Muscle Mass in Port Orly - Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sat 29 Aug 2009 01:06
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15:02.067S 167:05.058E
Note: Scroll down to the end for pictures and
descriptions.
On 8/17, after a quick one and a
half hour sail from Hog Harbor to Port Orly we arrived into a magical
spot. There was one other boat anchored at Port Orly upon our early
afternoon arrival. It was another American boat named
Sabbatical III, in fact, it was another Amel Super Maramu (the same
make and model as Harmonie).
Port Orly was a new spot for all of us, and we
were pleasantly surprised. The sun was beating down, the water color was a
bright teal green, jungle cliffs to the east and west, sandy
beaches and a small island in the middle of the bay. It was
beautiful! It took us about 5 minutes to decide that we would
be extending our stay from one to two nights.
After we got settled in Bill and I decided to go snorkeling, however, our
snorkel didn't last long. Some clouds blew in over the area casting a
shadow over the water. The shadows created a dark and
daunting atmosphere. An atmosphere that would have been perfect
for a shark attack scene in Baywatch, Jaws or a similar film.
Bill wanted to continue on around the entire island that was located in the
middle of the bay. But after having a vivid flashback to a dream
that I had three weeks ago about sharks, I simply looked at him and said,
"Nope, I'm going back to the boat."
That night we had the folks from Sabbatical III over for cocktails.
They had been in Port Orly for 12 days and had done quite a bit of snorkeling in
and around the island and reefs. During one of their adventures they
spotted a six foot reef shark. Needless to say despite the fact that
reef sharks are "friendly," I was glad that I had gotten out of the
water when I did that afternoon. I also left the snorkeling up to Bill and
Anne the next day, while I went and worked out on the beach. After last
year's monkey incident in Thailand and nearly getting trampled by an elk earlier
this summer in Rocky Mountain National Park, I am now consciously avoiding any
type of wild animal encounters.
In addition to snorkeling during the second day, Bill also borrowed a kayak
from Lady Kay and went for a short paddle around the bay. As he was
paddling away from the boat, I was taking pictures and he decided it would be a
good idea to flex his massive muscles. The momentum from the force of
his massive muscle contraction was so powerful that his kayak flipped over
and into the water he went ass over tea kettle. Anne and I were in
hysterics for the rest of the evening. It was quite a sight!
The next morning we took off for Lakona Bay on Gaua Island.
Tracy
Picture 1 - Harmonie and her sister ship, Sabbatical III at rest in the
lovely waters of Port Orly.
Picture 2 - Our own private snorkeling island - just a swim away from where
we were anchored.
Picture 3 - Billy and the amazing turquoise waters of Port Orly.
Picture 4 - Tracy on top of a bit of driftwood.
Anne |
