Port Vila - The quiet gem of the South Pacific

I stood on the bow of the ship with the wind blowing my hair across my face.  I watched as the tugboat guided the ship to the pier at Port Vila.  We watched as the men tied the ship to the dock.

It was early morning and I could already feel the warmth of the sun among my body.  I knew today was going to be a good day for the Glass Bottom Boat and snorkeling.

As we disembarked, we walked through the market.  The townspeople were singing and excited about the passengers arrival.  Strolling through the market, each individual stalls had locally made items such as handicrafts, sarongs, woven hats, floral shirts and other items.

We then headed to the area where we could get on the boat and head out to the bay to see the various fish such as the clown fish(Nemo), angelfish, bat fish, parrot fish and butterfly fish, as well as the beautiful coral reefs and sapphire blue starfish(which I have never seen).

Our two guides, Donald(aka Donald Trump) and Jimmy(aka Jimi Hendrix) were very entertaining and informative.

As we arrived at the snorkel area and anchored near many of the coral reef, the fish were in abundance. The water was extremely salty, but very warm due to the seismic activity of this region. The guys gave us bread to feed the fish.  I enjoyed the fish nibbling on my fingers to get the bread.  

Everyone was having a great time and no one wanted to get out of the water to head back to shore.

Port Vila is known as "the quiet gem of the South Pacific".  It is a nation of 83 islands in rough "Y" shape with Port Vila as its capital.  The population is about 40,000 with 200,000 for the entire island nation.

Vila is a little community with smoldering volcanoes towering mountains and cliffs that are surrounded by clouds and rainforests.  There are more than 150 different orchid species and another 250 of fern.

There are 115 different languages and dialects spoken in Vanuatu, making it the most diverse in the world.

One of the most interesting aspects is the underwater post office.  It is off Hideaway Island near Vila. It's the world's only underwater post office, which is about 10 feet below the surface and accessible by snorkel.  A scuba diver postal worker will stamp your special waterproof postcard with waterproof ink and mailed anywhere in the world.

We arrived back onto the ship and enjoyed dinner with our friends, attended a show and ended the evening walking around the Promenade deck.