Vanuatu Sunday…

Well, we tried to go to church in Port Villa - the Anglican one, but had been given bad information re service times, however we met lots of parishioners and were able to spend some time in the church and visiting with the pastor. Then we were off to Iririki Island Resort for drinks, a swim and lunch. Helen and Robyn had stayed here in the past and were able to show us the ropes. A lovely interlude.




Long Island Iced Tea. Thanks Sheldon (big bang theory) I think I experienced similar effects!!

And finally from Vanuatu… can you read this? It’s phonetic and I chuckle every time we need a ferry to the mainland.

Vanuatu

Henry took us on a town tour. Learned some local history and were able to stock up on fabric and dresses from in Port Villa. Always interesting to meet people in their place of work and compare products here with those at home. We organised some tables and chairs for the women’s sewing group on Pele. 👍

On Saturday we attended church in Mele and met Henry’s wife, Alice and two on the younger children. He very proudly showed us the extension he’s been able to make to his home. Then off to view Hideaway Island from a pizza bar.

Vanuatu

A lovely day of mixed blessings. It was so special to visit Eratap village 

and Arthur’s family.

Dresses gifted to us by Arthur’s’ Family.


Village ladies preparing lap lap.

Spectacular light show after a delicious Melanesian Feast.

Vanuatu

What a team! Here we are, ready to get on the water taxi and off

To the mainland for our next adventure.

After a drive through Henry’s village - Mele - our next stop was the local coffee roaster and shop. Tana coffee is available in the restaurant here and I was also able to by some pods to try out in my Nespresso. I may have to get a regular order. 


We accessed lovely Pele island by banana boat and what a welcome when we arrived!! Lovely people and a great walk around the the village before a lovely local lunch. We were so blessed. 





The local village ladies who were available to meet with us. I don’t usually include food pick but we were treated to a delicious local lunch. 


I have a new tale about the origins of the coconut but in the meantime… the coconut / juice  combo was really refreshing on a hot day. ❤️

Vanuatu

Morning view at Erakor Island our Vanuatu paradise for the week. Very relaxing.

Blue Lagoon -  fab place to visit. Mixture of fresh and sea water so we floated well. 

I did jump in after testing with my toe and hesitating - quite a while. 🤔



Iguana and turtle rescue park. You could swim with the turtles here but we’d just 

dressed after a refreshing dip at Blue Lagoon.

I love turtles… what more can I say?

Beautifully curated and clean markets in Port Villa. A pleasure to wander around 

and chat to the locals. How lucky were we?

Osaka to Okayama and on to Hiroshima

New trip mates and heading…on south.

First stop was Himeji Castle. Simply amazing grounds and a magnificent garden. 

The gardens are famous grounds of another beautiful castle - Korakuen gardens at Okayama Castle. 

Browsed through a lovely old precinct called Kurashiki in the morning. Lovely buildings well preserved. The area is famous for its Japanese denim. 

Ferry to Miyajima Island and a visit to the famous Itsukushima Shinto shrine. Spectacular views across the bay. Lots of oysters for sale. Those oysters are seriously huge!!

Hiroshima War Memorial. We walked through the museum. Such a lot to read and a tribute to the folk who lost their lives. We dropped off our paper cranes at the kids memorial. Literally millions there. Think they must burn some and add the ashes to the rose gardens. 

Tokyo and off to Osaka

Back in Tokyo we farewelled our fellow farm to farm travellers and enjoyed a look around at leisure. We tripped up the Shinjuku Prefecture building for a last peek at Mt Fuji. Down below we met the Olympic mascots and saw information for the World athletics 2025 to be held in Tokyo.

Always fascinated by the food options and packaging as we browsed on supermarkets…

And on by bullet train (2 1/2 hours) and we were in Osaka. Just a short metro trip and then a wee walk and we were at our hotel. Our explore was beyond amazing. So many market style stalls down rows and rows of streets. We found a local restaurant and had a tasty bite although to be quite honest don’t think we really knew what we were doing. 😂😂

Final wow of the night was this kitchen shop. The photos really don’t do it justice. Toko Kitchens!!