The Western Pacific - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 392

Moving on to the Capital
Next stop: the capital “city” of Port Vila on Efate. Throughout the cloudy night, we coun-
ted down the eighty-five miles over rolly seas but made good time with twenty knots of
SSE wind. No, there's no danger of losing your sea legs during your stay in Vanuatu! There
must have been something in the night air, because we could see the glow of the capital
from fifty miles away. In contrast, we couldn't pick up on any hint of New York City from
that distance when we sailed past some years earlier.
Port Vila showed us the developed side of Vanuatu, with busy streets (cars, even!), shops,
and a bustling port. The innermost harbor is very deep, so most cruisers take a mooring at
Yachting World. There, we could (unenthusiastically) plug back into the outside world,
making the most of the Internet, local restaurants, and services. We thoroughly enjoyed the
national museum and its lively custodian, Edgar, who provided a lovely summation of what
we had experienced thus far and what still lay ahead. We wanted to go everywhere, see
everything: Ambrym, with its carvings, sand drawings, and giant tam-tam drums; Pente-
cost, home of land-diving; Espiritu Santo with its wreck dives; Epi and its dugongs; the
Banks Islands, where few cruisers venture. And that's just the beginning of the list, all step-
pingstones for sailors bound for the Solomon Islands and beyond.
Alas, those heading west, like we were, face a difficult choice. The farther north one sails
in Vanuatu, the tighter the wind angle to New Caledonia becomes. That and a prior com-
mitment to meet family had us clearing out in Port Vila and setting a course to the SSW.
You can't have it all, but as it was, our senses were near-saturated with so many rich exper-
iences. And who knows? Someday, we might just be back for more.