Tradition Sailing Charters

Offering daily sailing excursions aboard Tradition, a 50 foot traditional gaff rigged vessel built in the West Indies in 1978. One of few hand-built wooden boats still sailing in the Caribbean, the ship offers guests an exclusive feel with a 12 passenger maximum and managed by a crew of three offering on-board beverage service.  Tradition offers its scheduled Tropical Cay Lunch Cruise four times a week, its Little Bay Half Day Sail, scheduled two days a week, its evening Champagne Cocktail Sunset Sail scheduled four days a week and private Romance Escape sails.

For further information www.sailtradition.com

Luxury Lifestyle Professionals

One of Anguilla’s leading destination management and concierge services, is now offering new snorkeling and sunset cruise tours.  Snorkel tour guests cruise to Sandy Island and Prickly Pear Island, two of Anguilla’s most picturesque off-shore cays; with complimentary snorkel gear and open bar included, snorkel tours run Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. Friday evening sunset cruise guests receive memorable views of Anguilla’s breathtaking sunset with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in hand. Both snorkel tours and sunset cruises can be enjoyed on a shared excursion or private charter for small groups and events. Reservations are required for both snorkel and sunset cruise tours, for further information www.luxurylifestyleprofessionals.com

For Visiting Auschwitz Poland, part 1

Mentality at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland

The Nazis destroyed evidence of the gas mass killings by blowing up the buildings. Anya told us they liked to use gas because they didn’t have to look at the person while he was being killed.

How could the guards do this every day?

“For the most part,” said Anya, “guards were ordinary people who could kill by day, and then go home and be loving fathers and husbands.”

This was confirmed by Jerzy Kowalewski, an eighty-eight-year-old Auschwitz survivor. I attended a seminar he had given in Warsaw.

He said: “I had been imprisoned for being an underground resistance fighter. Somehow I was given work at the commandant’s home. One morning he invited me to have breakfast with his family. There were eggs, bacon, real coffee….everything. He was wonderful to me. That afternoon I saw him take a pistol to a prisoner’s head and shoot him. It made no sense.”

Gas came out of the nozzles on the shower wall.

Procedures at Auschwitz Poland

We found ourselves looking into Room Five of the so-called, Death Block. These barracks held the “court rooms” where the prisoner was tortured into confession, tried, and sentenced to death. The table that had been a part of the “sham trials” was still there. The Gestapo found everyone guilty.

Father Maksymilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest who was interned at Auschwitz, offered to take the place of a man who was about to die. The Nazis put him in the “Starvation Cell”…to remain until he died. Today, a simple bouquet of chrysanthemums and a candle mark his cell. In 1982 he was canonized by the Catholic Church.

Life at Auschwitz Poland

Anya showed us where they removed the prisoners’ clothes and marched them out naked where they were shot in front of the “Death Wall.” Their bodies were placed in gravel pits in and around the main camp.

At the daily roll call, the entire camp stood in their meager rags as the SS guards called out their names. The roll call was given as a collective punishment for the wrongdoing of just one prisoner. The inmates stood for up to four hours in the rain and snow. Some of the extremely weak and sick prisoners would die in the lines during the roll call.

After roll call, the prisoners received their ration for breakfast. They were given 10 ounces of bread with a small piece of salami or one ounce of margarine and brown, weak coffee, with no sugar.

Empty gas canisters

Remembering Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Even after Anya had presented the evidence I still couldn’t put it all together, until we saw the barracks I call, the Evidence of Living. The people began to become real.

Anya took us into Block (or Building 5). On either side of the middle aisle, behind glass, were piles fifteen feet high of human hair on both sides. Rows of long braids popped out at me first. Ironically, I did not see any grey or dyed hair. In a nearby case, a three by five foot blanket was on display. It had been made entirely of human hair.

For an hour we looked a piles of eyeglasses, artificial limbs (from WWI vets) shoes and suitcases, and other items of a personal nature.

It has been sixty-seven years. With such overwhelming evidence, people will not forget. In fact, photography is encouraged, so that the world will remember. In addition to all the visitors, once a year 8,000 schoolchildren make the mile walk from Auschwitz I to Auschwitz II (Birkenau).

