The passage from Fiji to Vanuatu was a bit of a rough one. The grib files were somewhat off. (grib files tell wind direction and speed in a certain area) We were expecting light winds from behind for the first day or two, but what we had was light wind straight on the nose, a mere 180 degree difference. We unfortunately had to motor for a day and a half. After that we decided to becalm ourselves and save fuel. It costs on average $100US to motor for 24 hours. The seas were not all that calm so it was pretty rolly and a miserable time was had by all. The wind did pick up earlier than forecasted so we were able to pole out the jib and head off. Unfortunately the wind was fluky and the jib was still slapping a bit. On one big gust the whisker pole snapped in half and became a dangerous flying stick swinging wildly about, fortunately it was attached by lines and we were able to get it somewhat under control before David went on deck to deal with it. Bummer, because we most likely will not be able to repair this until Australia. (as a side note, we have received our Australian visas without having the chest x-rays done!) We carried on and decided to head south to avoid a big patch of rainy squally weather. We mostly were able to avoid it and had only a few hours of drizzly rough sailing. We were able to make Port Resolution in daylight and to our good luck customs and immigration were there checking in the boat Sophie so we were able to get the formalities done straight away.

The trip was not a total negative, in fact to some minds on the boat it was a great success. Namely Zack. The fishing was great! So great in fact that it warrants it's own paragraph. We were catching fish as soon as we cleared the fringing reef of Fiji. Unfortunately we were catching skip jack tuna. The boys don't really like skip jack and I hate cooking it so three of those were lucky enough to be sent back to the sea. This is big because we are totally out of fish at this point. We are holding out for mahi, everyone's favorite. Day two and the mahi are biting, big mahi. Over the course of the next three days we landed 4 big mahi, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet each. Zack did all of the reeling in and David handled the gaffing and cleaning. (the boys have eaten mahi for lunch and dinner everyday to the point that Zack was begging for spaghetti last night) About mid trip David was taking a nap and Zack hooked a big mahi. We decided to go it alone until the fish was at the transom. Zack got it in while I reeled in the second line and got the cockpit ready, throwing all cushions down below. Poor David was woken at the last minute and came out to do the gaffing honors but the fish was fighting hard and he shook the hook. Oh well, Flourgirl 4, fish 1. The freezer is now full.

We were all very tired from the passage and turned in early without going ashore. Mid morning a local gentleman rowed up to the boat in a dugout canoe to ask if we could make a cake for his daughter's birthday that evening. Ok, I can do that. The villages here are primitive, cooking is done over an open fire and if you are not growing it or hunting it, you are not eating it, hence no ingredients for a cake. The birthday girl would arrive home at 3:30 so I promised to deliver the cake prior to that. I wasn't quite clear if we were invited to the party or not. I found a doodle book that Zack hasn't used and wrapped it up with a couple of pink markers for a present. I whipped up a simple chocolate cake with some blackberry jelly for a filling and we headed into the village at about 2:30. We had a general idea where Patrick lived, somewhere in the middle of the island. Close enough. We tied the dinghy to a tree branch hanging out into the bay and headed up a small path. The soil here is volcanic and super rich, the island is lush and some of the trees are so massive that they must have been here when Captain Cook sailed in and named the bay after his ship the Resolution. It is a tropical paradise with flowers everywhere and we saw evidence that the villagers rake the dirt pathways and everything is clean, neat and orderly. The huts are framed with wood and the walls are woven pandanus leaves. We saw a couple in the process of being built. The school was a concrete structure with louvered windows, and a lot of children playing. The houses are in family compounds with a few to several huts each, spaced along the dirt road. We started walking along the road waving and saying hello to everyone we passed. All very pleasant with a sleepy feel to it. We came to a village that we thought would be the right area for Patrick's house and were hanging out under a tree talking to our friends MacPelican on the VHF radio when Patrick walked up. He invited us to his house, but we told him we were going to find our friends and would come back in a minute. We met them and headed back to Patrick's village. We stood under the tree talking to a few local gentlemen for a bit before we went up to drop off the present for Patrick's daughter. The crew of MacPelican was beat as they had only arrived at 1:00am the previous evening. We were also still recovering from our trip so we asked them to wait a minute and we would just drop off the gift and head back with them. We headed up to meet Patrick's wife and do the drop. We were most likely invited to the party. Patrick's wife spoke only French but was super appreciative of the cake. They had made us two ceremonial sticks with chicken feathers that are worn for traditional dances. Patrick said we were obligated to dance but from his laugh we knew it was a joke, good news for us. His wife had also prepared a special treat for us which she brought out on a platter decorated with hibiscus flowers. Patrick explained it was tapioca made in a special way with coconut cream on top. It was flattened and rolled like a jelly roll. We tucked in and well... It was interesting, different, certainly edible. We said it was delicious and asked a few questions to show our genuine interest. We put on a good show because we were invited back to learn how to make it. It was a pretty big portion and we needed to leave because MacPelican was waiting on us. They told us we should take it home and return the plate the next day. So we did and then we were able to share with everyone. Still the plate was not finished. It was some pretty heavy stuff. We were walking back along the path meeting and greeting as we went. We were talking to one woman and there were two little girls sitting on a rock. I could see them looking at the plate in my hands sort of pie eyed (this must be a very special treat here), so I asked if they might like a piece. Their eyes lit up and with a big "yes" they swooped in and cleaned the plate off. Took care of that.

We made plans to see Mount Yassur the next evening with MacPelican. The local guide Stanley drives you up in his truck. Mount Yassur is the most easily accessed active volcano in the world. Captain Cook called it the "Lighthouse of the Pacific". You can literally drive up to this exploding volcano. The drive to the volcano is about an hour through lush tropical forest on a rutted dirt track. Beautiful and well worth the drive. Villagers and children shout greetings the entire way. The children do little dances in an effort to show off for the tourists, it is hilarious. Bernadette and I sat in the back of the pickup with Finnley and Zack.

We drove up to Mount Yassur and it was surprising to see that there were about 20 other people there as well. All tourists from the main town of Lenekal. We hike up a short paved path to the rim on the volcano. You are standing on a sort of second rim with an ash slope below you that borders the edge of the fiery cauldron of lava. Like WOW! We were impressed just standing there looking at the pit of bubbling lava when suddenly we heard a roar and lava erupted out of the cone into the sky. We were shocked. Zack was thrilled, he was so into this volcano that a group behind us was enjoying the show he was putting on talking about the eruption more than the volcano. The volcano continued to erupt every few minutes. It was better than fireworks. Each blast had us screaming and cheering. The pictures will never do it justice, it was just that amazing, Once in a lifetime. There was explosion after explosion and a pyroclastic plume of smoke that looked like a bomb had gone off. We could feel the heat of the magma from where we were standing. At one point a piece of lava landed on the slope about 20 meters in front of us. In this same blast a piece of molten lave flew over our heads and onto the slope behind us. Our guide Stanley came with us to look for it but we did not find it. We spent about 2 hours watching the fire show and when we were the last group still there Stanley said it was time to go. We could have stood there all night watching Mount Yassur. It was a truly amazing experience. Will post pictures in a week or so when we get to Port Vila and have internet access.