfast we didn’t have to cook.

 

Some days I walk the Lower Promenade Deck for 2 miles. Other days I go to the gym and use the treadmill then do my PT exercises.  My shoulder is feeling a bit better. I had a big “dose” of PT yesterday with both exercise and acupuncture. I even have some acu-pressure points on my ears that I can push should the pain in my shoulder become worse...and believe it or not, the acu-pressure points work!

 

Then it’s time to relax in the hot tub. There are only 2 public tubs on the ship (it’s not a big ship). They are in the “Lido Dome” which is on Deck 11 of the ship. The dome opens and closes according to the weather, but the dome is usually opened so that the hot tubs are in the shade, which is perfect. 

 

Yet another change of clothes and it’s time to go to lunch. There are choices to make here. We can have lunch in the formal dining room, or we can go to the Lido and enjoy various cuisines from all over the place. We choose between fresh pasta, pizza, sandwiches, Sushi, salads to tacos or burgers and more...the list goes on and on. Then to finish off the lunch, there’s the desert bar with scooped ice cream. 

 

After lunch I play trivia, which is not a blood sport on this ship. It’s just fun trivia. So far, my team has yet to win a prize but we are having fun deciding on answers. Do you know the largest province in Canada or who is the voice of Ella in Frozen—the questions cover a lot of categories.

 

After trivia there’s more choices to make, such as a lecture, a movie, a cooking program (ATK is here) or the library. Yesterday we saw “Churchill.” Sometimes it’s a nap in the comfy chairs in the library or a dip in the pool or nothing at all. The decision is ours to make.

 

Then it’s time to go to dinner. We have “any time dining” which means a different table every night and a different set of table mates.  We could also go at any time between 530 and 930. We have opted to have a set time, 530, as that seems to work well for us. We’ve been asking for a “4 top” which allows us to talk to another couple. So far the arrangement has worked out well. Last night our table partners escaped from their early dining  assignment as their table mates spoke German and after 3 nights of trying to have a conversation with them, they just gave up and decided to try any time dining.

 

After dinner there’s usually a show in the main theater. There’s also venues for music and dancing and trivia. We’ve been trying to sample all that is out there. There’s also a huge DVD collection onboard, so we can retire to our room and look at a movie of our choice on our flat screen TV. 

 

A day in the life of the Maasdam is pretty nice!

(PS: The Pictures

1-the elevator rugs are changed daily—otherwise we would not know the day of the week

2-just a pretty light fixture

3-the atrium lobby on the Promenade Deck...Holland America does not waste space on luxurious atria...this one is a bit more exciting than most of their atria

4-See the clock—clocks are rare on shipboard..this one is on the main deck. It’s important to know where the clocks are as the time is changed regularly)