{"id":747,"date":"2018-07-19T06:26:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T06:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.around-the-world.ca\/?p=747"},"modified":"2023-11-13T23:12:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T23:12:36","slug":"vanuatu-the-volcano-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.around-the-world.ca\/de\/2018\/07\/19\/vanuatu-the-volcano-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanuatu – The Volcano Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football World Cup 2018<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/span>After our experience in New Caledonia, Ueli and I had high hopes for Vanuatu<\/a>. Upon our arrival, we paid a standard taxi fare of USD 15 to get to our hotel in Port Vila.<\/p>\n

Saying there was a football mania because of the World Cup 2018<\/a><\/span> is an understatement. Every car, bus, taxi had a flag proudly hoisted from the side-view mirror. And no matter who we spoke with, the first question was \u201cwhich country do you support on the World Cup 2018?\u201d Several Brazil fans followed closely by France fans, England, even a few Germany supporters. Ueli was proud to mention his home country Switzerland each time because they won against Brazil and out of the sudden everybody knew Switzerland in Vanuatu.<\/p>\n

Port Vila – Exploring & Planning<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Our first stop was Travellers Budget Hotel<\/a><\/span>, a family run 7-room hotel where we met backpackers from Chile, Germany, Colombia, Australia, Austria etc. The most interesting was meeting the Olympic weightlifting team from Papua New Guinea. They were on their way to the Solomon Islands for the South Pacific games. Very keen on sharing their experiences and curious about ours, it wasn\u2019t until two hours later that Ueli and I realized that we need to go to the tourist office.<\/p>\n

We wanted to visit the island of <\/span>Tanna<\/a>, home of <\/span>Mount Yasur<\/a>, the most accessible, active volcano in the world. Trying to stay within our budget, it seemed difficult at this point to be able to experience the volcano since flights were expensive as was the accommodation. But the curiosity about the volcano and the island overpowered our frugality. So, we booked our flights and accommodation in <\/span>Tanna<\/a>. We were fairly warned by several tourists about what can be expected on the island, as far as comfort and general facilities are concerned. Considering it would be 2 days in <\/span>Tanna<\/a>, we were willing to accept whatever little comfort in our fate.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, we had a few days in Port Vila. The city itself was sparse, with washed-out buildings surrounding the main roads which themselves were worn down subject to weather. With no sidewalks, pot holes everywhere we looked, one had to be careful of the potholes in addition to the swerving cars trying to avoid even bigger gaps in the road. Once we ventured out, branching put from the main roads, onto the smaller side streets, we walked past smaller communities, villages where residents had set up make-shift shops in the open outside their houses, selling coconuts, taro<\/a>, mandarins.<\/p>\n

Public Transport in Vanuatu<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rumour has it, I haven\u2019t confirmed it myself, that income tax doesn\u2019t exist in Vanuatu. As a result, there is no governments funded public transportation available. What is available, however, is privately driven mini-buses with a capacity of 6-7 passengers. We identified these buses through a \u201cB\u201d<\/a><\/span> on the license plate. Once we knew which direction our destination was, we firmly parked ourselves on the roadside and hailed down a mini-bus which were dime a dozen. Since these are privately owned, we had to ask the driver if he is willing to take us to our destination. The driver almost always had a friend in the passenger seat who would deal with the payments etc. The payment; 150 Vatu (approx. 1.50 USD) to go anywhere within the city. You had to be lucky to hail down a newer, more comfortable van. Our first ride was in a mini-bus which must have been the oldest model around, with an actual portable table fan perched up in a corner for the \u2018comfort\u2019 of the passengers and lastly, to my horror, live spider webs in the corners of the van. So of course, my ride was spent carefully watching the webs and its host to ensure I was not trespassing in any way.<\/p>\n

Strolling around the town<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/span>That afternoon we walked by the port where the locals were celebrating a day-off. We sat among the locals, families enjoying a day out with kids and toddlers, and couples trying to enjoy quality time together. Ueli and I stuck out, Vanuatu natives are Melanesian<\/a> which could indicate the darker skin tones, as opposed to Polynesians<\/a><\/span> with lighter skin tones. I waited at the park while Ueli went to an ATM and during that 30mins, Bob Marley\u2019s \u201cI shot the sheriff\u201d played on a loop. Not that I don\u2019t enjoy Bob Marley, but I was happy to be moving on. We walked through the markets where locals set up shops for souvenirs made from coconut shells, clothes, local foods. My favorite; Banana chips, of which we bought 4 packets; 2 to consume, 2 to carry (Ueli wasn\u2019t thrilled about this decision)<\/p>\n

Hideaway Island, Port Vila<\/strong><\/h4>\n

How does the idea of staying on an island small enough for only one resort sounds? Well, it sounded great to us and luckily, we were able to book the last room available so we hopped on the chance and booked ourselves in for 3 nights. The bonus for us was that Hideaway<\/a> is known for its snorkeling adventures on the house reef and an underwater post office<\/a>. Our next ride in the mini-bus was to the ferry port going to Hideaway island<\/a>. The island owned officially by the neighboring village on the mainland, was leased to an American couple who ran the resort. The resort consisted on bungalows, self-contained villas, and twin-share rooms. What did we have? The twin-share room with a shared bathroom about 20 metres outside. My liquid consumption decreased drastically as soon as I realized it was shared bathrooms.<\/p>\n

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Hideaway island resort – One of our favorites<\/p><\/div>\n

To much information? Oh well! We were immediately greeted by \u2018Wednesday\u2019 the Dachshund<\/a> puppy who was tired from the chase. I can\u2019t get enough of house dogs in the smaller hotels\/resorts. \u2018Princess\u2019 the stray pup that had been adopted by the family run Travellers Budget Hotel<\/a><\/span> in Port Vila was just as adorable. While Princess had a rumbustious personality, Wednesday was more docile, only flashing her needy eyes at dining guests trying to coax them into throwing food.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Anyway, our room was four walls void of natural light, buried in the back of the resort. There were mosquito screens on the window but the tiny holes in the screen were big enough to allow sneaky mosquitoes through. We only found this when after having clapped our hands and killed what seemed liked hundreds of mosquitoes, they seem to keep emerging in larger numbers. It was war! Ueli with the mosquito spray aimed at the entry point, and me getting ready to light the coil. We may have shortened our life span by a year or two after spraying the whole bottle, but I am proud to have won that battle. The night was mosquito free.<\/p>\n

Hideaway’s sea life<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/span>The next day we snorkeled and encountered fish like we\u2019re never seen before. And an abundant amount! The underwater post<\/a> was a highlight. We posted a few cards but it is a challenge to swim 5m below the surface to post. We might have disturbed an octopus from its nap but the stupendous camouflage made it difficult to notice t he tentacled creature. But once we did notice it, it was a sight to be seen. Unforgettable! Completely awestruck!<\/p>\n

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Vanuatu Underwater Post<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span>That night, the resort had a movie night scheduled by the beach. \u201cThe Mummy\u201d played on the screen with the sound of crashing waves in the background. Not a bad way to spend the evening eh! The next day, Ueli went for two morning dives while I decided to finish some long overdue, much needed, administration work. Especially since we wouldn\u2019t have electricity for the next two days.<\/p>\n

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Diving at Hideaway island Port Vila<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span>Tanna – Home of Mount Yasur<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Arrived at the airport just in time, we boarded a bigger than expected jet. A mix of tourists and locals on the flight.<\/p>\n