Its really nice to settle into Port Vila for a while. Yachting World Marina has laundry services and a fuel dock, and there's a casual restaurant at the foot of the dinghy dock. The friendly staff are so accommodating and relaxed that we're just running a tab and will settle up when we were ready to leave. Nice!

The main street is populated with a variety of retail shops, restaurants and services, and its often hard to find a break in traffic to cross the street. I don't think I've ever seen so many mini vans! License plates that begin with a 'B' are buses, and they will often pull over to pick you up at any point along the road if you wave them down. Vans with license plates beginning with a 'T' are taxis, and will take you absolutely anywhere. Their rates are often negotiable- sometimes no more than the bus rate! But for the most part, we prefer to explore by foot, and the city centre is small enough that you can find anything you need within walking distance.

The huge Market is open 24 hours a day and is filled with the tastiest organic tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers you can imagine. Its very difficult to get good local fruit at the moment though, as the last cyclone wiped nearly everything out. (On a side note, the only obvious remnants of Cyclone Pam's devastation 6 months ago are numerous boats scuttled up against the shore, waiting no doubt for insurance settlements to finalize or absent owners to make arrangements to tow them away.). There are plenty of open air cafes and restaurants along the road, which are great for people watching. We found a fabulous French cafe with pastries so good that Tom can't resist taking time out each afternoon for a treat. A constant stream of people parade by, mostly locals, with a few fair skinned (and often sunburnt) tourists peppered in for interest. Most are from Australia and New Zealand. I find the local women most entertaining to watch as they pass by in their bright, colorful floral print dresses. The children are beautiful. Many people smile and say "Halo" as they pass by, and everyone is courteous and polite. You can always hear laughter as groups weave past each other on the narrow sidewalks. I can see why travel guides often advertise Vanuatu as being 'the happiest place on earth'.

One of the highlights of our time in Port Vila was a trip to the Mele Cascades Waterfall. The scenery from the base of the trail all the way up to the highest set of falls was so spectacular that we couldn't believe our eyes. Postcard perfect views surrounded us all the way up to the top - landscape architects couldn't have designed anything more beautiful. Trickling brooks glistened in the sunlight, lilies and bird of paradise added splashes of color and dimension beneath a canopy of vine covered trees. Butterflies followed us along the path and we hopped across rocks and waded across streams as we made our way up to the falls. Numerous lookout points provided vistas of the hillsides below and immense blue sea beyond. The roaring waterfall at the top tumbled 200 metres into the cool (and swimmable) pool below. We've visited a lot of waterfalls in our travels over the years, but these ones are hard to rival.

We spent so much time in Fiji this season that we're feeling pressed for time here in Vanuatu. And there is so much to see and do! So after a night out for dinner and entertainment at a nearby resort to watch the 'Wan Smol Ba Vanua Fire Dance' show after sunset (very impressive!) we made preparations for another overnight sail - this time to Espiritu Santo, which will be as far North as time will allow us to go in Vanuatu.