It is fitting that Rudolf Hess, the first commandant of Auschwitz, was hung in 1947 a few feet away from where he murdered his victims.

Making a Visit to Auschwitz Poland

Travel:
- Auschwitz to Auschwitz II-Birkenau is a 20 minute walk, or you may take a taxi.
- Krakow to Auschwitz is about an hour’s bus ride. Catch the bus at the main bus depot at 18 Bosacka. You could take the train, but it is not as convenient.
- Auschwitz to Krakow buses can be found in the main parking lot next to the Auschwitz I entrance.

Lodging:
- Oswiecim (the Polish name for Auschwitz) is a town of about 4,000 people and does have a few hotels. However, we found the Auschwitz experience to be so profound, we had to go back to reality to try and sort out what we had just seen. We stayed in Krakow.

Food:
- There is both a café and cafeteria at Auschwitz I. The people at the information center are very helpful.

Lodging Krakow:
- Our tour stayed at the Radisson Blu, a large chain hotel. It was rather impersonal, but featured a fantastic breakfast buffet. Very centrally located, just off the Old Town Square.

Dining Krakow:
- I heartily recommend the Wesele right on the Square. It reminds you of an old country inn. Polish cuisine. I had the goulash in a bread bowl – superb.

Written By Wynne Crombie
Wynne Crombie has a master’s degree in adult education and teaches ESL at a Chicago comunity college. In the late sixties, she taught 5th grade with the DOD schools at Aviano AFB, Italy and in Berlin, where she met her husband of 45 years. They have traveled ever since.

Discovering Australia’s Golden Heritage

If it was 160 years ago, I’d be squatting in mud swirling my pan away hoping to strike it rich. While I can still squat and try my hands at gold panning, the gold rush is no more and my chance of discovering anything more valuable than pebbles and dirt is as slim as winning the national lottery, however it is still possible to at least attempt to live the lives of those who came here for the golden fortune in today’s Ballarat.

Ballarat During the Gold Rush

Ballarat is Australia’s most iconic mining city. It all started in 1851 when gold was discovered at the foot of a hill nearby which began the ‘Gold Rush’ era which brought people from as many as 19 countries to Australia for a piece of the natural wealth.

Today, I am re-living the experience in Sovereign Hill, a theme park like attraction where actors are hired to dress in period clothing, speak in period tones and live life as if it were still 19th century Australia. I browse the Victorian general store for copper pans and china cups, visit the village blacksmith who is pounding away at a piece of iron like his life really depended on it and dodged the drunks that stumble out of the ‘hotels’ swearing their lives to the Queen. Among it all, children emerge from a school to be photographed with the modern day dress aliens that have paid entry into their fantasy world.

Coffee, Markets and Gold Nuggets

I had started the day sipping a cup of strong coffee from Bridge Street Mall in the center of the city while walking through the city streets admiring all the Victorian architecture. From the Town Hall to the train station, from the major roads to the side streets there were history imprinted everywhere, with a bronze Queen Victoria looking onto art deco cafes, boutique stores and galleries wedged in between.

I peer lustfully at an imitation ‘Welcome Nugget’, a piece of gold found in 1858 that weighed a whole 68kg and the second largest gold nugget ever found being displayed in the windows of The Mining Exchange Gold Shop on Lydiard St. While the Welcome nugget is now pieces of British sovereigns, the gold dream is still alive and cross my fingers for my own attempt later at Sovereign Hill.

Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka

Before going to experience history I thought I’d first learn its details and pay tribute to one of the most important event of the Australian Gold Rush era, the Eureka Stockade. On the site of this significant Australian history is now the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.). A large Eureka flag flies proudly on the site of the rebellion where the original, torn flag taken from the site in 1854 is now being displayed in the museum, along with events of world democratic movements.

Armed with my newfound historic knowledge and a built up falsified confidence of being able to find gold, I am now panning furiously in a mud pool in Sovereign Hill, eyes narrowed and focused on the smallest possibility of glitter. Alas, luck is not on my side, but I am able to put theory to practical understanding through the spectacular Blood on the Southern Cross light and sound show.

