Landfall Vanuatu

I love making landfall. No matter how bad a voyage might be (and this last one wasn't bad, just blah…) landfall is magic. Pulling into a harbour at first light is dream-like. Before the shore makes itself distinct, and the resort hotels start to pop out of the mist, I get this sense of being the first explorer. If we're early enough the only other people on the water are native fishermen-casting nets from dugouts, or women fishing in the shallows.

It's only when the sun rises higher that we jump forward a century and realize we are not the first. But somehow, by then, it doesn't matter.

But now we are quarantined and confined to the boat until tomorrow. This doesn't happen to people who fly in to these countries. It's a throw-back to another era-one that I think we belong to-despite the jet skis and helicopters in the harbour. Not sure if we can risk sneaking ashore today but it is the rugby semis (it is always called THE rugby btw...) and the All Blacks are playing OZ--last time we saw the was in Aitutaki and since then I've had a refresher and can almost follow the game. And we have an intro to meet local people. And it's awfully pretty here.
So many reasons to go ashore...
Despite the hotels.

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