We have stayed 4 full days at Anelghowhat (the spelling varies) on Anatom.
The weather hasn't been so good and the temps have been cooler. But its been
great interacting with the village and exploring their tracks. The people
are very friendly and the very young kids are absolutely delightful. Pat has
a whole gallery of shots of these very cute kids grinning at us - probably
shows how much he is looking forward to grandchildren! Yesterday was Vanuatu
Independence Day, so they marked it with a series of speeches and a sports
day. We arrived just as the speeches were finishing (thank goodness) and sat
down to watch teams of 10 to 12 year olds (including girls) play. And they
were good. The pitch was much closer to an extended sand bunker than a
football ground - which probably explains why their ball skills were so
good. We had a few locals come and chat to us which was nice. And apparently
while that was going on, we got officially welcomed to the celebrations by
the man with the microphone. Trouble was that the welcome was in pigeon
English (known as Bislama) and it went straight over our heads! Anyway it
was a nice thought on their part. Pat and Nigel tried a spot of snorkeling
in the lagoon this afternoon - their first foray into the water.We will get
away early tomorrow to sail to Tanna and Port Resolution from where we can
access the famous Yasur volcano. But the anchorage is marginal in strong
easterlies and that's what we may have tomorrow. If we cant get in we will
probably have to keep going and sail through the night for Efate, the main
island of Vanuatu.
