So, finally found the internet, plugged in my usb and the pc here is so archaic that it can't read my file so I will have to tell you my latest ventures in my next post which I think will be Friday as I can't afford to sit and retype it all out!

Suffice to say I made it to Vanuatu yesterday, the weather has been a bit crap (booo, so much for my sun, sand, sea etc) but I suppose it is cyclone season and the market doesn't look as good as the picture! I'm currently in Port Vila which is the capital city (read village) and staying in Le Meridien Resort courtesy of airmiles. Resort it may be but near anything it ain't and I waited almost an hour this morning for a bus that would arrive "definitely in the next 5-10 minutes ma'am". This was from the 'chief' on the door dressed in his grass skirt and not much else. The bus (actually more of a people carrier) looked as though it had survived several fires and a few fatal crashes with some locals and animals. It was marginally better than the piece of junk we hired from Jucy Rentals in NZ!

I've stocked up on as many luxuries as I can (weird local chocolate sandwich biscuits was pretty much the only choice in the main supermarket) and tomorrow I will meet the rest of my volunteering group and head out to the island of Moso which is a tiny speck of dirt to the northwst of Efate, Vanuatu's main island where I am right now. It's also known as Tranquility Island so I'm holding out some hope although not sure how tranquil it will be with the swarms of malarial mozzies around and my bucket toilet and shower. Anyhooo, our weekly escape (I mean outing) to Port Vila is on a Friday so I should be back here and there is apparently a free wifi spot down on the waterfront (hard to believe looking around the internet place I'm in right now) so I'll bring my baby for a trip out.

Anyway, plan to eat in the hotel tonight (had pizza for lunch which I've been craving for weeks) as I'm reliably informed by Lonely Planet that Vanuatu has some of the best beef in the world. Hmmm. Have to say that this is the first LP book I've come across that has so far lied about absolutely everything. Daren't stay in town after dark as I'm not entirely sure I know how to get back to my hotel, my map is wrong and have already been ripped off by one taxi so have tarred them all with the same brush and refuse to use them.

Anyway, will update you on the last few days in the next few days and should have a few amusing tales to tell (hopefully none of them involving deadly turtle bites and me ending up in hospital!).

Hope all is well wherever you are and keep posting messages on my board!

Linda