On the morning of our departure from Ballarat we head over to Lake Wendouree for the Ballarat Lakeside Market. The tranquil lake is said to be the heart of the city and we sit on the grass, morning coffee in hand and dream of golden thoughts on this enchanting place.

Written by Amy Huang
Based in Sydney, Australia, Amy Huang is a writer stuck in the corporate world. A Business Analyst by profession, she works her life around travelling and has managed to squeeze in postgraduate studies in writing somewhere in between. Amy met her husband in 2006 while working on a community development project in Peru, and the travel-holic pair celebrated their love by getting married in Vanuatu in 2010. Amy keeps a blog on various travel topics at www.footprintsandmemories.com

The musicianship of both Mr. Gunn on flute and Chris Fossek on guitar is to be admired but the beauty of the playing on this album is that they leave the musical egos at the door. The melodies, chords, and percussion throughout the entire album take center stage and take us on a magical and hypnotic journey through the jungles of Mexico. The spoken word vocals of Mrs. Dana Kemmerle give a certain sensuality to the music without getting in the way of the performances of the musicians.

Each song on the album relates to some experience Nicholas had while in Mexico. In reference to the song from water to wind says Nicholas “We sought freedom! We sought the water on our skin and the wind through our hair, dropping in at the best beach spots around the island. Going from water to wind all day was invigorating! We also stopped in for a Tequila tasting at the local tequila ranch—now that was a great idea!”

photo of Nicholas Gunn, Chris Fossek, and Dana Kemmerle from the album Thirty-One Nights

Thirty-One Nights

is the perfect soundtrack for kicking back at the beach, putting your headphones on and chilling out with a frosty drink in your hand and a lover by your side. It’s also the perfect album for just relaxing and losing yourself in the music. The music paints a picture of sunny beaches, deep jungles, and romantic evenings. While Mr. Gunn’s albums generally fall under the World/New age categories you could easily add Ambient/Jazz/Classical to the list. It’s really difficult to call this one style or another because it encompasses so many. The soothing sounds of the flute supported so perfectly by the flamenco guitar, tasteful yet simple percussion, and sensuous vocals make this album a sweet mix of great musicianship hand and hand with great songs and musical atmosphere.
“I wondered and I sought to calm my mind. I pondered love. Love for my music, my love for her, her love for me, love for my family and friends, universal love. Love is all that matters. It is out of love that I give this musical gift to you, a soundtrack for your own inspired path.”

– Nicholas Gunn

Aime Caron is a composer/musician currently living in Los Angeles, CA. He was born and raised in Taunton, MA and received his bachelors degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from the Berklee College of Music in Boston MA. He is a multi-instrumentalist and his main instruments are piano, guitar, and flute. He has a particular fondness for World Music though anything with a good groove and unique harmony/melody interests him the most. Mr. Caron has spent extensive time in the Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Moscow Russia where he was exposed to a diverse vocabulary of music from around the globe, like music by Nicolas Gunn.

Peru Travel Specialist Launches New Family-Friendly Itineraries

Aracari Travel, an award-winning travel agency based in Lima, Peru, has announced a range of new family-friendly tour itineraries for summer 2013.

Responding to increasing demand for family-oriented experiences in Peru, Aracari Travel has developed two itineraries that incorporate the destinations, accommodations and activities that are most suited to younger families with children aged up to 12 years old as well as families with children aged 13 years and older.

Family Friendly With Adventurous Activities

Both itineraries include a broad range of adventure activities, educational visits and opportunities to meet and interact with local people and communities.

Activities for the younger itinerary include a trip to the Amazon rainforest, treasure hunts, interactive weaving lessons, a chocolate workshop and fishing excursions. The tour also includes a visit to Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Cusco.

The older itinerary includes more adventurous activities such as surfing, mountain biking, hiking and driving sand buggies. In addition to visiting Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Cusco, the older itinerary adds the Nazca Lines, Lima and Paracas National Reserve.

Growth in Family Travel to Peru

Interest in family travel to Peru has grown rapidly in recent years with Aracari Travel noting a substantial increase in family requests since 2010. The Lima-based company attributes this to improvements in travel infrastructure and hotel accommodations as well as a growth in the number of destinations and activities suitable for younger travelers.

