Vanuatu -Epi

On Epi Island we anchored in the bay, the only boat, and swum on the reef with turtles and a tame dugong. She was hard to see but Peter is convinced he saw her in the waves! The bay had a black sand beach with piles of white, dead coral at one end.  Assis, a local fisherman confirmed that the soft corals had died because of the Crown of Thorns (a rapacious star fish which munches the coral) and also the river spilling muddy water into the bay and reducing the sunlight. The reef is slowly regenerating, Assis took us out on his dugout canoe so we could give some pens and books to the local school. Perched just above the water it was an amazingly stable ride.

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