Luganville Vanuatu - Rhapsody of the Seas

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This stop we were in Luganville - Vanuatu.   Info here ……  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganville

We had another shore excursion booked here a canoe ride up the Riri River.  I just love the way the locals said canoe…it sort of sounded like kennel.  These people are amazing…as the majority know at least three languages.  The bus driver speaks Bislama which I gather is the local common language, English, French.  He also speaks the language of his fathers family firstly, then the language of his mothers.  Me, only English.

There were three mini buses of us on this ship excursion and we travelled in convoy for about 20mins admiring the scenery.  So many 'Raintrees' along the way and they were huge. 

There are a lot of coconut plantations too.

It was Sunday, so a lot of the locals were walking to friends houses or at friends houses for church.  See the hut near the fence line.

Riri River….so clear and blue.  Just beautiful.  I thought we were canoeing but we were canoed up the river.  We all had don these attractive life jackets.

This is Peter, the guy who kindly canoed us up the river.

I loved being in this rainforest and only saw one mosquito, no marsh flies and no mention of crocodiles.  Beats our rivers. :-)

Showing how clear the water was.

Just a good shot.

The lagoon at the end of the river with two jump ropes ready to go.  Yes, I did jump….. twice and it was great fun.  I think there were a lot of people that jumped that would not have done it at home…..everyone was so encouraging.  Amazing what the holiday spirit does.  Hubby was amazed that my first jump I managed to keep my hair dry. lol.  It's just because I didn't hold high enough on the rope to stop my legs dragging me into the water.  Second jump was better.

This is where we all jumped from….the scariest bit was standing on that tiny piece of wood waiting for the rope.

The second jump rope which I didn't get to try out.

Isn't this photo amazing as the canoe looks like it is floating on air.

After lunch we caught a taxi for a 20 minute drive to Million Dollar Point.  During the winding down of WW2 the Americans bulldozed thousands of trucks, jeeps and equipment into the ocean.  Apparently, a great diving spot.   The view to the left.  This photo shows a lot of rusted pieces of machinery.

The view to the right.

Had to have a view of the ship from our shore venture. :-)

After the taxi ride to Million Dollar Point where we just took photos we asked the taxi driver to take us through town.  Everything was closed as it was Sunday but it was good to see.  Once again there were markets set up near the ship which this time we bought just a couple of small souvenirs.

Leaving Luganville.

The amazing sunset photo for today.

Well thats another day done.  I probably have another two days worth of photos for you.  Thanks for hanging in there and checking them all out. :-)  I am off today to buy a few basic supplies…..if any are left on the shelf as Cyclone Ita is getting a little closer.  I just have this feeling we may be without power over the weekend, hope I am wrong.  Have a great day.