This is particularly the case in the Amazon rainforest where a number of lodges have developed activities specifically for children, such as interactive rainforest trails and child-friendly field guides that are designed to teach youngsters the value of the natural environment.

Other family-friendly activities have become widespread throughout the country over recent years such as horseback riding, quad biking, hot-air ballooning and kayaking. Short treks have also become popular with day treks and short camping hikes that are more manageable for younger travelers.

A Changing Trend in Peru Travel

Marisol Mosquera, founder of Aracari Travel, said: “When we first started in this business Peru was generally still a backpacker destination with very little to offer families, especially younger children. These days almost a third of our groups are traveling with their families, which is incredibly exciting for me.

“Peru has so much potential for families and younger travelers. I have been traveling in Peru for many years with my own son, who is now 11, and the experience for a child of traveling in a country like this cannot be over exaggerated. Our country offers so much for younger travelers, not only the fun and excitement of our outdoor adventures but also the richness of our culture and history that can be such an educational or even transformative experience for any youngster.”

www.aracari.com

Jinack Island in Gambia

It would be impossible to find Jinack for almost anyone except for the native people who have grown up paddling their hand-carved pirogues through the passageways of sandbars, mangroves, and still stretches of water. Luckily for us, a long-time friend of Peace Corps volunteers Yankuba Mane greeted us warmly as we climbed unsteadily into his rocking wooden boat.

“Ladies first,” said Yankuba in his chipper Gambian English. He motioned for me to sit at the front of the pirogue. I took my seat and tried to not to scrabble at the sides as the giant canoe tipped to one side and then the other as my friend and Yankuba also climbed in.

Sailing Toward Jinack Island, Gambia

Yankuba paddled us into the channel of calm water lined by mangroves, their spidery roots plunging into the sandy depths of the brackish water, their seeds hanging off branches like spongy-headed sea creatures. I watched pelicans bob like bath toys near our boat and a white stork picked his leggy way across a sandbar. Every now and then a flash of silver would break the mirrored surface of the water as another small fish leapt to catch an insect. My heart caught at every ripple in the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive dolphins and manatees known to live among mangrove habitats.

The first sight of civilization after the unbroken expanse of mangroves was a mountain of oyster shells that would be used to make the mortar integral to the building of the islanders’ houses. I laughed as another pirogue rocked by, sporting the name “Barack Obama” in bright yellow, green, and red block letters. Palm trees lined the beach and other fishing boats littered the shore.

We thanked Yankuba and promised to meet him here the next day. While there was a hostel on this side of the island, my friend assured me that the one on the other side of the island, about a 20 minute walk, would not only give us a small tour of the island but the pleasure of miles of white sandy beaches completely to ourselves.

Jinack Lodge in Gambia

True to his word, we soon came upon the Jinack Lodge, built right beside the crashing waves on the far shore. Small bungalows speckled the otherwise completely deserted landscape and a high-lofted room completely open to the beach and decorated with tortoise shells and blue Christmas lights draped among the whistling pines served as the office, bar, and dining hall.

We were the only guests, and so we spent the day building sand castles on the beach, swimming in the ocean, playing Frisbee, and lounging in the hammocks unfettered by the social niceties that come with sharing a communal space with other guests. We were the kings in our own kingdom and we made the most of it.

Finally, we ended the day with a fire under the stars. After being so hot for so many days in my village in the south of the country, I was more comfortable than I had been in a long time huddled in a quilt next to the fire, warmed against the fierce ocean wind. It was in this state that I drifted to sleep, dreaming of the dolphins I might see tomorrow on our way back through the mangroves.

Whitney’s Helpful Information:
• Although we went from the Senegalese side, planning your trip out of Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, would be a much easier option. It takes about 30 minutes to get from Banjul to Jinack.
• Useful languages for the trip: English, French, Mandinka, Wolof
• Money Sitch! The Jinack Lodge will accept Senegalese cfa, but that side of the island mostly takes the Gambian dollasi. $1=500 cfa= 25 Dollasi

Getting there from the Senegal side
- Take sept place from Dakar to Kaolack, then from Kaolack to Karang (the Banjul car)
- In Karang, take either bikes, motorcycles, or a charet to the village of Bakindik.
- Call Yankuba (+2203579285) to take you to Jinack in his pirogue. He charges the fairest prices. Other boats will try and rip you off. Expect to pay between 2-3 mil one way.

