We leave Anatom (Aneityum) at 0630 to start our overnight passage to Efate, Vanuatu’s main island. we have 170nm (as the crow flies) to get to Port Vila, the largest town in Vanuatu.
Our friends on sv Moana (Rena, Chris, and Helena) are following us on their Lagoon 450. We expected a beautiful beam reach sail with moderate 1-2m seas. What we got was a lumpy, bumpy sea 2+ meters on the beam and 25kts of wind forcing us to pinch hard at 35degrees. I was ill prepared and did not take my sea sick medicine. It was a miserable journey for me, but after 23 hours we covered 179nm and arrived at daybreak.
Port Vila
Port Vila is the main town on Efate, the main island of Vanuatu. Despite this being the capitol and economical hub for the entire country, the outer communities are low key and symbolic of true village life. Normally, this is not the type of place we like to go (city-type) but we had to accomplish a few things here that required a stop.
Mainly, we had to get our cruiser permit which allows us to cruise to other islands. The cruiser permit we got in Tanna was only for the “southern islands.” This new permit will be good for the middle islands (Efate to Santo) and then we will have to get another permit for the Northern islands. Fun, right?
We also needed some fresh produce and boy oh boy did we score. They have a HUGE fresh market every day, although Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the biggest days. People from the outer villages come on the big days.
This is what I would call a “proper town” in island life. They had loads or Au Bon Marche markets which were well stocked! It was so much fun exploring these markets and finding products we had not seen in over a year (like whipping cream to make ice cream).
I gathered all the important intel for the Vanuatu Compendium (store hours, locations, contact details). I also picked up some medication and medical supplies at the pharmacy as they don’t require a prescription (cool, right?) and pampered myself with a pedicure.
Efate on Fire?
One of the best things about coming to Port Vila, Efate is the famous fire show at The Beach bar on Mele Beach. Our friends on Moana (Rena, Chris, and Helena) and another friend, Amy joined Matt and I for the spectacular event! Be sure to check out our svSugarShack instagram account as there are some amazing videos from this fire show (posted 18 June 2024).
They warmed you up with some “basic” fire tricks like juggling and tossing the flame sticks around. Each act was set to either “popular” music or local music.
Gradually the stunts got harder and more exciting to watch.
There are two people playing with 10 fire sticks at the same time in these photos.
Then really, really long fire sticks came out which they slowly and artfully lowered over our heads. The bright colors are the laser lights that they had on during the show.
Some of the fire shots came out really crazy on camera – but I kind of really like the effect.
They had a few women come out and do the traditional local dance with fire sticks. They also had a man who tried his best to do a silk contortion show. Really it was clunky and difficult to watch but kudos to him for trying!
Efate is known for this famous fire show and I can see why! They did the limbo, they had 3 jumping under a jump rope and had several mystifying stunts.
After about an hour the show was coming to the finale. Lots of fire, lots of sparks, and lots of “oohs and awes.”
Sparks and fire were flying everywhere and all I could think of was the splendor in front of me!
And then the fire went out….
The dancers stayed around so we could take photos and play with fire ourselves. Lucky for me I did not burn my hair off. But I was never a baton twirler….
Super fun night with good friends, tasty food, and amazing entertainment at The Beach Bar on Mele Beach, Efate, Vanuatu
Our blogs run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occurred in mid-June. In our last blog post, Matt walks 12 miles to a waterfall on Tanna.