Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Home is Where the Anchor is Set!



And it is currently set in Analgawat Bay, Anatom Island, Vanuatu! It was really a pretty easy passage, all things considered.... it was only three nights and three and a half days, there was one hot water burn to a hand, one case of severe stomach cramps and the furling halyard on the genoa seized up so we had to take down and stow the genoa our last night out. We stuffed the genoa down the hatch in the forward head, so we are down to three people and one head so that is a little rough too!

It is pouring cats and dogs! So much so that I can hardly see the island from the anchorage. What I can see of it looks very lush and the perfect breeding ground for malaria carrying mosquitos. Corie suggests that we immediately begin to fortify ourselves with gin and tonics against the malaria! Is it the gin or the tonic that is the antidote?

We are in a new country and have a new, sharp learning curve to climb: currency, pidgin English, food, navigation, kava, kastoms. In the kastom villages men still wear nambas (penis sheaths) and women wear grass skirts. Everything is celebrated with traditional dances complete with head-dresses and masks or painted faces. Then there are volcanos to climb, yellow sharks to observe (from above this time)and world famous kava to share and people to meet. Land-diving, the precursor to bungy jumping began here as a ritual to insure a good harvest! Vanuatu is know as the Happiest Country in the World! Imagine traveling through a country where everyone is happy, directions are easy to obtain and bus drivers are eager to engage in conversation!

In the meantime, we are waiting for the customs officer to come out to the boat and check us into the country. Once we are cleared in we can go ashore and dive in. Stay tuned!

R of Rutea
Analgawat Bay
20.14.33 South
1699.46.6 East
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At 12/30/1899 12:00 AM (utc) Rutea's position was ??°??.??'N ???°??.??'E

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