Getting there from the Gambian side
- Take Jinack Lodge tour boat from Banjul to the island. Make travel arrangements through Jinack Lodge.

Helpful Contact Information:
jinacklodge.com
Yankuba Mane (pirogue): +2203579285
Amadou (Manager of the Jinack lodge): +2207778935

Written By Whitney Jenkins

Whitney Jenkins, raised a country girl on her family’s cattle ranch in Nebraska, has always had a taste for adventure. After graduating from Creighton University with a degree in creative writing, she joined the Peace Corps. Now she lives in Senegal and works with local farmers propagating fruit tree orchards as a way to make her local community more sustainable. Whitney’s talents include singing with her mouth closed, disturbingly accurate impersonations of Jay Leno, and finding the magic in every place she goes, including Cape Verde.

Libertyville, IL, April 9, 2013 – Party-loving travelers alert! Tourcrafters is offering a one-week package to two Spanish hot spots that starts at only $989.  Their Barcelona/Ibiza package, which departs every Sunday from May 5 to October 30, includes three nights’ hotel accommodation in Barcelona, a half day tour of Barcelona, round-trip flight Barcelona-Ibiza, four nights’ hotel accommodation in Ibiza and a buffet breakfast every day.

Barcelona’s dazzling culture

Barcelona’s chefs, restaurants, football club, Gaudi architecture and dazzling nightlife are always in the news.  This spectacular city on the Mediterranean, the capital of Catalonia, is hot.  Here you have a choice of the 3-star Montblanc Hotel or, for a slight additional price, the 4-star St. Moritz, both of which are very conveniently located.   The half-day Artistic Tour takes in the famous Sagrada Familia church and other Antoni Gaudi architectural marvels as well as the Picasso Museum, but you’ll also want to explore Las Ramblas and the Boqueria Market.  At night you’ll find wonderful tapas bars, pubs and clubs around Las Ramblas and the nearby Gothic Quarter, as well as in the trendy El Born neighborhood.

Hop over to Spain’s party capital

Then a short flight takes you to Ibiza, the Balearic island with the rock-star lifestyle, which has been called “the world’s party capital.”  Here you can enjoy 50 beautiful white sand beaches (Cala Bassa is one of the best), a photogenic old town, plenty of watersports and dozens of restaurants and bars.  At sunset you’ll want to see Es Vedra, a legendary rock that rises from the sea.  But it’s  nightlife that made Ibiza famous, that draws celebrities like Kate Moss, the Beckhams, Leonardo DiCaprio and even Kate Middleton’s uncle, in whose house, the Maison de Bang Bang, she and Prince William  have vacationed. You’ll find the clubs, Iike the popular Pacha, concentrated around Ibiza town on the east coast and also around Sant Antoni on the west coast.

All prices quoted are per person, double occupancy, are subject to availability and do not include transatlantic air fare.  For additional information about the Barcelona/Ibiza package, visit the website. .  For reservations, call 800-482-5995

#     #    #

                   Summertime in Florence

Libertyville, IL, April 22, 2013—Florence: the city of Renaissance art, fabulous Tuscan food, great museums, fashion-forward shops, stylish cafés and Italy’s best gelateria. TourCrafters has put together a 4-night, land-only Florence package that starts at $385 and includes accommodation in the 3-star Hotel Machiavelli, daily buffet breakfasts, a complimentary gelato at the Vivoli Gelateria, taxes, an electric bike tour of Florence and its major sights; plus a Vespa tour (like an old-time movie) OR a classic Fiat 500 tour of the Florentine hills and nearby Tuscan landscape. Each tour provides a professional guide, two-way radio, and a glass of Chianti with a tasting of Tuscany’s best prosciutto and cheese on a scenic terrace.

