Kirsty has Arrived

Kirsty, our eldest daughter arrived very early Friday morning (midnight) for a 2 week visit. We had a lazy day just having a walk around Vila and buying fruit at the market e.g. red mangoes! They are not stringy like the green ones, but more expensive. Mmmm, mangoes 😋

Then on Saturday we took her around the island. It wasn't a very nice day, but we still had a paddle at Eton Beach and checked out the rocks (of course, she's a geologist!) and the coral.

We called in to visit Rongdal School, and Max the headmaster and instigator of the school showed us all around. He has done a lot of work since the last time we visited, even though he just survives on donations and the produce from the family farm which the children's parents help work on in payment of school fees that they have no money for.

On the way back from Havannah Harbour, we noticed a screw in one of the rear tyres, so Martyn took it to get repaired when we got back to Vila. Turns out there was a nail in a front tyre as well doing a very slow leak. So all good now and ready to go.

On Sunday afternoon we went to visit Cindy and the children. Samuel left for a conference in Paris just the morning Kirsty arrived, so she missed seeing him, but we had a nice swim down at Pango with Vita, William and Christopher, and got to see their house,

and the recently-completed cookhouse which was just a frame last time Martyn and I saw it.

They have got it very well set up.

 Vits is now 14, William 11 and Christopher 4. Ariv who is 6 lives with his grandmother down on Tanna. Cindy and Samuel now have their niece Lisa, approx 18 months, living with them as their daughter. This is quite common among Ni-Vanuatu families and throughout the Pacific. Unfortunately she was having a big afternoon nap when we visited so Kirsty didn't get to meet her, but Martyn and I saw her when we went out for dinner with Samuel and Cindy and all the children last week before Sam went away. She is a real cutie, and we realised afterwards that we forgot to take any photos!

On Monday it was Martyn's birthday, so on Sunday evening Kirsty and I cooked him a chocolate cake - not sure what she's looking so worried about, maybe the fact we can't tell what temperature the oven is at, or weigh any ingredients as we don't have any scales  😅 It still turned out okay.

Here is the birthday boy with his tamtam (slit drum carving) which we chose together, some cards and fresh flowers from the market.

Early on Tuesday morning, Kirsty set off for Tanna Island on a domestic flight, to go and see Mt Yasur, the most easily accessible, active volcano in the world. (well it is if you ignore the 90 minute trip from Hamilton to Auckland by road, 90 minute wait after the check in wait time, 3 hour flight to Port Vila, arriving at midnight, then a few days later a 30 minute flight to Tanna from Vila, a 90 minute drive from the accommodation to Mt Yasur, which includes driving across the ash field of Mt Yasur, and then the final easy bit a 10 minute walk up the final part of Mt Yasur from where the truck stops) She is very excited.