On the Road Again

Ok, we are not exactly "on the road" per se, but we have been out to sea for the past three days. This means I am writing you from the semi-seasick, semi-delirious state of mind that comes with the lack of sleep and the lack of sea legs. I really should not winge though - we are sailing with three other boats - two of which are couples (so they get even less sleep than us) and one, Mark on Merkava, is single handling so it is up to him how much (or how little) he sleeps.

I must admit that I had mixed feelings about leaving Fiji. On the one hand I love Fiji and could spend a lot more time there, because really, three months is just not enough. I am, however, very excited to get to Vanuatu, which sounds like a total trip. Everybody talks about how they will just spend more time at each place they love "the second time around", but that could be a while... So you can understand my gutted-ness (is that a word?) as we sailed out the pass between Tavarua and Namotu islands.

I could not help but reflect that many of my highest points of the entire trip (so far) occurred at those two little motus: meeting Kelly Slater, getting some of the best waves of my life, partying with pro-surfers, watching the most epic surf contest of all time, seeing sharks, whales and all sorts of other cool fish... yes I am sad to leave Fiji.

But, it is time to move on and Vanuatu sounds crazy - from what I hear - but you generally don't hear too much about Vanuatu. Of course, you will be hearing lots of great stories from me in the coming weeks, but if you would like to read more on the subject, I highly recommend Maarten Troost's "Getting Stoned with Savages". It is hilarious and paints a better portrait of Vanuatu (and Fiji) than I ever could, although internet permitting, I intend to post lots of pictures, which Maarten's book lacks. Therefore you should still read my blog.

Seriously though, I kind of feel like we are once again jumping off the deep end into the remote corners of the unknown. Vanuatu sounds rugged: there is an active volcano, there is malaria, huge sharks, and on some islands men still wear nambas, which apparently are some sort of penis leaf sheath thing. I will have to investigate further and report back. As for the malaria, I intend to drink copious amounts of gin and tonic to ward it off.

We still have 120 miles to go before we arrive in Anatom, which means we should arrive tomorrow afternoon. Gracias adios. It's not that I don't like sailing, it's just that, well, I am tired of being tossed around and feeling like I could toss my cookies at any minute.

Next time, from Vanuatu!
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At 9/18/2012 5:13 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 18°57.42'S 173°54.91'E

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