The Best of Florence

In Florence, a veritable treasure house of art and architecture, you’ll want to see the Duomo (Cathedral) and Baptistry, the Accademia (Michelangelo’s David), the Uffizi Gallery, the Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. The smart shops can be found on Via de’ Tornabuoni and nearby streets, but prices are lower in the department stores and don’t ignore markets like San Lorenzo. (The Mercato Centrale is good for picking up picnic fixings.) Outside the city there’s an amazing view from Fiesole and the Tuscan countryside is a picture of olive groves, vineyards, villas and castles, perfect for taking memorable photos.

Of course there are hotel upgrades available. The boutique Hotel Rivoli which was once a convent and has a lovely patio, costs $505. The historic and elegant Grand Hotel Baglioni, which boasts a roof garden and free Wi-Fi, is $634.

All prices quoted are per person, double occupancy, are available from July 7 to early September, are subject to availability and do not include city taxes, which must be paid on the spot in euros. For more information about this Florentine Summer Emotions package, visit www.tourcrafters.it/tour.lasso?ID=179. For reservations, call 800-482-5995. Note that the same package is available in spring and fall for an additional price.

A Visit to Auschwitz Poland

When I had first seen the sign, it had been a black and white photograph against a background of snow. On a recent November day, the sun sparkled on the words that had struck so much terror…Arbeit Macht Frei. Ahead of me were brick buildings that could have come from a college campus. They were former Polish army barracks, and I was at Auschwitz. The few birch trees adjacent to the sign were still shedding their leaves. Two adjectives came to mind: peaceful and simplistic. These were hardly words for a former concentration camp. From 1941-1945 one million people had been killed here.

I was part of a continuous line of visitors from around the world who needed no “Silence” sign. The only noise came from the shuffling of feet. I was on a tour of Poland and had been visiting Krakow. After making the one hour bus drive from Krakow, we arrived at Auschwitz I. (Auschwitz II or Birkenau, is a mile away). Admission is free.

We were divided into groups. Anya, our English- speaking guide, told us she felt a strong sense of responsibility in sharing the story of the camp. Someone asked if this didn’t become stressful after a time.

The ovens

“It helps to know,” Anya replied, “that I am informing people about what happened here. It becomes second nature after a while. I don’t think of the deaths.”

Experiencing Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland

I felt the rocks on the dirt path as we began our trek. I was wearing shoes while Auschwitz residents had walked in bare feet, even in winter. The kitchen building with its smokestacks was on the right. In its foreground a band had played. Anya told us this had been a way to increase camp morale. An enlarged black and white photo of the musicians was displayed next to the building. The entire perimeter of the camp was surrounded by a barbed wire fence and twenty-eight watch towers with armed guards. This made prisoner escapes virtually impossible. Even so, there were one hundred escapes over the four years.

During the early days, the Nazis would take pictures of each inmate. These seemingly endless 8 x 10 glass-covered photographs surrounded a long narrow hall. The inmates looked healthy, for they had just arrived. The name was printed below each photo and included the date of arrival and the date of death…sometimes just days apart. When photography became too expensive, the Nazis started tattooing numbers on the inmates’ arms.

Bunk beds

In the next barrack was a gallery of a different sort. Sculptures and paintings of camp life were on display. The artwork had been done in secret, as it was strictly forbidden. Cameras had been smuggled in and photos out.

Life in Auschwitz-Birkenau

Those who managed to survive the “Selection Process” upon arrival were housed in unheated barracks. There was no running water and they could use the toilet only twice a day. Ventilation came from holes in the roof. The stench would become so bad, the guards would not go in. Three hundred prisoners were crammed into each barrack.

The prisoners slept six to a bunk on straw mattresses. They had to lie on their sides so they would all fit. My first thought was, that’s not even enough room for one person.

Those who were not selected for the barracks were told they were to take showers. Only Zyklon-B gas was used instead. (The shower heads are still embedded in the cement wall). From there, their bodies were taken to the crematorium.

For Visiting Achwitz Poland, part 2

Written By Wynne Crombie
Wynne Crombie has a master’s degree in adult education and teaches ESL at a Chicago comunity college. In the late sixties, she taught 5th grade with the DOD schools at Aviano AFB, Italy and in Berlin, where she met her husband of 45 years. They have traveled ever since.

