Friday 9^th October 2015

The weather has continued to be wet and windy, and we have spent most of the last few days on the boat.  The anchorage has become a bit lumpy as the wind swings round more towards the east, and going ashore in the dinghy is a very wet affair.  This morning, though, the sun was shining and we decided it was time to get off the boat and stretch our legs.  We packed a lunch, went ashore in the dinghy and set off to find White beach.    First stop, though, was at the clinic on the school campus, to ask if the nurse could make use of the antibiotic powder and cream we had brought with us.  The clinic was closed, so Steve found a young chap who said the nurse was called Nancy and he would take us to her house in the village.

She was not at home, so we said we would return later, and asked if he could tell us which way to go for White beach.  He very kindly explained that the beach is divided into two areas – one for the tourists, for which we would have to pay entrance fees, and the other for the locals.  “I will take you to our beach so you don’t have to pay”, he said, and off we went on a path through woodland.  Ten minutes later we could hear the surf breaking on the reef, and shortly after came out onto a beautiful white sand beach.  We were told to stay at this end of the beach, and given instructions for how to get back if we walked to the rocky point, and our guide left us to enjoy the beach.

Looking towards the tourist end of White beach.                                              The locals’ end of White beach.

We wandered along the beach towards the rocky point.

The surf was crashing against the black volcanic rock and sending spray high up into the air.

We wandered along the water’s edge and found some interesting shells and pieces of coral.  White beach is on the outer shore of the land that forms and protects the bay at Port Resolution, and the sea was very lively that side.  Seeing it reinforced our decision to wait for the strong winds to abate before leaving the relative calm of the anchorage.  We climbed over the black rocks in the hope of getting back round to the beach where the dinghies were, but it became too steep and we turned back.  Instead we found a pathway through the trees and walked along it until we re-emerged back in the village.

We went back to see if Nancy was home now, and found her washing beautiful freshly picked lettuces in a bowl outside her door.  Hers was one of the few houses built from corrugated metal.  After introductions, she invited us inside and offered us some watermelon.  We showed her the medicines and she was glad to take them.  She is a retired nurse, and the only medical person in Port Resolution.  She used to open the clinic every day, but now only does so twice a week.  She has run the clinic for the last five years as a volunteer.  Without her, the village people would have to get a lift in the truck and ride for two hours to get to Lenakel.

Steve and Nancy outside her house in Port Resolution village.

Weaving palm fronds into mats for inside the house.                                      An interesting use of a spinnaker pole – to make a goal.

By now we had worked up an appetite, so we carried on back to the yacht club and ate our picnic lunch there.  We toyed with the idea of walking to the small beach we could see in the entrance to the bay, but decided to go back to the boat for a siesta instead.