It was another formal dinner night tonight so... dress up night !!
Yummy desserts !!
And a stroll along the deck after dinner to check out yet another beautiful evening and sunset..
Our cruise to Fiji 28th November 2011 to 12 December 2011 with Pat & Glen
Saturday 3rd December 2011 At Sea
We are at sea today... which is nice to have a break and be able to sit around the decks or on your verandah and relax and just read a book...and let the ships staff waits on you :)
It was another formal dinner night tonight so... dress up night !!
It was another formal dinner night tonight so... dress up night !!
Friday 2nd December 2011 Port Villa
We docked at Port Vila wharf at 8am. which is located on Efate Island.
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu and these lovely islands are mainly volcanic ash, augmented by coral. There are more active volcanoes here than in any other part of the South Pacific. Some of the islands also have limestone plateaus which have been pushed up from the ocean floor.
The earliest human inhabitants came here sometime before 3,000 B.C. and found everything they needed for a full, rich life. Even today, visitors find it quite easy to stay in beautiful, untouched settings without any tourist services whatsoever.As if that were not enough, the genuine warmth and friendliness of the people provides the finest sort of welcome. Most of the islands are heavily forested, with coconut plantations along the coast. Nickel, iron and copper are also found here, but most of the products are agricultural, such as cocoa,cotton,coffee,sugar cane, and every type of fruit.
Vila is small but has an active harbour. Most of the city consists of one very long street,with branches and side roads. The central covered market place is a beehive of activity.
We had a stroll around town and checked out a few of the shops... Glen had booked in on a scuba dive excursion so he had left for the boat earlier, that takes them out to the diving reefs..
Pat caught up on her washing as always....verandah suites certainly come in handy sometimes !!!
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu and these lovely islands are mainly volcanic ash, augmented by coral. There are more active volcanoes here than in any other part of the South Pacific. Some of the islands also have limestone plateaus which have been pushed up from the ocean floor.
The earliest human inhabitants came here sometime before 3,000 B.C. and found everything they needed for a full, rich life. Even today, visitors find it quite easy to stay in beautiful, untouched settings without any tourist services whatsoever.As if that were not enough, the genuine warmth and friendliness of the people provides the finest sort of welcome. Most of the islands are heavily forested, with coconut plantations along the coast. Nickel, iron and copper are also found here, but most of the products are agricultural, such as cocoa,cotton,coffee,sugar cane, and every type of fruit.
Vila is small but has an active harbour. Most of the city consists of one very long street,with branches and side roads. The central covered market place is a beehive of activity.
We had a stroll around town and checked out a few of the shops... Glen had booked in on a scuba dive excursion so he had left for the boat earlier, that takes them out to the diving reefs..
We returned to the ship to cool off as it was very warm and humid in town the air conditioned ship was a welcome site..
We checked out the Princess theatre on our walk a bout John was sat down with all his friends lol
Tonight we decided to give the dining room a miss and go to the Pizzeria and have pizza.
Thursday 1st December 2011 LIFOU
We docked in Lifou early and we had to travel to the island by the ships tenders.
Lifou and the other Loyalty Islands are part of New Caledonia which, like Tahiti, is an overseas province of France. The Island is a center of traditional Melanesian culture.
The British Protestant missioners first arrived in Lifou in 1842, and converted many people in the southern area. French Catholics first arrived about 10 years later and made similar progress in the north
The traditional beehive houses are still common here, and the "grande case" ceremonial structures remain prominent.
As we strolled along we took in all the lovely sights of flowers and butterflies everywhere...
We came across the local grave yard, which was very colourful...
The island most memorable chapel is the "Chapelle Notre Dame De Louedes" which is also know as "Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes" which was built in 1898 above Sandalwood Bay to commemorate the transition to Christianity.
This is a view from the top at the ship
Lifou and the other Loyalty Islands are part of New Caledonia which, like Tahiti, is an overseas province of France. The Island is a center of traditional Melanesian culture.
The British Protestant missioners first arrived in Lifou in 1842, and converted many people in the southern area. French Catholics first arrived about 10 years later and made similar progress in the north
The traditional beehive houses are still common here, and the "grande case" ceremonial structures remain prominent.
John and I walked around the island and through the local village.. where the village people were selling their hand made wares, and offering cheap massages and braiding hair.
And the local folk happy for us to take a photo
Further along we came across the local church
As you sail into the island the chapel sits on the highest point and it glistens like a jewel in the morning sun..I decided not to climb the many many steps up the steep hill to view it..I saw it the last time I came here.. so John went up alone.
Once he arrived at the top of the island he was amazed to see that the church was "run down" and quite derelict. It looked so good from the ship it was hard to believe that the place hadn't seen a coat of paint in almost a century... but beautiful all the same...
This is a view from the top at the ship
On the way back we went to look at the local snorkeling spot to see if we could find Pat & Glen
We headed back to this ship to relax before getting ready for the evenings activities
After dinner we had a choice of activities in the Princess theatre they had an instrumentalist and vocalist Joey Finmano, they had Majority Rules Trivia in the Vista lounge followed by a Country and Western Hoe Down, so we headed to the Vista lounge
One of our favourite spots..
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