We have posted a new photo album of Anatom and Tanna, the two southerly islands here in Vanuatu. We are now at anchor in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu on the island of Efate. This is a complete lifestyle change. There are cars and paved roads here. There are baquettes and French cheese. A favorite spot is Au Peche Mignon, a French café and boulangerie. The locals wear shoes. They brew a tasty local beer they call “Tusker” – nice lager. The list goes on. Port Vila is a fairly sophisticated city in a very delightful third world sort of way. It is still Vanuatu, there is the big open produce market and kava bars, but it is the capital and feels like it.

Like Papeete, Tahiti, Port Vila is a “funnel” or cross roads where yachties from all over stop in for fuel, maintenance, important mail, and provisioning before moving on to other destinations. So, there is much activity compared to the quiet of the outer islands where we will be headed, once we receive some important mail we have coming.

Meanwhile, we will enjoy the urban life and hope for sunshine. It has been raining for over a week and it is surprisingly cool. Today, I am wearing a turtleneck and am quite comfortable. (Still in shorts and sandals though!)

Speaking of cross roads. The other evening Elisabeth spotted one of the “Pacific Voyagers” – a big, ocean going, traditional, Polynesian canoe, called a “vaca”. There are seven of them, and over the past couple of years, they have sailed all over the Pacific. When we were in San Francisco last fall, these vacas had landed there. We spent an afternoon on the boat from Vanuatu, and took two of the guys to lunch. That very boat is the one Elisabeth spotted, so we went over to say hello and catch up with old friends. It turns out that the guy we had lunch with had already been dropped off on his island. No worries, we were told how to reach him. It will be fun to see him soon. The Pacific Voyagers program is very very cool, and I hope you give them a visit at: http://pacificvoyagers.org/

Love and hugs from “Your Rock and Roll Argonauts”