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| Mystery Island, pre-cruise ship |
As we were leaving Fiji to head to Vanuatu, we overheard a conversation on the VHF radio between an approaching freighter and the Port Authority about a possible tsunami warning. We had cell phone service just long enough to find out that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake had hit just south of Vanuatu (the direction we were heading). We were right at the pass out of the lagoon, heading towards the ocean, which would have been a bad spot to be if a tsunami had come.
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| Obligatory no-pants fish picture... |
Out in the open ocean, we would most likely float right over
a tsunami wave without even noticing it. Similarly, a lagoon like the one we were leaving offers some
protection to boats anchored well within it. As for us, we were smack in the
middle of a channel with open ocean in front of us, but a rapidly shallowing bottom under the boat and reef or land on either
sides. A tsunami in that spot would have been the proverbial irresistible force
meeting the immovable object.
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| Catherine from The Southern Cross and Mark reading the Memorial plaque in Anelghowhat |
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| Produce for sale in Anelghowhat |
The conditions remained rough for the rest of the day. Fortunately, before we left, we pre-made chili to have for dinner underway.
Unfortunately, Conrad upchucked said chili 30 minutes after eating it and didn't make it out of the main cabin (think
floorboards with gaps around the edges, filled with chili remains). This was
the second time Conrad couldn't keep chili down on a passage, so we should
probably rethink it as a go-to meal for awhile, despite his request for more of it
the next day.
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| This huge canoe was built to prove a point in the dispute with New Caledonia over two nearby islands. It was never used when the Vanuatan government decided not to press the point with France |
Eventually, the wind backed around and calmed a bit. Conditions mellowed and we
even caught two yellow-fin tuna. The remaining two days were pleasant, and even relatively fast. Three days after leaving Fiji, the high hills of the Vanuatan island of Aneityum greeted
us and even provided a much-needed rainfall to rinse the salt from our decks.
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| A plane about to take off from Mystery Island. We got blasted when the plane turned around and throttled up. |
We have been resting and enjoying the sights. And doing a bit of floorboard removal and deep cleansing as well (otherwise known as Operation De-Chilify). The people in
the main village of Anelghowhat are friendly and welcoming, though in general more
reserved than the native Fijians. We met some of the friends that Field Trip made during their visit here earlier this year and scored some pamplemousse, which we haven't seen since French Polynesia.
Much of the village income comes from visiting large
cruise ships. One of them is scheduled to arrive/invade this Sunday. We are interested to see what happens to the sleepy, adjacent Mystery
Island when the ship disgorges 3000 Australian "marshmallows" (a term used by a fellow cruiser to describe the cruise ship tourists: soft, plump, white and easily burned) onto its tiny shores.
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| A beach goes all the way around Mystery Island |