I woke up to a glorious view over Vila Bay, with blue skies layered with water glistening like scattered diamonds. It was 7 a.m. and already the town of Port Vila was bustling with people, with the Central Market being the center of all activities. There were cafes offering bacon and eggs style breakfasts but the colorful and noisy market was too interesting to miss, so we headed to the end back, past the fresh fruits and vegetables and the occasional rooster in weaved basket, to check out what cooked foods were on offer.

Breakfast Ni-Vanuatu style

I shared a meal of fried bananas on rice and a Ni-Vanuatu dish of Lap Lap with my husband. Lap Lap is a national dish made of taro or cassava roots, pounded into a paste, cooked in banana leaves and topped with meats. It was a little dry but fantastically flavoured, and was devoured in seconds, washed down with a shell full of young coconut juice.

As much as the outside world had stereotyped Pacific Islanders, women here don’t do the coconut shell bras. While there were plenty for sale at the Arts and Craft Market north of the Central Market, they were strictly “for tourists only”. The local dress code had women comfortably clothed in loose one piece dress with big puffy sleeves, with large floral prints that screamed summer. Among the brightly colored wearables were trinket stalls that sold souvenirs both handmade and manufactured. I picked up a few items to take home before heading back to the main road to check out our day trip options.

Day trip out to enjoy Port Vila surrounds

We had hired a driver for half a day to explore Port Vila’s surroundings. Leaving ‘Vila Town’, as the locals called it, we headed north east towards Klem’s Hill for the Mele-Maat Cascades. From the car park we walked through the Cascade Botanical Gardens where moist and lush rainforest grounds covered with exotic plants flaunting their bright and cheerful flowers, and waded through ankle deep gushes of the cascade stream to reach the main cascade waterfalls. Another group was already ahead of us, enjoying a dip in one of the natural swimming holes, as we followed the ropes and climbed up a few meters to jump into another.

An hour into our fun our stomachs started to grumble, so we gathered our things, hopped back into the car and headed back to the coast for some islander-style curry chicken. I asked our driver, Samuel, if he could send us on our way to send a postcard.

“No problems! You have your snorkel with you yes?” He grinned a mischievously.

He sent us on our way on a ferry to Hideaway Island, a quick ferry ride across from Mele Beach. Upon arrival, I asked the desk clerk at the admissions desk where the post office was, he merrily pointed outwards toward the sea. “That way!”

I am sorry, where?

Sending postcards underwater at Hideaway Island

“That way!” He said again, this time with a chuckle. “It’s underwater. You have your snorkel with you yes?”

Hideaway Island has the world’s only underwater post office, attended by a diving staff each day between 1-2pm. Water-proof postcard in hand, I donned my snorkel and fin flipped myself off the coral beach out in the direction indicated by the admissions clerk. En route to the post office, I got distracted by fish of all shapes, sizes and color surrounded me. Following a trail of black striped angels I had overshot the post office by several meters and headed towards the open sea where a wall of coral reef was teaming with life, with eels and baby black tipped reef sharks among corals that splashed blue, red, purple and yellow. I laughed out loud into my snorkel, delighted to have found this underwater heaven, before turning back, free-dived a short two meters and finally popped that postcard into the mailbox.

A Lap Lap end to a day in Port Vila

Returning to the hotel that night, my husband and I animatedly described our day’s adventure to the attentive receptionist, who patiently listened, nodded and smiled in acknowledgement, before announcing that dinner was about to be served, would we like to join in?

The air smelled of root vegetables and cooked meat. We followed our noses toward the restaurant just in time to watch dinner being unearthed from an underground oven called uma. A large pile of parcels filled with potatoes, cassava root, taro, meat and fish wrapped in banana leaves were dug out and plated. It was a gigantic version of the Lap Lap we had for breakfast and we were pleased. What a way to end a fantastic day in Port Vila.

Written by Amy Huang
Based in Sydney, Australia, Amy Huang is a writer stuck in the corporate world. A Business Analyst by profession, she works her life around travelling and has managed to squeeze in postgraduate studies in writing somewhere in between. Amy met her husband in 2006 while working on a community development project in Peru, and the travel-holic pair celebrated their love by getting married in Vanuatu in 2010. Amy keeps a blog on various travel topics at www.footprintsandmemories.com