# Vanautu Getaway



## Jamala (Oct 25, 2022)

Husband hosted a corporate event and they chose Vanuatu as a destination. Wives were invited and what a great bunch of ladies to spend a few days with while the men toiled. Of course our industrious partners joined us for some outings.

Tried Laplap the national dish and decided after a few spoonfuls, maybe I’ll give this gastronomic delight a miss next time. Laplap is prepared by grating breadfruit, bananas, taro or yam roots into a vegetable paste. The paste is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground stone oven, with fresh coconut cream and meat.
The mysterious local drink, Kava, made from various roots...just a little sip put us in a really good mood. Well no one told us it is a psychoactive drink!  Talk about silly giggles…anyway it does the spirit good sometimes to give free rein to one’s inner child. No, won’t be having this drink again, and, stuck to the excellent Pinot Grigio.
Luckily there was a great internationally inspired menu and we happily over indulged with more familiar gourmet delights like the exquisite seafood dishes..made from freshly caught fish and lobster.

Love the people of Vanautu, friendly and kind. and the scenery is just so beautiful. I was intrigued by the world’s first under water post office. I didn’t swim down to it, but hubby did and said he sent me a postcard. Can’t wait to receive it, do hope the postman is Nemo 

Enjoyed a mini trek into the rainforest. The Vanuatu rain forests are both tropical and subtropical, and the humidity was a bit of a challenge. Anyway, having close ups of some of the lovely birds and the flying foxes in trees above us made up for any discomfort. The flying fox is Vanuatu’s largest native mammal and the natives actually consume the meat. One of the highlights for me was a visit to a local village and learning about the traditional ways of the people.
Since I don’t like putting up personal pictures especially if other people are involved, but, simply _had_ to show where they booked us in.. youtube to the rescue...






Gorgeous hotel, but to get a real feel of the place as anywhere else, one has to get out there and explore and there was a lot of exploring to do, mix with the locals, visit a market, have a swim at Champagne Beach where the sand feels like icing sugar! The video below shows some of the places we visited, including the American base during the war, live volcano (stunning but so scary) and the famed leap of death.






Once again youtube to the rescue…

There was so much more to see and do and wish we could have stayed longer, but as _the Bard said “too much of a good thing” etc… although I don’t think Shakespeare was speaking of food and drink and lovely hotels*!*_

So tired now, lots of plane travel involved and although only very short trips, still tiring, but, the quickest way to island hop in such a short space of time is most definitely by air.
Think now I’ll spend the next week in restorative slumber and enjoy some of my duty free goodies!


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## NorthernLight (Oct 25, 2022)

Wonderful! I'm glad you had a good time.


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## Jamala (Oct 25, 2022)

NorthernLight said:


> Wonderful! I'm glad you had a good time.


Thank you Northern Light. I would love to return one day and learn more about the rainforest.


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## Alligatorob (Oct 25, 2022)

Wow, what a place.  You are a fortunate lady!


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## RadishRose (Oct 25, 2022)

Jamala said:


> Husband hosted a corporate event and they chose Vanuatu as a destination. Wives were invited and what a great bunch of ladies to spend a few days with while the men toiled. Of course our industrious partners joined us for some outings.
> 
> Tried Laplap the national dish and decided after a few spoonfuls, maybe I’ll give this gastronomic delight a miss next time. Laplap is prepared by grating breadfruit, bananas, taro or yam roots into a vegetable paste. The paste is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground stone oven, with fresh coconut cream and meat.
> The mysterious local drink, Kava, made from various roots...just a little sip put us in a really good mood. Well no one told us it is a psychoactive drink!  Talk about silly giggles…anyway it does the spirit good sometimes to give free rein to one’s inner child. No, won’t be having this drink again, and, stuck to the excellent Pinot Grigio.
> ...


So interesting, Jamala! It's very beautiful. Thanks for sharing your trip.


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## Gardenlover (Oct 25, 2022)

Sounds like a trip of a lifetime, I'm so glad to hear you had an enjoyable time.


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## Jamala (Oct 25, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> Wow, what a place.  You are a fortunate lady!


...and don't I know it!


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## Bellbird (Oct 26, 2022)

Lovely place for hols. it's only 3 hours away,  thanks for posting.


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## Bretrick (Oct 26, 2022)

Such a lovely place.
I went there in 1980 though I do not remember the name of the accommodation where I stayed, it was on the beach. 
I ate food cooked in the underground "oven"
I do remember having a very relaxing week there before going onto Fiji and Noumea.


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## LadyEmeraude (Oct 26, 2022)

Sounds so lovely, what a beautiful Get-away!


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## Llynn (Oct 26, 2022)

Lovely. An uncle of mine was stationed there in WWII although he called it Espiritu Santo.  The US Navy had a large repair facility there which kept damaged ships from having to steam all the way to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
​


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## Jamala (Oct 26, 2022)

Bretrick said:


> Such a lovely place.
> I went there in 1980 though I do not remember the name of the accommodation where I stayed, it was on the beach.
> I ate food cooked in the underground "oven"
> I do remember having a very relaxing week there before going onto Fiji and Noumea.


The hotels are just something else...our next holiday in the region I think will be Fiji


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## Jamala (Oct 26, 2022)

Llynn said:


> Lovely. An uncle of mine was stationed there in WWII although he called it Espiritu Santo.  The US Navy had a large repair facility there which kept damaged ships from having to steam all the way to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
> ​


Espiritu Santo is one of the islands. There are three main islands, 13 others and a number of minor ones.
We had a swim at Champagne Beach on ES. 
The island of Espiritu Santo was the second largest American military base in the Pacific during World War II, after Pearl Harbour.


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