Sitting on our little porch alternating between gazing out to sea, watching the insects in the plants and writing, I felt a little like Alfred Russel Wallace and could imagine staying there longer - providing I had someone to bring me cool drinks! It was a veritable paradise. Tiny palm and papaya flowers, vibrant blowsy hibiscus flowers dotting the ground, ‘sea almond’ and ‘beach apple’ trees (my name for them) spread great branches like giant oak trees shading the fringes of the beach, bananas and papayas hung invitingly just a little beyond reach. Butterflies fluttering constantly around ferns depositing their eggs. With no one to spoil my reverie I daydreamed - what luxury!
I longed to go swimming but the sea became rough and I was nervous to go in alone because of strong currents and reefs. The black sands were warm under foot from geothermal activity, and at low tide village people clustered around headland rock pools filled with warm freshwater spring water to wash their clothes (we saw these hot springs elsewhere along the coast). Young kids dived for large shellfish and tiny fish then roasted them on small fires under the trees.
And then the ground shuddered as an earthquake hit sending small tsunamis crashing close to our bungalow. Exciting but a little unnerving.
It is a place for stillness and solitude - and it’s for sale! If we weren’t so hell bent on travelling to the ends the earth while we can still lug our own bags, I reckon we might have been very tempted. Anyone out there interested can check www.friendlybeachvanuatu.com for the latest.
Thanks as always to our marvellous travel manager, Bev Edwards, who makes everything go so smoothly.
Thanks as always to our marvellous travel manager, Bev Edwards, who makes everything go so smoothly.
We were staying in the south-east corner not so far from the volcano
The road into our bungalows- Fruendly Beach Bungalows. It was pretty and pretty steep!
Our bungalow tucked into the edge of the jungle.
A very comfy bed with a very effective mozzie curtain. The bungalow was very romantic festooned with flowers and the bathroom built straight onto coral, beach and volcanic stones.
The porch where many hours were idled away.
Our beach
Palm flowers
These kids were digging themselves into the sand to warm up having just harvested a bunch of shellfish off the reef
These little greyband umber butterflies never stopped moving as they deposited their eggs on the hapless tree fern. The lava of course eat most of the leaves before they have a chance but c’est la vie!
Villagers washing in the pools of warm fresh water at low tide
This was another beach further around the coast where the same thing happens at low tide - warm fresh water, bubbles through in to the pools, hot enough to cook inbut the villagers wash in it.
I collected a handful of tiny lines for our cooks to use in the kitchen
Another strange lime - dozens of seeds but tasted wonderful
Wild cherries with little flavour but the passion fruit were simply scrumptious
The road into our bungalows- Fruendly Beach Bungalows. It was pretty and pretty steep!
Our bungalow tucked into the edge of the jungle.
A very comfy bed with a very effective mozzie curtain. The bungalow was very romantic festooned with flowers and the bathroom built straight onto coral, beach and volcanic stones.
The porch where many hours were idled away.
Our beach
Palm flowers
These kids were digging themselves into the sand to warm up having just harvested a bunch of shellfish off the reef
These little greyband umber butterflies never stopped moving as they deposited their eggs on the hapless tree fern. The lava of course eat most of the leaves before they have a chance but c’est la vie!
Villagers washing in the pools of warm fresh water at low tide
This was another beach further around the coast where the same thing happens at low tide - warm fresh water, bubbles through in to the pools, hot enough to cook inbut the villagers wash in it.
I collected a handful of tiny lines for our cooks to use in the kitchen
Another strange lime - dozens of seeds but tasted wonderful
Wild cherries with little flavour but the passion fruit were simply scrumptious
No comments:
Post a Comment