We left Port Moselle the day before yesterday - making directly to Ilot Maitre, where we rendezvoused and formed a loose posse with "Screensaver" and "Wombat", both Aussie boats. Then yesterday we sailed SE to Ilot Casy - the wind was a light SSE so it was a beat all the way - "beat" hardly seems an appropriate word as we were in a mere 8 to 12 knots with of course no swell as we are inside the fringing lagoon reef - so we were able to make it down in 4 comfortable albeit slow tacks. Most of the time we were sitting in the cockpit reading with one eye and keeping a lookout with the other. French pate and Reblochon cheese on pain de campagne bread and (expensive!!) imported New Zealand apples made for a gourmet lunch underway, then sundowners on Screensaver and back home for a Mahi-Mahi curry. Tough times. There are some nice walks ashore here, and the other boats haven't seen this island so we'll act as tour guides today for them, then probably go to the Isle of Pines tomorrow. Everyone who follows our blog will know how much we love Vanuatu and its people - we have a very strong attachment to the place and its culture. But we must admit, it's a nice contrast, but only in some ways, to be here in New Caledonia. The navigation aids are superb and well- maintained, the foods available are of huge variety, including many from home, and it's nice not to have to worry about remembering your anti- malaria tablets, nor to be concerned about catching scabies or other skin infection after meeting folks, and also to have unlimited fresh water wherever you go. So that makes this leg seem more like a holiday than an adventure under sail. But in the end we'd never swap Vanuatu for this - it's so special up there.