February 7th, 2020 – Luganville

So I missed sending an update to the blog yesterday, as it was Waitangi Day (NZ day of colonial significance), and Trevor and Michelle had invited all the volunteers round to their house to celebrate.

Trevor had cooked up a really good dinner, but before we plated up, some good formalities took place to mark the occasion. Firstly, Wayne, as most senior person present, was selected to read out the NZ high commissioner’s speech which the high commissioner was delivering simultaneously at the high commission in Port Vila. It was a well-written speech, although to my mind it focused a little too much on the difficulties and challenges that international diplomacy hopes to overcome. This meant there was quite a lot of doom and gloom before getting to the lighter stuff.

Then followed a couple of waiata (Maori songs) led by Thomas. After that, we tucked into the delicious food (coconut curry with paratha), followed by some tropical fruit for pudding.

I had bought a bottle of that Vanuatu whiskey (see previous blog post) as a gift to say thank you to Trevor and Michelle for having us, and I cheekily asked for a taste, as I was curious to know if it was any good. It was drinkable, but not in large quantities, and you’d want to mix it with something first. I felt it tasted weaker than the (handwritten) 36% sticker on the label would suggest. I suspect it is simply distilled sugar cane, cut with water and then with food colouring and caramel flavouring added rather than actual whiskey, but hey, I’m glad I got to try it.

It was while at the Waitangi meal that Brigitte told me I wouldn’t be flying out to Malekula on Friday as planned, but that the schedule had been pushed back a couple of days, and now the plan is to leave on Sunday. A tad disappointing, as I’m eager to get started in my role, but it allowed me to get another load of laundry done before leaving for parts remote.

During supper, the rain started to come down pretty hard (it had been raining on and off the last couple of days), and then throughout the night and most of the next day, it rained and rained with a ferocity unfamiliar to those of us who don’t live in the tropics.

Fortunately, there was a brief break in the rain around sunset, which meant all the volunteers once again gathered, this time at the Deco Stop resort, which I’m told is the usual Friday night hangout. I took my togs and went for a swim, which was most refreshing.

Now it’s started raining again. Things are getting pretty wet and muddy. The other volunteers are pretty blasé about it, recounting stories of heavier rain when in other tropical locations, but I think this is a pretty extraordinary amount of water coming down no matter where you’re from. The road through town is deteriorating at such a rate that there won’t be much road left if the rain carries on like this for another week or so. So long as the plane can take me to Malekula on Sunday…