We spent a quiet night at anchor in the quarantine area, where you are never quite sure of your holding, and the grinding of coral can be heard. Quarantine was quick and friendly.
Later you are required to visit customs and immigration ashore.
It was pleasant to return to familiar Port Vila. In the morning we called up Lemara at Yachting World and were led in by the work boat to our mooring buoy behind Iririki Island.
Lemara remembered us from 8 years earlier.
We renewed our acquaintance with Tusker, the bia blong Vanuatu.
The local market was still vibrant with good produce.
The live produce, certainly fresh.
Friends to celebrate with
Our mates from Melbourne, Liz and John made a flying visit. They stayed at Iririki Island, a couple of hundred metres away from our mooring.
While the youngsters favour board shorts these days, John opts for the traditional budgie smugglers at pleasant Hideaway Island.
We all hired a car for the mandatory circumnav of Efate on the new bitumen road.
We lunched on the north east corner at the Beachcomber to the wonderful harmonies of a local band.
Nurcan, a friend of our lads, was working in Vanuatu for a couple of weeks for Origin Energy and we shared a top night on Jacana.
Info for yachties.
The best supermarket is Au Bon Marche. As you leave the Waterfront Bar and Grill (the location of the dinghy dock), turn right, away from town, and You'll find the new supermarket a short 10 minute walk away on the west side of the road. This supermarket has a much wider range than the other branches in Pt Vila itself. Wi fi on board is good from the anchorage and we paid for it online. We do use a boosted wireless antenna extension so we can get the antenna up high. If you haven't got one it will serve you well through the pacific. We coupled ours with an alpha antenna and had few complaints. Several of the pubs offer free internet to customers.
A decent pho can be consumed at the Vietnamese restaurant in town.
It is easier to dinghy over to clear customs at the commercial dock. You are not allowed to tie up to the dock, but it is simple to tie to a pandanus tree 20 metres to the east and walk into the port to customs. The forms are long winded, but painless.
It is smart to ask for a set of forms for clearing out. This way you can have all the paperwork done in advance.
Surprise, surprise, but you fill out the same long winded form to depart.